How Royal Jelly Benefits Your Health
More and more Royal Jelly benefits are coming to light on an almost daily basis. I'm very happy to report to you the results of several more studies done on royal jelly and how this amazing food can benefit your health.
Royal Jelly May Help Treat Rheumatoid ArthritisArthritis sufferers are going to be very excited about this. Recently a group of really smart guys got together to develop a potential medicine for rheumatoid arthritis. They choose to study a compound in royal jelly called 10-hydroxy-2-decenoic acid. We'll just call it 10H2DA for short though since I can barely pronounce it, let alone spell it.I won't bore you with the scientific details, but what the researchers found was that the 10H2DA blocked two pro-inflammatory signaling pathways in their study. What does this mean? Well, it means that these scientists concluded that 10H2DA (the royal jelly compound) may be of potential therapeutic value in inhibiting joint destruction in rheumatoid arthritis. If you'd like to read the entire study, it can be found in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology, Feb 3, 2010.
Increase Sperm Count and Testosterone with Royal JellyThis study didn't surprise me one bit since I've had so many of our clients tell me about the hormone balancing properties of royal jelly. But having more scientific proof is never a bad thing so here are the details.Adult male rats who were given royal jelly experienced a significant increase in the weight of their testis and sperm counts as well as testosterone levels. They also experienced an increase in the percentage of live sperm while reducing the percentage of abnormal sperm. The scientists went on to say that "Royal jelly is known as a sexual tonic and used for treatment of impotence, infertility, and significantly increase leutinizing hormone levels. This effect could be attributed to the central effect of royal jelly." The details of the study can be found in the Iraqi Journal of Veterinary Sciences, Vol. 23, Supplement II, 2009 (155-160).
Royal Jelly Component Shows Anti-Bacterial ActivityA recent article in the Journal of Agricultural Food Chemistry looked at an antibacterial compound found in Royal Jelly called Royalisin.While the details of the study are extremely technical and beyond my nutritionally trained brain, the conclusion of the study was that this compound in Royal Jelly, Royalisin, displayed strong antibacterial activity against several common bacteria. I recommend using Royal Jelly throughout the cold and flu season each year. There have been other studies on the immune modulating properties of royal jelly that I have reported on and this recent study further verifies these studies as well as the excellent results I see in the real world. Taking both royal jelly and bee propolis is a bulletproof way to protect yourself each winter from those nasty colds that make the rounds!
Royal Jelly Protects You Against Pollutants in the EnvironmentThe amount of environmental pollutants accumulating in our water, air and land is staggering. Unfortunately, there is no way to completely avoid exposure to all of these toxic substances. The next best thing is to protect yourself with compounds that have the ability to limit the cellular damage that these toxic compounds cause in the body.Scientists set out to find if Royal Jelly is one of them. They took onion cells and exposed them to both toxic petroleum waste with royal jelly and without at different doses. What they found was that each dose of royal jelly provided protection against the wastewater toxicity, and the strongest protective effect was observed at the highest dose. So what does this all mean? Well, for one, Royal Jelly is a strong anti-oxidant. And two, it appears to show promise in being able to protect us from the many toxins in the environment today. I recommend taking 3000 mg's of royal jelly daily for environmental and anti-oxidant protection. You can read the details of the study in Wastewater Environmental Technology, Volume 30, Issue 11 October 2009, pages 1205 - 1214.
Boost Your Antioxidants With Royal JellyWith antioxidants being all the rage these days (and rightfully so), it is exciting to see studies coming out revealing how potent an antioxidant royal jelly really is.In this study, scientists investigated the protective role of royal jelly as an antioxidant against cadmium, a highly toxic heavy metal that causes damage to your genes. (trust me - we are all exposed to heavy metals) Cadmium also induces oxidative damage in various tissues by altering your antioxidant defense systems. This tends to lead to cancer and premature aging. What the scientists found was that taking Royal Jelly significantly suppressed the gene damaging effects of this toxic substance and also boosted protective enzyme levels in the liver and kidneys. Very exciting! While you might think that you're highly unlikely to be exposed to cadmium in your lifetime, think again. It is in tap water as well as many soil grown foods, especially non-organic. Furthermore, we are all exposed to heavy metals on a daily basis now so extra protection is important if living a long, healthy life is important to you. To boost your antioxidant levels, try taking 3000 - 5000 mg of royal jelly per day. Read the details of the study in the Journal of Med Food, 2009 Dec;12(6):1286-92.
Royal Jelly Protects From Side Effects of ChemoUnfortunately, chemotherapy is an all to frequent reality for many of us today as cancer cases continue to increase. And while chemo has saved many lives, the fact that it is so potent often causes dreadful side effects in patients.This grim reality lead scientists to investigate the protective effect of royal jelly against the toxic effects of cisplatin on the reproductive organs. Cisplatin is a powerful chemo drug used to treat several types of cancer. Royal jelly was administered daily for 10 days to rats. The scientists monitored traits of the reproductive organs such as sperm characteristics and testosterone levels as well as damage in the testicles. What they found was that by giving the rats royal jelly daily while they were on this toxic chemo drug, toxin levels in the rats decreased while antioxidant levels increased. So what does this mean for you, especially for those of us who aren't undergoing chemotherapy right now? It actually means a great deal. Royal jelly can protect you from some of the most toxic substances on the earth, substances that we are exposed to on a daily basis in our water, food and air. For my clients that are looking to protect themselves from the many environmental pollutants that we all inevitably come in contact with, I recommend taking four to six 1000 mg capsules per day. Read the full study in Urology, Published Online 17 July, 2009.
Royal Jelly May Help Treat DepressionIn this study, scientists set out to determine if royal jelly can in fact stimulate the regeneration and growth of brain cells killed by a very potent, toxic compound call TMT in rats.The scientists had already shown in a previous study that royal jelly facilitates neuro-genesis (regrowth of brain cells) in a test tube. The rats were exposed to the TMT and then given royal jelly orally. Interestingly, they found that orally administered royal jelly significantly increased the number of brain cells in certain parts of the brain and simultaneously improved their cognitive impairment. The scientists then went on to suggest that royal jelly may serve as a tool for protection against and therapy for some particular neurological disorders such as depression and that RJ has the potential of being a promising evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine. To read the entire study, see Evidence Based Complementary & Alternative Medicine, April 17, 2009.
Royal Jelly Useful for Eye DisordersIn a study presented at the 7th German Apitherapy, Apipuncture and Bee Products Congress on March 26-31, 2009, it was reported that royal jelly benefits eye health.An improvement of visual functions (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity) and dilatation of retinal arteries was noted in patients with myopia who used royal jelly supplements. In patients with Graves’ ophthalmopathy who used royal jelly, an improvement of visual functions and reduction of retinal blind spot was found. And furthermore, in patients with age-related macular degeneration who used royal jelly, an improvement of visual functions (visual acuity, contrast sensitivity, mean threshold sensitivity of central visual field) was found. This is very interesting research. Unfortunately, the study didn't state how much royal jelly was ingested by the participants to obtain these positive health benefits. I suspect the reason royal jelly benefits eye health so much is it's extremely high antioxidant content. These powerful compounds prevent further damage in the eye and by the sounds of this research, even help to repair damaged tissue. While it is hard to say exactly how much royal jelly to consume for optimal eye health, I recommend 3 - 5 1000 mg capsules or 1/2 teaspoon of royal jelly powder per day.
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