# Do you eat propolis?



## BernhardHeuvel

I eat raw propolis that I collect. I eat it almost every day. It helps with all sorts of things. Check out: http://apitherapy.blogspot.de/search?q=propolis

Usually it has to be dissolved in alcohol or so. But I simply put it into my cheek and let it dissolve throughout the day or night. It is said, that it is better to chew it with some peanut butter, so the oils dissolve the propolis a little. I keep it simple. You can mix it with some beeswax, too, when chewing.


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## Teal

That site has some incredible information. Thank you so much for sharing. I'm equally excited to gather propolis as I am to gather honey!


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## ruthiesbees

I've been taking propolis capsules for about 3 months now. I'm certain it's helping my immune system as well as my arthritis. Haven't had a cold all winter even when the kids have been down with it. Also recovering from hip surgery in record time. 

I break one capsule into a dribble of honey and stir it up. Then I add enough raw vinegar to make it liquid enough to drink. 2nd capsule is taken whole. I also take one capsule of royal jelly a day. Once my own pollen starts coming in, I plan to add that to my honey to let it break down for 14 days and then take a few tablespoons of that daily as well.


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## Teal

ruthiesbees said:


> I've been taking propolis capsules for about 3 months now. I'm certain it's helping my immune system as well as my arthritis. Haven't had a cold all winter even when the kids have been down with it. Also recovering from hip surgery in record time.
> 
> I break one capsule into a dribble of honey and stir it up. Then I add enough raw vinegar to make it liquid enough to drink. 2nd capsule is taken whole. I also take one capsule of royal jelly a day. Once my own pollen starts coming in, I plan to add that to my honey to let it break down for 14 days and then take a few tablespoons of that daily as well.


That is so cool that it has been helping you so much. Has the royal jelly and propolis you have been taking come from your own hives? Do you store it and put it in the capsules yourself?


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## Honey-4-All

I wish I could answer.

Been a few years since my last bite and my jaws are still glued together from the original "Polygrip" while my brain remains fried from all those aromatic phenols released with every bite I took. Eating propolis seem be akin to the gift that keeps on giving...even months thereafter. Some of that stuff can be very strong.........Pumps up your nostrils like a good bottle of horseradish but lasts a lot longer.... 

I personally think its what Sampson ate at the party before he did his last dastardly deed of "bringing down the house".


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## jmgi

I take my own propolis, but I certainly don't try to chew it or let it dissolve, it gets stuck to your teeth very easily and will take a half day for it to come off on its own. I will usually ball up a piece or two the size of a pea and swallow it with water, but I rarely think of doing it every day.


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## Teal

Honey-4-All said:


> I wish I could answer.
> 
> Been a few years since my last bite and my jaws are still glued together from the original "Polygrip" while my brain remains fried from all those aromatic phenols released with every bite I took. Eating propolis seem be akin to the gift that keeps on giving...even months thereafter. Some of that stuff can be very strong.........Pumps up your nostrils like a good bottle of horseradish but lasts a lot longer....
> 
> I personally think its what Sampson ate at the party before he did his last dastardly deed of "bringing down the house".


Hahaha, I will definitely keep that in mind the first time I try it! Although knowing myself...I will probably try to chew it just to see what happens


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## WPG

BernhardHeuvel said:


> Usually it has to be dissolved in alcohol.



That's what I do.

Roll it into a large pea size with some fresh cut burr comb, wash it down with a beer, let the alcohol dissolve it.

Helps the joints relax at end of some tough days.


Start the day with honey & apple cider vinegar disolved with some hot water, topped off with cranberry juice.

People say all this helps their allergies.

I don't know, never had any, except poison ivy.


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## Teal

WPG said:


> I don't know, never had any, except poison ivy.


Lucky you! Minus the poison ivy of course, ouch.


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## ruthiesbees

Teal said:


> That is so cool that it has been helping you so much. Has the royal jelly and propolis you have been taking come from your own hives? Do you store it and put it in the capsules yourself?


I only have one small hive, so no the propolis comes in capsule form from Puritan Pride vitamins. The royal jelly from a drug store.


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## laketrout

I always suspected my grandfather was using royal jelly from his own hives , as the man never took a pill his whole life and worked hard up to the age of 86 .That's when he decided the mailman needed stone in front of the mailbox so he rolled rocks out of the hedgerow and began breaking them down to a smaller size with a sledgehammer ! He drank raw milk made his own sausage and scrapple and made his pie crust with lard !He ran a truckpatch just full of vegetables including rhubarb , strawberry's and asparagus and kept 60 hives of his own hives and took care of other colonies for people on there property. I spent alot of time with him but at a very young age . 

How does one go about collecting royal jelly from a hive , seems like it would be a very tedious task .


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## Teal

laketrout said:


> I always suspected my grandfather was using royal jelly from his own hives , as the man never took a pill his whole life and worked hard up to the age of 86 .That's when he decided the mailman needed stone in front of the mailbox so he rolled rocks out of the hedgerow and began breaking them down to a smaller size with a sledgehammer ! He drank raw milk made his own sausage and scrapple and made his pie crust with lard !He ran a truckpatch just full of vegetables including rhubarb , strawberry's and asparagus and kept 60 hives of his own hives and took care of other colonies for people on there property. I spent alot of time with him but at a very young age .
> 
> How does one go about collecting royal jelly from a hive , seems like it would be a very tedious task .


I love hearing stories like this. Things were so much simpler then, and in my opinion, better. I want to know how to get royal jelly too, I wonder how it tastes? Apparently it's been really useful for people with fertility problems, and is very good for your skin. I wonder if you would just rub it on topically or what. 

In my reading I have found that that antibacterial properties of royal jelly are somewhat diminished when the body's internal systems regulate the pH of they royal jelly, so I might just go about using it topically.


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## BernhardHeuvel

The taste is very sour. I use to suck the jelly out of queen cells if the bees start swarm cells. I break the cells and eat the jelly. It is never better than fresh from the hive.


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## Teal

BernhardHeuvel said:


> The taste is very sour. I use to suck the jelly out of queen cells if the bees start swarm cells. I break the cells and eat the jelly. It is never better than fresh from the hive.


SO interesting!! That the honey is so sweet and the royal jelly sour. I can't wait to try some. I will get some from my cousins hives this summer if he will let me


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## laketrout

The amount you could get from queen cells sounds like such a small amount ,just curious how is it produced on a larger scale , but would like to know more about getting some to try from my own hives .


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## nhoyt

propolis is called russian penicillin.


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## thebalvenie

laketrout said:


> i always suspected my grandfather was using royal jelly from his own hives , as the man never took a pill his whole life and worked hard up to the age of 86 .that's when he decided the mailman needed stone in front of the mailbox so he rolled rocks out of the hedgerow and began breaking them down to a smaller size with a sledgehammer ! He drank raw milk made his own sausage and scrapple and made his pie crust with lard !he ran a truckpatch just full of vegetables including rhubarb , strawberry's and asparagus and kept 60 hives of his own hives and took care of other colonies for people on there property. I spent alot of time with him but at a very young age .
> 
> How does one go about collecting royal jelly from a hive , seems like it would be a very tedious task .


"like"


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## Santa Caras

Well...i knew about eating the beswax, pollen and royal jelly. Propolis though??? Gotta read up more on that fore I go trying to suk down some of that. Probably pull every filling out I have in my mouth if I tried chewing!


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## sqkcrk

laketrout said:


> The amount you could get from queen cells sounds like such a small amount ,just curious how is it produced on a larger scale , but would like to know more about getting some to try from my own hives .


By producing lots of queen cells. Once the cells are as full as they can be the larvae is removed and the royal jelly is sucked out and deposited in a container.

I bet someone could find a Youtube video of royal jelly production in China.

It doesn't take much to find out what it tastes like. One queen cell would be enough. Find a queen cell on a frame of brood, break it open and scoop out the jelly.


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