History of Honey The healing properties and value of honey were praised in song and story throughout the ancient world. In Greece, honey was the main ingredient in ambrosia, the food of the gods on Mt. Olympus. Democritus, known as the laughing philosopher, believed the very aroma of honey prolonged life; Hippocrates used honey daily and recommended it to his patients for wounds, ulcers, sores and numerous other ailments. In Egypt the symbol of the bee appears in tapestries, inscribed in tombs, pictured in heiroglyphs and carved on the Rosetta Stone. The Papyrus Ebers praise honey and pollen for its use in surgical dressings, on burns, for ulcers, and infections of the eye. In the Jewish Talmud, there are recommendations that honey be used to cure gout, heart trouble and to heal wounds. Bees are a remarkable and enduring species without whom life ,as we know it would not exist, for it is their appointed task to pollinate the majority of trees and plant life we see around us. Each hive contains a treasure trove of life-enhancing and healing products. Nearly every culture around the world knew of these natural resouces for health and healing and the modern world is just beginning to appreciate the miraculous honeybee and her works. Research has indicated that honey neutralizes acids in foods and in one's stomach as well. It is pre-digested by the bee, it requires no digestive changes before one's body can assimilate it: thus, it is the quickest source of energy for the growing child, athelete, or health conscious adult. Bacteria cannot live in honey, and this quality has led to its use as a dressing for wounds, ulcers, and even gangrenous tissue. Honey also draws moisture to itself naturally--thus it is the ingredient of many cosmetic preparations such as facial masks, cleansers, lotions, soaps and conditioners: an excellent moisturizing mask is made from beaten egg whites and honey, for example. Honey's unique water-drawing quality makes it a wonderful dressing for burns of all kinds. It is also a really soothing poultice, when mixed with wheat germ oil, for eczema, psoriasis, and other skin inflammations. And ,of course, for beestings and ant-stings, cool honey on a gauze bandage helps prevent itching and subsequent infections. Bee pollen is the male seed of the plant that must be joined to the female element so that reproduction can take place. The female workerbee mixes the pollen with nectar and saliva, then packs it away in special hollowed-out cavities on her rear legs, called pollen baskets. Pollen is a powerhouse of natural energy, exploding with vitamins, proteins, amino acids, antibiotics, enqymes, minerals and hormones. We find not only B-complex vitamins in large quantities, but also vitamins A, D, E, and C. Bee pollen is of varying color from light cream to deep golden brown; it is best when used fresh as a granular powder (but not freeze-dried), and can also be taken in tablet or capsule form. It can be taken with raw honey to alleviate symptoms of allergies and hay fever, provding it is taken for three months before the expected pollen season, and continued throughout. Royal bee jelly is a milky white substance secreted from the glands of female worker bees to feed the bee larvae and the Queen Bee. The Queen is the largest bee in the hive; fed exclusively on royal jelly, she produces up to 2,000 eggs per day and lives an average of 3 years, while the other bees die in 3-6 months. Royal jelly is white to pale yellow, has a slight cheesy smell, and a consistency like condensed milk; it tastes slightly sweet and mildly acid. Bee jelly contains all the essential amino acids, a rich complex of B vitamins, potassium, manganese, calcium and zinc, and a compound called 10-HDA which kills bacteria and microbes and reinforces the immune system.