Royal jelly, a nutrient-rich secretion from worker bees, is key for queen bee development and offers multiple health benefits for humans, including improved immunity and heart health.
What is Royal Jelly?
Royal jelly is a secretion similar to milk produced by worker honeybees. Its content varies depending on geography and climate. This product is used for the development and nourishment of the queen bee, hence it is called "royal jelly" in English. Royal jelly is often confused with pollen, but these two products are completely different. Royal jelly, honey, pollen, and beeswax are products obtained from honeybees, yet they differ from each other in almost every aspect.
Royal jelly is a secretion used in the nourishment of larvae and for adult queens. It is secreted from the worker bees' glands and feeds all larvae in the colony, regardless of gender or social class.
When worker bees decide to breed a new queen (usually due to the weakening or death of the old queen), they select a few small larvae and feed them copiously with royal jelly in specially constructed queen cells. This type of feeding provides the eggs with queen morphology, including the advanced ovaries needed to become a queen. You can explore products like royal jelly, propolis, pollen, and honey.
Benefits of Royal Jelly
Packed with water, carbohydrates, proteins, fats, B vitamins, and trace minerals, royal jelly's unique proteins and fatty acids offer numerous health benefits.
Potential antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.
May reduce heart disease risk by influencing cholesterol levels.
Can aid in wound healing and skin repair.
Specific proteins in royal jelly might help lower blood pressure.
Could improve insulin sensitivity and enhance blood sugar control.
Antioxidant properties may support healthy brain function.
May reduce some aging signs.
Could help protect the immune system.
May alleviate some menopause symptoms.
How to Use Royal Jelly?
Royal jelly is often encountered as a dietary supplement. Since each product's content is different, the way it is used can vary. If you want to use royal jelly, you should pay attention to the daily serving amount indicated on the product.
How is Royal Jelly Produced and Stored?
Royal jelly is secreted from the secretion glands on the heads of worker bees. It is collected from each queen cell when the queen larvae are about four days old. These are single cells where large amounts of royal jelly accumulate; when worker larvae are fed with royal jelly, it is almost consumed at the moment of production because it feeds them directly.
When storing royal jelly, the most crucial point is that the product can spoil, so producers must quickly transfer royal jelly to appropriate cold storage. Products like royal jelly, pollen, and propolis should be stored under the right conditions until consumed. Sometimes honey or beeswax may be added to the content to help preserve the royal jelly.
Frequently Asked Questions
How Much Royal Jelly Should Be Consumed Daily?
Although there are studies suggesting that 300-6,000 mg of royal jelly can be consumed daily, there is no specific dose amount determined for the consumption of royal jelly in our country. Therefore, those who want to consume royal jelly should pay attention to the daily usage amount on the products.