One of my favorite conversations to have in regards to “natural” or “toxin-free” living is in regards to nutrition. Not necessarily what to eat for each individual, but things we can incorporate into our daily diets to reap massive benefits for our health. Especially in todays world, we are fed such mixed data on what may have good anti-viral benefits and it’s become so politicized that many of the natural remedies are not what you will see on the headlines or social media.
There are so many cool things out there, with tons of research, that many of us aren’t even aware of. Things that have been used for hundreds and thousands of years (think Ancient Greek, Egyptians, Romans, etc) that were used as their most prized medicines. And what’s crazy is we have them readily available to us today, yet we don’t take advantage of it!
This specific product has been used for centuries because its effectiveness for killing viruses and reducing viral load (including today’s said virus). It’s fantastic support for your immune system!
Meta-Analysis Published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine shows it has anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-fungal, and anti-tumor properties and is noted to be an immune-modulator.
And this very thing is a simple food that you can incorporate day-to-day to help you and your family stay healthy and strong!
Did you guess right? … PROPOLIS! Yes, that stuff that comes from the beehive!
So there are over 300 active compounds in propolis and the majority of these are antioxidants and specifically polyphenols (think inflammation fighters aka disease fighters). In fact, according to recent data published in a peer review journal Archive of Virology, polyphenols have been found to inhibit the activity of coronavirus. In the journal Antiviral Chemistry and Chemotherapy, it revealed that propolis has significant antiviral effects, specifically in reducing viral lung infections. The current virus going around is a hyper-inflammatory kind that is targeting the lungs and the body (not the virus) is causing excess inflammation. It’s the body’s response to the exposure that’s causing the symptoms, but it’s beneficial to give our bodies nutrition to help it with it’s response (remember propolis is an immuno-modulator).
Even aside from the current virus, Propolis is a wonderful food to keep in our superhero utility belt to help our bodies be as resilient as possible!
When it comes to bee products, it is important that they are tested for contamination like arsenic, cadmium, lead, DDT, E.coli, salmonella, etc. You want the highest quality of the good stuff without all the junk! Personally, we have used both of these below and LOVE how they taste! We are currently using the Bjorn Royal Hong mix because its contains the Propolis, Royal Jelly and Pollen in the honey, tastes amazing, but is from Colorado so we also get the benefits of local pollen to help with any potential allergies! Bee Keepers Naturals is great as well, also filled with all the goods, but had a little bit stronger of a taste. The whole family has been taking just 1 tsp per day to help our bodies stay strong and efficient!
Bee Keepers Naturals does have a wonderful Propolis spray (and one specifically for kids) that we love having on hand because its so easy to use and kids love it!
Resources:
And thank you to The Model Health Show for some great research!