Do bees have a health secret that will make you healthier and live longer? Promoters of bee pollen want us to believe there’s something magical about this substance. Thanks to good advertising, many people think it will enhance their athletic performance and make them more energetic. The truth is they are better off chasing bees than swallowing this junk!

Part of pollen's appeal is the air of mystery surround¬ing it. It is said to contain proteins, vitamins, sugar (the main ingredient), fat, carbohydrates, and enzymes. The amounts of these substances vary in different products, making it difficult to assess their real nutritional value.

To complete the charade, manufacturers of these questionable products often refer to "Russian studies" or "secret documents" to support their outlandish claims. But it's no secret among experts that pollen can’t cure hair loss, failing memory, alcoholism, eye problems or diabetes as its promoters say.

Some pollen pushers even go as far to suggest that pollen can make you live longer provided you take it everyday. Not a bad sales pitch. But for consumers, this is something short of suicide since some people may suffer from life-threatening allergic reactions from taking pollen, according to Dr. Jack Yetiv in Popular Nutrition Practices: Sense and Nonsense.

"Besides containing pollen from several types of flowers, the products are often contaminated with insects and their wastes and eggs," added Kurt Butler and Dr. Lynn Rayner of the University of Hawaii in The Best Medicine.

To help you separate fact from fiction, here are other claims made by pollen pushers followed by the facts:

CLAIM: It has been estimated that bee pollen contains over 5,000 enzymes and coenzymes - many times more than any other food. Only bee pollen contains all known enzymes
in perfect proportion and perfect balance.

FACT: While enzymes are needed for digesting food and synthesizing the tissues, they are found abundantly in the body. Hence, taking pollen is a waste of money.

"The body makes all the enzymes we need, even when the diet is as poor as it is in some developing countries, so taking extra is useless," said Arnold Bender in Health or Hoax?

Secondly, human enzymes are different from those extracted by chemical processes from animal and plant tissues as in the case of pollen. This means the body won’t be able to use bee pollen regardless of how much you swallow.

CLAIM: Pollen is the finest, most perfect food - a giant germ killer in which bacteria simply cannot exist.

FACT: This is not true since pollen can harbor lots of germs. Mark Bricklin, executive editor of Prevention magazine that promotes natural medicine, said that "there is no industry or government standard for the purity of pollen."

More pollen claims and facts in the second part of this series. To strengthen your body, take Immunitril – your first line of defense in maintaining a healthy immune system. For details, visit