Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is the crown jewel among beehive products. It is secreted from the hypopharyngeal glands in the heads of young workers bees and used to feed all of the larvae. The fact is that all larvae in a colony are fed royal jelly, and adult bees do not consume it at all.

Royal jelly is produced by stimulating colonies with movable frame hives to produce queen bees. Royal jelly is collected from each individual queen cell when the larva is about four days old. It is collected from queen cells because these are the only cells in which large amounts are deposited; when royal jelly is fed to worker larvae. Only in queen cells is the harvest of royal jelly practical.

Royal jelly is one of the natural foods revered as a fountain of youth since the dawn of history. It contains 22 amino acids, the B vitamins and Vitamin C. It is high in nutritional value and popular as a skin rejuvenator. People collect and sell royal jelly as a dietary supplement, claiming various health benefits because of components like B-complex vitamins such as pantothenic acid (vitamin B5) and vitamin B6 (pyridoxine); it can also be found in various beauty products. The overall composition of royal jelly is 67% water, 12.5% crude protein (including small amounts of many different amino acids), and 11% simple sugars, also including a relatively high amount (5%) of fatty acids. It also contains many trace minerals, some enzymes, antibacterial and antibiotic components, and trace amounts of vitamin C.

People who intake Royal Jelly commonly express the opinion that it helps slow down the ageing process, improves a persons vitality and energy levels, improves the condition of the skin and improves the strength and condition of the hair and nails.