Bee Pollen Nutrition - The Nutritional Content Of Bee Pollen And Comparisons With Other Foods
A number of claims are made about bee pollen and nutrition, in particular, that it's a super-food, and can offer real value to the human diet.
If
you are considering purchasing supplements as a means of adding it to
your diet, then this page will provide you with useful information about
bee pollen and nutrition.
However, if you wish to read about
some of the claims made in connection with disease, athletic
performance, and general health, please take a look at the page:
health benefits of bee pollen.
When looking at the nutritional value of bee pollen (sometimes
labelled a ‘super food'), one of the ways in which we can gain a
balanced perspective is by comparing it with every day foods found in
the diet. In this way we can also assess whether we need supplements:
- are they adding anything unusual to the diet, that might be difficult to obtain elsewhere at lower cost? - or are they, on balance, unecessary?
Of course, pollen is essential for bees – which is why bees collect it. An explanation of why bees collect and need pollen can be found at the bottom of the page.
Bee Pollen Nutrition: A Look At Calories, Fat & Carbohydrates
How many calories does Bee Pollen contain, and are those calories derived from carbohydrates or fats?
| Calories (Note: Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bee Pollen 100g | Raw Unpeeled Apple 100g | Boiled Kale 100g | |
| Calories | 314 | 52 | 28 |
| Cals from Fat | 44 | 1 | 3 |
| Carbohydrate % DV | 14% | 5% | 2% |
Incidentally, 100g Bee Pollen has more calories than 100g of a Mac Donald's Big Mac (Ref 1), which has 257 calories, in comparison with 314 calories from the same amount of Bee Pollen.
Bee Pollen Nutrition: Vitamins & Mineral Content
| Vitamins & Minerals (Note: Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet) | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Bee Pollen 100g | Raw Unpeeled Apple 100g | Boiled Kale 100g | |
| Vit A | 0% | 1% | 272% |
| Vit C | 83% DV | 8% DV | 68% DV |
| Calcium | 8% | 1% | 7% |
| Iron | 35% | 1% | 5% |
| Vit K | *** | 3% | 1021% (yes, really) |
***One source of information states that there is some vitamin K in fermented pollen inside hives (the bee bread), but not in the pollen that is collected at the hive entrance. The book goes on to state that our intestinal flora usually manufactures sufficient vitamin K to meet our requirements, but fresh pollen along with fruit and vegetables can assist maintaining and regenerating intestinal flora.
However, kale is high in vitamin K, (as are other vegetables and fruits, including brocolli, spinach, turnip, cucumber, onions, parsley, asparagus, carrots, blackberries, pears, and raspberries to name a few).
Kale is also high in vitamins A and C. Bee pollen is high in iron. Alternative foods rich in iron include meet and fish, cashew nuts, sesame seeds, wheatgerm, blackcurrants, liquorice and figs.
Anti-oxidants, Enzymes, Other Minerals In Bee Pollen
I
found an impressive list of a broad range of anti-oxidants, enzymes,
amino acids and other elements contained within bee pollen. But
equally, I found many of these, and others, listed in other foods, like
kale and apples, so that I simply didn't have time to list them all, and
by food item.
In the end, I really did not find a good reason to
justify any person buying bee pollen over and above what could be
provided in ordinary foods.
If you are eating a healthy balanced diet,
it seems like an unecessary expense.
If you read my
health benefits of bee pollen
page, you will have seen my point about age-related sight
deterioration. Spinach has been found to contain ingredients that are
protective for the health of the eye. Because of this, the claim had
been made that due to bee pollen also containing this protective
ingredient, this must mean that bee pollen is good for the eyes.
This
may be the case, but to me, no justification was really given for
spending money on a supplement when again, a good diet incorporating
vegetables like spinach, would equally do the trick. Take into account
that eating 100 grams of spinach would also give you more vitamin K, but
not as much fat and fewer calories than 100g of bee pollen. This may
be a consideration for you if you do not wish to put on weight.
Summary: Nutritional Benefits Of Bee Pollen - Are They Worth The Price?
|
If you are seeking some extra-ordinary nutritional advantage of taking bee pollen, to be honest I can't really find any. Even when organically sourced, I can't see the point. I think there are far less costly ways to add those minerals etc, to our diets. |
 
|
Why not leave the pollen to the bees?
Bee pollen nutritionally doesn't appear to provide anything unique or extraordinary - not that I have found at the time of writing this article, but if I find out any new information, I'll add it to this site, so please get in touch via my contact page.
If you'd like to find out more about bee pollen, check the links on this site, as there are further pages about the use of bee pollen for health, in weight loss, as well as an introductory page looking at the question what is bee pollen?
Why Do Bees Need Pollen? Why Do They Gather It?
Quite
simply, bees need pollen, as it is a crucial source of protein. It is
used for feeding larvae, including the rearing of queens. All types of
bees need pollen (queen bumblebees will seek to feast on good quality
pollen when they emerge from hibernation, as pollen helps their ovaries
to ripen). Only honey bee pollen is currently harvested by humans.
Ref 1: https://www.fatsecret.com/calories-nutrition/usda/big-mac-mcdonalds?portionid=62721&portionamount=100.000
The Honey And Apple Cider Vinegar Diet
Take a look at the science, and the recipe!
Worried about the taste?
Read further
Health Benefits Of Bee Pollen
Go from Bee Pollen Benefits to this page examining some of the
specific claims made about bee pollen in relation to health, from
effects on eye sight to athletic performance.
Bee Pollen & Weight Loss
This page examines whether bee pollen is an aid to losing weight.
What Is Bee Pollen?
Go from Bee Pollen Benefits to this introductory page about bee pollen and the different types of pollen.
How To Take Bee Pollen
Information about the formats available.
What Is Pollen
Another introductory page, this time about pollen generally, incuding such topics as how to remove pollen stains.
Pollen Count Today
Do you suffer from hayfever caused by pollen allergy? Go from Bee Pollen Benefits to this page of resources for getting today's pollen count.
Go from Bee Pollen Benefits to Home page
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