Royal jelly is a light yellow substance produced by bees and used as nourishment for the queen bee throughout its life and, only in the first three days of their birth, also for worker bees. Royal jelly, however, is not only food for bees, but it can become a valid ally for the health of human beings! In fact, royal jelly contains within itself a treasure trove of nutrients that give it antioxidant, antitumor, anti-aging, immunomodulating properties and are also useful in protecting the brain from cognitive decay. But let's find out more, based on the most recent scientific research.
Royal jelly, nutrients
Royal jelly is made up of 60% water, then contains about 10% of proteins, 10% of sugars and therefore energy and lipids. Not only that, this substance provides mineral salts, such as iron, calcium, potassium, zinc, magnesium and manganese, vitamins, such as vitamin A, group B, C and E, and finally polyphenols, which are antioxidants, such as luteolin, apigenin, naringenin, hesperidin and kaempferol (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020).
Royal jelly for liver and kidney health
Royal jelly is a complementary remedy for liver and kidney problems. In fact, in addition to supporting renal function, royal jelly is also shown to be hepatoprotective. An animal study found that one week of royal jelly improved liver damage induced by drugs such as paracetamol. The intake of royal jelly was then able to improve the condition of hepatic steatosis, or fatty liver, caused by a high-fat diet (Zhu et al, J Food Biochem, 2022).
Royal jelly and mouth health
Royal jelly exhibits powerful antimicrobial action against bacteria that can adhere to the gums and cause periodontal disease (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020).
Royal jelly and cellular degeneration
Royal jelly shows an antioxidant and anti-aging action, useful for counteracting cellular degeneration. In particular, royal jelly has been observed to help inhibit tumor proliferation in organs such as the liver and lungs (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020).
Royal jelly and brain
Royal jelly protects the brain, improves neuronal functioning thanks to the regeneration of cells in the hippocampus, which is the part of the brain that contributes to short and long-term memory, and protects brain tissue from oxidative stress (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020). Not only that, studies have observed that royal jelly is able to counteract neurodegenerations such as Alzheimer's, reducing the accumulation of beta amyloid proteins, one of the triggering causes of Alzheimer's disease, and apoptosis, namely cell death, of brain tissue (Kocot et al, Oxid Med Cell Longev, 2018).
Royal jelly and immune system
Royal jelly is able to regulate the immune response. This action is of considerable importance as it avoids that in the event of a bacterial, viral or fungal threat there is a too mild or, on the contrary, excessive response from our defenses. Not only that, royal jelly is also helpful in countering chronic inflammation, which in fact is a continuous state of alert of the immune system even in the absence of pathogens (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020).
Royal jelly, blood sugar, cholesterol and blood pressure
The intake of royal jelly is associated with a reduction in fasting blood sugar and glycated hemoglobin, which is a value that allows you to evaluate blood sugar not at the time of the test but in the previous period, thus providing an assessment of diabetes management over time. Not only that, royal jelly helps to reduce the values of total and LDL cholesterol, or bad cholesterol, and at the same time increase the good HDL cholesterol (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020 - Collazo et al, Nutrients, 2021). Finally, royal jelly intake has been shown to help reduce systolic and diastolic blood pressure values thanks to its vasorelaxant action (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020).
Royal jelly for women's health and fertility
The intake of royal jelly, 1000 mg per day, has made it possible to reduce premenstrual syndrome. Not only that, royal jelly protects and supports both male and female fertility (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020). Studies have also shown that royal jelly counteracts the loss of bone density in postmenopausal women (Hattori et al, Phys Act Nutr, 2021). In addition, the intake of royal jelly has been shown to reduce the lesions of endometriosis and the pain associated with this condition (Farahani et al, Physiol Rep, 2021).
Royal jelly and dry eye
Oral intake of royal jelly, 7000 mg per day for 8 weeks, has been shown to be beneficial even in dry eye syndrome, by improving tear production (Inoue et al, PLoS One, 2017).
Royal jelly, intake and warnings
Royal jelly can be purchased in pharmacies and specialized shops. Royal jelly is generally sold in jars, with a measuring spoon included in the package. Follow the directions on the package regarding the intake, which in any case is generally 1 teaspoon once a day, preferably in the morning on an empty stomach. Royal jelly can cause allergic reactions and asthma in predisposed people. Not only that, some effects such as gastrointestinal problems can be linked to its intake (Ahmad et al, Int J Mol Sci, 2020).
