We all know that bees are amazing. If you don’t know that I’m here to tell you, they are. They support the worlds food supply, isn’t that enough? But not only that, they produce some pretty awesome superfoods themselves. One of them is bee pollen.
What is bee pollen exactly?
Flowering plants produce pollen and some also produce nectar. When bees visit these flowers they collect pollen all over their bodies. By moving from plant to plant collecting and sharing pollen they fertilize the worlds food supply ensuring an abundance of crop yields.
But that is not the end of the story for the pollen. Bees actually live on pollen as their primary nutritional source of food. When a bee visits a flower, it gathers some pollen and then mixes it with some of the nectar in its honey sacks, which are located on its legs. When they mix the powder and nectar, they create larger particles of pollen that are easier to transport back to the hive.
But wait, there is more. The pollen continues to be modified even after the bee returns to the hive. They add enzymes to keep it from deteriorating and spoiling. The pollen will feed the hive and produce honey, which is also a more stable food.
Here is a video of the bees collecting pollen. It is important to note how hard these bees work. One teaspoon dose of pollen takes one bee working eight hours a day for one month to gather.
Why is it a superfood?
The nutritional profile of bee pollen is dependent on many different factors. The first factor is the types of plants that produce the pollen and the second factor is the particular season it is collected. But no matter where or when the bee pollen is created it is jam-packed full of nutrients that can benefit you and your dog’s health. The proof is in the pollen, bees themselves survive and nourish their young with the bee pollen they create.
In fact bee keepers have to be careful that they do not collect too much bee pollen from the hive so that the hive doesn’t die off. There have been attempts at creating a synthetic food replacement for bees that as failed. That is because scientists are still unsure of exactly how the bees are able to modify the pollen into the superfood that they create.
One laboratory analysis done by Springtime pet products resulted in almost 100 different nutritional elements including minerals, enzymes, coenzymes, proteins or amino acids, and vitamins.
With so much goodness contained in these little morsels it is understandable how they can be beneficial. Some of those benefits include:
- Improved endurance and vitality
- anti-aging
- shortened recovery from chronic illness
- building new blood
- anti-biotic type properties
How to include bee pollen in your dog’s diet?
With any additions of fresh food or
Starting out sprinkling a small amount in you or your dog’s food. Start with only 1 or 2 granules at each meal time. This is the testing phase to see if your dog could have any adverse allergic reactions to the bee pollen. After a week, add a few more granules, rinse and repeat on a weekly basis until or unless #1 either your dog has some type of reaction. Our goal is to avoid any type of reaction so even if you see an increase in itchiness then reduce the amount you are adding or stop altogether until the itchiness subsides. Or #2, you’ve reached a max dose of 1/8 of a teaspoon of granules.
Bee brave, try something new to supports your dog health.