First we must understand some basic facts of the our little yellow and black friends. Honey bees, scientifically also known as Apis mellifera, which mean "honey-carrying bee", are environmentally friendly and are vital as pollinators. The honey bees have survived on Earth for a millennia. The bee is also the only insect that produces food that is consumed by humans.
Honey is the only food that includes all the substances necessary to sustain life, including enzymes, vitamins, minerals, and water; and it's the only food that contains "pinocembrin", an antioxidant associated with improved brain function.
So what is bee pollen and where does it comes from? Foraging honey bees collect pollen from plants and transport it to their beehive where it’s stored and used as food for the entire colony. Bee pollen is a mixture of flower pollen, nectar, enzymes, honey, wax and bee secretions. In addition, there are some other bee products such as honey, royal jelly, propolis or honeycomb.
So what are the benefits of Bee Pollen?
1) Bee pollens has been known to relieve stress. In Chinese medicine, bee pollen is one of the nutritive tonics that prolong life. With these tonic properties, provision of blood to your nervous system is improved and your mind becomes more alert.
2) Supercharge your energy! With its high content of vitamin B, honey is rich in rutin - an antioxidant that enhances the cardiovascular function. Boosting your energy up to 25%.
3) Helps with weight loss. Honey has the ability to stabilize chemical imbalances within your metabolism, thus keeping you away from abnormal weight gain. In addition to speeding up the burning of calories, honey can also curb your unhealthy cravings.
4) It is great for treating allergies. Bee pollen can boost your immune system and help in the treatment of allergies. A technique called desensitization administers allergens in the body to stimulate the immune system to produce antibodies that will eliminate the allergic reaction.
5) Strengthens the immune system. Bee pollens have antioxidants that protect the cells from damaged cells and free radicals. Aside from the fact that pollen is good for your intestinal flora, it also has antiviral properties, thus boosting your immune system.
6) Skin Nourishing. Loaded with vitamins, enzymes, and all other nutrients in bee pollen, it can dramatically delay your wrinkles and smoothen your skin to give you a glowing look.
With all of these great benefits of honey bees, it would be hard to imagine a life without them. However, the Honey Bee are under attack. The number one suspect in the decline of the Honey Bee are pesticides. As we’ve changed our way of raising food, unfortunately, some of our methods have harmed them. Some of the top chemicals that are killing off our little friends are Orthene, Sevin, Diazinon, and Round Up.
It has been estimated that without the Honey Bee, Humans would only last about 4 years. Since the 1980's, the Honey Bee population has been in decline. With a massive campaign to save the Honey Bee, they has started to make a come back. But lets be honest, there is still a long road ahead.
What can you do to help?
Well, that is simple. Here are a number of things we all can do.
Stop using pesticides! There are a number of other bee friendly options. Neem oil is a top choice. It has been hailed as the organic gardeners best friend. Other options include vinegar, castile soap, essential oils, and epsom salt.
Plant a garden for them. Honey Bee's love daisies, marigolds, snapdragons, zinnias, clover and wild flowers.
Get into beekeeping. There are many resources to help you get into beekeeping. Facebook groups, websites, local clubs, magazines, and local library's are a great place to start looking for information.
Here at Pure Bliss, we use bees wax and honey in many of our wonderful products. Deodorants, lip balms, body butters, candles and more. Bees wax is a vital ingredient in our superior products and we are committed to doing our part in saving and promoting the Honey Bee! 
For the spring and early summer, 2020, we are encouraging all to get out and plant some wild flowers for our little yellow and black friends. With every purchase, either from our website or at one of our markets, we will be giving you a special edition Wild Flower Burst seed packet filled with the wild flowers that Honey Bees love. All we ask is that you plant these and take a picture of you with the seed packet. Share your picture of you and the seeds on Facebook and Instagram and use #pureblisssoap, #savethebees, #wildflowers, #pure and tag Pure Bliss Artisan Soap. Let everyone know that we are here to do our part in saving the Honey Bee!
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