Royal jelly is a substance secreted from the glands of worker bees to feed their larvae and queens. It is thick in texture, milky-white in color, and has been harvested by humans for centuries for its alleged rejuvenating properties. Indeed, it is a fact that queen bees – which are fed royal jelly their entire lives – live approximately 40 times longer than drone or worker bees, largely due to the jelly’s nutritiousness. List of…
Propolis, also called bee glue, is a sticky, brown mixture that honey bees make from their saliva and the resin of tree bark for repairing damage to their hive and sealing it from invaders. Unlike beeswax, which is used to seal larger open spaces, bees tend to reserve propolis for smaller gaps. Europeans have treasured the mixture for centuries for its medicinal properties, though its popularity is slowing growing in North America as well. Propolis…
Nutritional yeast is a heat-deactivated yeast that is typically sourced from sugarcane and beet molasses. It has a cheese-like, nutty flavor, and can be incorporated into pizzas, creamed vegetables, popcorn, onion rings, mashed potatoes, fries, pasta, and various soups and salads. It is loved by vegetarians and vegans because it is a dairy and gluten-free source of numerous trace nutrients; indeed, the nutritional yeast found in health food stores is just as likely to be…
Bee pollen, also called bee bread, is a small granule of pollen (mixed with other ingredients such as nectar and bee saliva) created by worker bees to help feed the hive. The exact chemical composition of these granules depends on the types of plants from which the worker bees gather the pollen, but they always consists of large quantities of carbohydrates, proteins, and nutrients. For this reason, bee pollen has been harvested by people for…
Although molasses is an extremely healthy sugar substitute that has been a staple in the American diet since pilgrims first visited the continent, it is certainly an acquired taste. Depending on the type of molasses you’ve tried, you might find it too sweet, too sour, too sugary, too rich, or simply just too difficult to obtain in the region in which you live. Fortunately, there are several substitutes to consider. Some of the substitutes are…
