Our product range

Our story begins with the fact that I had been keeping bees since I was eight years old (with gaps for national service and three years living abroad) and had applied traditional bee husbandry to the production of honey until I met Susan Fletcher, a nutritionist (later to become my wife).

She pointed out to me that I was ignoring the most important products of the bee hive which had significant medicinal properties. We then set about researching this field and with help of the International Bee Research Association studied hundreds of the scientific papers published.

We were amazed at the wealth of research which has been carried out and spent two years cataloguing and filing as many papers as we could get our hands on, some of which required translating which is an expensive and tedious process. At this stage much encouraged by the research we decided to make these products available to the general public.

In carrying this out we had one simple ideal in mind; not to make any exaggerated or misleading claims but to give as much relevant information as possible in order to allow people to make an informed choice.

Little did we realise just how difficult or even impossible this was to become due to the eec law which does not allow us to make any health claims whatsoever. Any claim made would indicate the scientific source, or, if it were anecdotal it would be thus identified.

The products of the bee hive are;

1. Honey.

Probably the best known. It is a bee product made from nectar (plant juice from flowers and other sources) dried and supplied with ferments by the bees with a water content of between 20 - 80%. The bees employ various methods to remove the excess water by evaporation.

The plant juices are thus thickened in a natural way to form honey and, in addition, are provided with fermenting agents by the bees. Average sugar content in honey are as follows:

Fructose or levulose 38.19%
Glucose or dextrose 31.28%
Cane sugar 1.31%
Malt sugar and other double sugars 7.31%
Multiple sugar (dextrine) 1.5%

It is no mere theory that bacteria cannot live in the presence of honey. This is primarily due to its high potassium content. The potassium withdraws from the bacteria the moisture which is essential to its existence.

Honey to improve bodily functions

Pregnancy
May help prevent vomiting and improve the appetite.

Infants and children
May help growth in premature babies and acts as a dietary aid. Fewer infections occur.

Wounds, oedema, bacteria
Honey has a healing influence on suppurating wounds. It may promote rapid epithetialization and absorption of oedema from around ulcer margins. It helps to inhibit the growth of bacteria responsible for bowel infections.

The liver
The liver works hard and determines all sorts of bodily functions. It is of the utmost importance that we assist this major organ so that it should suffer as few defects as possible, defects which will affect many other bodily functions. Honey is the only substance that enables us to go a long way to achieving this.

Heart
As regards disorders to cardiac functions, honey can prove useful in cases such as the following; Bad cardiac circulation accompanied or not by angina pectoris. For all types of high blood pressure.

2. Propolis

Bees make propolis by collecting a kind of balsam or nectar from buds and leaves of different types of trees and plants. They then mix this with pollen and different types of active enzymes. These enzymes are secreted from glands situated in the head and thorax of the insects. Bees add propolis to the wax combs, they cover the inside of the hive for protection and storage.

They also polish and line the next batch of cells which the queen is going to lay in so that the larvae are completely protected from the moment they hatch out. Propolis is selective in the way it attacks pathogenic bacteria as well as mycosis and virus infections. Because of this selectivity, good bacteria such as the flora which performs a vital function in our digestive systems are not affected.

Propolis has no known side effects (apart from some cases of allergy) and neither bacteria or viruses develop a resistance to it. One of the principal problems facing the medical profession is how to kill diseased cells without destroying healthy or normal cells.

Could CAPE (caffeic acid phenethyl ester), extracted from propolis be the answer?

Propolis may be effective against virus infections such as those of influenza and herpes but also, for example against the virus of tobacco mosaic disease.

Propolis may be effective in preventing and curing inflammation.

Propolis may stimulate the formation of cells and tissue. This is an important characteristic in promoting the quick healing of wounds and it may diminish the occurrence of scars. The possible anti rheumatic properties of propolis are particularly evident when it is used internally.

Propolis may stimulate the immune system and could strengthen resistance to infectious diseases in the body. Having established a case for propolis, how and when should it be used? Healthy people can take oral doses of propolis in order to increase their chances of resistance to infection and to boost their immune system.

Sick people can take propolis without any additional preparation, though it works wonderfully well in combination with other medicines or with plant extracts and essential oils. In almost all cases the effect of other medicines is enhanced when taken in combination with propolis.

Propolis itself is greatly enhanced when taken with Royal Jelly, Pollen and Honey (this combination is our product Apimist).

3. Therapeutic use.

I ) The cardiovascular system and blood circulation.May be improved.

II) Ear, nose, throat and bronchial tract. This is a preferred terrain for propolis and it proves effective in both acute and chronic cases.

III) Bronchial and pulmonary ailments in general. Propolis is particularly effective in this area

IV) The Digestive System. Aids the digestive system in general

V) Genital and Urinary Tract. May help with bladder and kidney infections, infections of the genitals, (particularly male prostate problems and female vaginal problems.).

VI) Dermatology (usually taken locally, sometimes supported by oral intake of tincture of propolis). Cuts and bruises, frostbite, chilblains; all slow healing wounds and awkward scarring.

Effective use of propolis in the conditions listed above is based mainly on practical experience. A great deal of research still needs to be done before full scientific proof is available. And yet, propolis has clearly demonstrated its merit since its use has led to some very satisfactory results, often more quickly and more effectively than conventional medicine.

Propolis often works where other remedies have failed. The medicine can be regarded as an agent in the healing process.

4. Pollen

First it is important to separate Bee Pollen (entomophilic Pollen) from its close cousin which is airborne pollen (aneomophilic), the latter being the pollen that causes hay fever and other related allergies. Bee pollen is now being recognised by scientists throughout the world as a substance that may promote energy, help build resistance to ailments and boost the body's natural healing powers by giving the immune system a shot in the arm.

Bee pollen is the ultra fine powder that makes up the male element of the flower. Bees gather it in tiny amounts and store it in the hive for food. Instinctively they seek out the most nutritious pollen leaving poor quality pollen alone. Pollen has the capacity to regulate the function of the intestine and to destroy harmful microbes. In clinical tests around the world Bee pollen has been established as a complete food. A complete food is defined as a food stuff that provides all the nutrients necessary for life and health.

Supervised tests on hundreds of mice have demonstrated that Pollen is a complete food and that several generations were born and lived without the least sign of distress whilst nourishing them exclusively on Pollen. Bee pollen contains all the essential components of life. The percentage of revivifying, rejuvenating elements in Bee pollen is remarkable for exceeding those present in brewers yeast and wheat germ.

Bee pollen corrects the failings due to deficient or imbalanced nutrition, common in the lifestyle in so many in our present day civilisation of consuming incomplete food, often with added chemical ingredients, which expose us to physiological problems as various as they are numerous.

As we know the human population on Earth is continuously increasing. Standard food production cannot keep up with the population explosion. Much of humanity is threatened by hunger. Added to inadequate general food production, there is the more pronounced insufficiency of foods rich in proteins. Large portions of the world are malnourished in this respect, in that their food does not contain sufficient protein.

There are numerous reports from medical experience that conclusively show the benefits of bee pollen exceed that of a simple food item. Bee Pollen contains all the essential amino acids we must eat every day including those the human body cannot manufacture itself.

When should Bee pollen be used?
There seems to be no end to its application.

• Pollen may stimulate the appetite

• Pollen is used for digestive disorders.

• Pollen may have a positive effect on the psyche and may improve fertility.

• Pollen can be used in nervous debility and may help withother complaints originating from the nerves.

• Pollen may improve the general health, reinforces the body and provides improved resistance to donors.

• Pollen may improve blood circulation and the thought processes.

• Pollen may strengthen the coronary arteries and might have a beneficial effect on cardiac muscle tissue.

• Pollen may stimulate growth and improve vision.

The development of resistant bacteria has been growing for some years. This problem partly caused by GPs prescribing antibiotics for viral infections (in some instances solely to please the patient) has now reached quite dangerous proportions.

Bacteria are single cell organisms which reproduce by splitting in two. Sometimes mistakes occur when their genetic material splits, which gives the new bacteria different characteristics. By chance, one of these altered bacteria will have characteristics that make it resistant to an antibiotic drug. So when all the other bacteria are killed by the drug these bacterium and its offspring will thrive.

Since a single bacterium can produce a billion offspring in a few hours, resistant bacteria can establish themselves very quickly. Fortunately with the antibiotic, anti viral products of the bee hive this cannot happen and is a major point in favour of further harnessing the actual healing elements contained in bee pollen and bee propolis.

5. Royal Jelly

We use a traditional method of gathering royal jelly from the hive. Tiny acorn shaped cells are sterilised and placed into the hive. A bee larva is placed in each of those cells, and nurse bees (recently hatched larvae), which produce royal jelly as a secretion of the gland on their thorax, instinctively fill these cells with royal jelly.

After three days the frames containing the queen cells are full of royal jelly and are removed from the hives. The bees are returned to the hive and the royal jelly removed by means of a pipette. A new larvae is placed into the cell and the whole process begins again.

This way, no harm is done to the bees who continue their life cycle as if nothing had happened. In addition, all of our bees are fed back their own honey to see them through the winter. Most bee keepers take all the honey and feed the bees a sugar/water solution to see them through the winter.

In our view, this contributes to the general ill health within an apiary and quite possibly explains widespread diseases such as varroa. So far (touch wood) we have not lost a single colony due to varroa. Royal jelly is the food secreted by the worker bees which is given to the growing queen larvae.

The same food is also given to the worker bee larvae for the first three days after they hatch. The queen larvae are fed the jelly throughout the entire period of their development until they pupate.

Royal jelly is not only a rich food for the larvae concerned, it also turns out to be a highly valuable substance when examined in the light of human physiological needs. We now know that royal jelly consists of roughly two-thirds water and the rest dry matter.

The following substances can be found in the percentages given (of the whole, including water) is, protein, 12.34 %; fats, 6.46%; sugars, 12.5%; Ash, 0.82%; unidentified substances, 2 .84%.

It contains many vitamins, types of hormone and other revivifying substances. The royal food has an extremely complex chemical structure which imparts to the queen larvae a completely different form. The queen even possesses unique organs and working mechanisms, quite remarkable when you consider that both queen and worker grow from an identical egg and the only difference between the two is the diet of royal jelly fed to the queen for all her life.

Over the three days during which they are given royal jelly, the worker larvae undergo a stormy growth process; they become 250 times heavier than the original egg. The queen, fed royal jelly throughout her formative period, is born five days earlier than the workers and is twice as heavy.

In addition she can live for as long as five years and in the most intensive breeding period can produce up to 2000 eggs daily, considerably more than her own weight. A worker bee lives barely six weeks in the summer, and winter bees do not survive longer than six months. The effect royal jelly has on the bees is nothing short of miraculous and it would seem clear that very extraordinary substances are responsible for this.

Royal jelly has long been credited with miraculous rejuvenating and regenerating properties. Legends tell of Oriental potentates who enjoyed renewed sexual power and lived remarkably long lives with a diet of royal jelly.

The basis for the long held belief that royal jelly possesses some mysterious miraculous element that extends the normal life span is based on the scientific fact of the queen bees existence But what about studies on the royal substance itself? There is continuing research on royal jelly world-wide that has resulted in hard evidence showing royal jelly really can make a substantial contribution to man.

For an overview on the oral ingestion of royal jelly, let's look at a paper entitled "Biology, Biochemistry, and the Therapeutic effects of Royal Jelly in Human Pathology." This 12 page paper, written by Dr A. Saenz and published by the Pasteur Institute of Paris in July 1984, will let you in on the part royal jelly can play in enhancing the quality of life as we get older.

You don't have to wade through 12 pages however, I have lifted out pertinent excerpts. The following is Dr. Saenz's encouraging opening statement, "Each day we add to the therapeutic arsenal of substances that can slow ageing and extend the length of the life cycle. In this regard, royal jelly continues to interest the scientist, the biologist, and the physician. Numerous analyses of royal jelly show that three percent of its constituents remain an undetermined faction.

The presence of these unidentifiable elements could explain the remarkable and mysterious properties of royal jelly." Here's yet another product of the beehive with a touch of the bees magic in it. I suppose some day science will figure out what these unidentifiable elements are and some researcher will try to manufacture them.

Until then, the only place to get these mystery nutrients is from the bees. Of all the vitamins and other nutrients in royal jelly, Dr Saenz singles out pantothenic acid for special mention. He calls it the longevity factor. Royal jelly contains an abundance of pantothenic acid. This B vitamin is not only necessary for the efficient processing of nutrients in the human body, it also helps arm the body against infection.

More importantly, studies with lab animals show a significant increase in the average life span of white mice when a sufficient amount of pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) is added to their food. Vitamin B5 is also a stress vitamin for nerves and sanity and may help insomnia. B5 is the one vitamin needed to treat post surgical trauma. Arteriosclerosis, which used to be called hardening of the arteries, is a condition long associated with the normal ageing process.

As we get older, our arteries can become inelastic and hard. Today, we know cholesterol is the culprit. The arteries become narrowed due to the build-up of cholesterol on blood vessel walls, interfering with the free flow of blood.

Are you monitoring your diet to keep your cholesterol levels down? Perhaps royal jelly can help. It just may be that we are close to discovering a factual basis for all those stories of rejuvenation and longevity.

Here's what the scientist say about gamma globulin. "Gamma globulin is of incalculable value to the living body. Gamma globulin is the most important component of the proteins that work internally in the fight against bacteria, viruses, and toxins"

Before the experiments were begun, the patients blood was analysed for gamma globulin levels. After the patients began receiving their daily doses of royal jelly they had their blood analysed anew on a regular basis to establish the effects of the substance.

According to the report on those effects, subsequent analysis revealed a marked revitalisation and visible increase in the activity of the protective mechanisms of the body.Any substance that has a measurable effect on the immune system is important. But that's not all that was discovered.

Do you know what Collagen is?
this fibrous protein component forms connective tissue including the fibres of the tendons, ligaments, cartilage, and bone. As we age, we slowly lose the ability to renew collagen. Although royal jelly itself doesn't contain collagen, it does contain the building blocks of collagen.

Royal jelly also contains a gelatinous amino acid which is a basic component of collagen. The deterioration of collagen is obvious in, and specific to, the ageing process. Once it was said human beings had the age of their arteries, but at the present time, one can say more precisely that human beings have the age of their collagen. The ageing organism should maintain and remake its collagen, an element of first importance for the body.

At the close of the experiments, the researchers were more than satisfied with the results they obtained. It's no wonder some of their enthusiasm comes through in their concluding statement: "Royal jelly also includes elements of particular importance for the treatment of ageing.

During the ageing process, the functions of the body diminish progressively. It is necessary to apply early treatment for slowing these decaying organic stages. We have to resort immediately to elements having a visible revitalising action. The most important of these is royal jelly, a substance that reduces the destructive effects of time.

At present, we can state that royal jelly makes a matchless contribution in this direction and is a first-rate therapeutic. It's gamma globulin and gelatinous collagen content are of high valueÓ. "The effects of the active substances and nutrients contained in royal jelly take place throughout the entire body," Dr Schmidt said. "This bitter tasting royal milk from the bees helps normalise and regulate all the functions of the human body.

From all the investigations and observations that have been made with royal jelly, it is apparent that this substance is a powerful agent composed of hormones, nutrients, enzymes, and biocatalysts. Royal jelly revives and stimulates the function of cells and the secretion of glands.

It also steps up the metabolism, and stimulates the circulatory system". Authoritative sources now believe it is the interplay of all the complex factors present in royal jelly that works to preserve life and strength in the organism, that delays the ageing process and helps the organism retain for as long as possible the physical freshness of the body, elasticity of the mind, and psychic buoyancy of youth.

As royal jelly contains aspartic acid and the mineral silica, both of which protect the nervous system, royal jelly could benefit those with MS.

A Unique Blend

Our Apimist honey is a unique blend of all four products of the bee hive which are known to have a range of health benefits. Royal jelly, pollen and propolis combined in a base of pure honey. Delicious in a smoothie or simply spread on toast or bread.

This gives you the best possible health food without the cost and inconvenience of having to take four separate products giving you the RDA of each .

Boost your dosage of your favourite ingredient
Apimist Plus allows you to have the benefits of a range of bee products, whilst concentrating your dosage on either royal jelly, pollen or propolis.

Apimist Plus range contains twice the RDA of your chosen product compared to regular Apimist. So much for the products of the bee hive. It was of primary importance to us that no harm should come to the bees as a result of our husbandry. Honey is, of course no problem and we have already described how we gather royal jelly.

Propolis is collected by placing a gauze mesh on top of the uppermost super (a box which holds the frames of honeycomb) which the bees immediately fill with propolis. On removal from the hive the propolis is made into a tincture. We avoid the use of alcohol and use instead an inert substance called mono propylene glycol (MPG). No other preservatives or additives are used.

Pollen is collected by means of a box being placed at the hive entrance which contains a mesh with perforations just large enough for the bees to crawl through. In so doing, they knock off one of their sacks of pollen which is then gathered on a daily basis. The boxes are moved from hive to hive so as not to interrupt the flow of pollen to the bees themselves.

It is after all, their main food. These four products are blended together to make Apimist. Each teaspoon contains the recommended daily allowance of pollen propolis and royal jelly. We make propolis cream and royal jelly cream using a vegan base cream which we buy from The Herbal Apothecary. Pollen is milled into a fine powder by a local stone miller and packed in 250 and 500gm packets. .