Propolis — guardian of health
| Not only are bees proverbially hardworking, they also understand a whole lot about healthy nutrition - think of the high-quality bee pollen and royal jelly - and the modern pharmaceutical industry could learn a lot from their "universal remedy" propolis. We want to deal more closely with this versatile active ingredient, which has been attracting increasing interest for several years.
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Actually, propolis is nothing new, this active ingredient was already known in ancient times. However, like so many other valuable natural remedies, it almost fell into oblivion over the course of time. The name Propolis comes from the Greek and means in front of the "city". Symbolically, this meant the guards who should warn in good time if uninvited guests want to enter the "city". It is no longer known who coined this term, but he must have known a great deal about bee putty resin, propolis. In fact, the name illustrates very well one of the main effects of this substance: it prevents pathogens from entering the hive, which could potentially destroy the entire colony.
Bees collect propolis mainly from birch, beech, alder, poplar, horse chestnut, elm and coniferous trees. The resin content is 10-70%, the wax content is 15-40% and the oil content is 2-10%; Furthermore, 5-25% insoluble components are contained in propolis. Chemical investigations showed, among other things, that propolis contains amino acids (protein building blocks), vitamins, trace elements, enzymes, valuable fatty acids, dyes and substances with an antibiotic effect.
The bees mainly use the soft, yellow, fragrant resin to line their hive, to fill cracks, to narrow the entrance hole and to coat any foreign objects in the hive that they cannot get out with it, so that they no longer pose a (possible) risk of infection represent. The beekeeper obtains propolis by setting up a grid in the hive, which the bees cover with propolis as a foreign body.
In numerous studies, propolis proved to be a highly effective natural antibiotic with a broad spectrum of activity. Among other things, it fights numerous bacteria, fungi and even various viruses against which conventional medicine has not yet found any effective drugs. Above all, pus pathogens and fungi that cause skin and mucous membrane inflammation are favorably influenced by propolis. It has also been proven that bee putty resin can prevent colds and flu and even has a good effect on infections with herpes viruses, which have recently increased significantly, especially in the genital area, but also cause unpleasant blisters in the mouth and lip area and on the oral mucosa, as well as shingles.
Another important area of application are poorly healing burns, wounds, ulcers and skin inflammation, especially acne, which not only affects young people during puberty. In such cases, propolis often works surprisingly quickly, even if conventional medical therapy with antibiotics and cortisone does not help satisfactorily.
And even stubborn psoriasis responds well to propolis, provided you supplement it with a special diet.
In the meantime, good experience has also been gained with diseases in the ear, nose, ear and eye area. Bad breath, gingivitis and atrophy, toothache caused by caries (but only for immediate help before consulting the dentist), pharynx, tonsillitis and larynx inflammation are just as much a part of the areas of application as are inflammation and abscesses of the external auditory canal, conjunctivitis, eyelid inflammation and stye. To prevent tooth decay, there is now also a toothpaste with the addition of propolis.
This is by no means the end of the range of healing indications. The bee putty resin also helps with circulatory disorders of the skin and limbs (especially the legs), varicose veins, haemorrhoids, rheumatic muscle and joint pain, complaints of the spine and intervertebral discs, tendon sheath and bursitis and nerve pain, such as sciatica or shingles.
Finally, propolis can also be used alone or in addition to numerous internal diseases. The putty resin works particularly well in the intestine. Many infections and inflammations can be healed thanks to the antibiotic and anti-inflammatory effect without destroying the intestinal germs. But the "health monitors" have also proved their worth for follow-up treatment of the intestine after antibiotic and radiation therapy, in the case of constipation, diarrhea or frequent alternation of diarrhea and constipation. In addition, propolis can be used for diseases of other digestive organs, such as inflammation and ulcers of the stomach, inflammation of the liver, jaundice and other liver disorders.
Irritations and inflammations of the kidneys, urinary tract, urinary bladder and prostate gland are influenced just as favorably. According to experience dating back to ancient times, propolies is recommended for women for menstrual disorders, inflammation of the ovaries, fallopian tubes and vagina (bacterial or fungal) and against discharge.
In general, propolis has a strengthening and mildly stimulating effect on the entire organism, strengthens the elderly heart, prevents arteriosclerosis and premature aging, sometimes normalizes blood pressure, harmonizes the nervous system so that sleep disorders, nervousness, nervous exhaustion and chronic fatigue are eliminated and increases body defense
In principle, there is actually almost no disease in which propolis could not at least be used as a supplement. It is not uncommon for bee putty resin to bring about the breakthrough in a treatment that previously did not respond properly because it stimulates the important self-healing regulation. In general, propolis is well tolerated. Only about 1% of the patients treated with it develop an allergy, which is usually explained by the pollen content of the putty resin; in such cases, unfortunately, the treatment must be stopped immediately.
Propolis is available in various preparation forms for internal and external use.
(Appeared in "People's Health" - 4/84, Albert Aman-Verlag, Amorbach)
