I have gotten on the mailing list of an organization called NewsMax.   Most of the time, their emails get deleted as a block, because they have slightly more spam content than I appreaciate in something I have opted-in for.   However, the other day,  one of their emails caught my eye.  It had a title pretty much like the title of this post, which, of course, intersted me.

     Of course, part of the (realatively) short article was spam from a quack medical company that apparently exists mainly to sell consumers small chunks of information for lots of cash, but, a chunk of the article discussed how there seem to be some indications that propolis, when taken in regular doses, has some interesting and very positive effects on the body.   The article talks about a “magic bee” that this fellow discovered in Brazil, that produces “red propolis”.   This stuff  actually does inhibit the growth of cancers – I have seen listings that include breast and prostate cancers for example.  There is evidence that it also has good effects enhancing the immue system and  acting as an anti-viral, so, while I would not call it a “cure” I was surprised to find that the claims had that much truth in them.   The effects are not just limited to red propolis, though, as “regular” propolis also has a very complex chemistry including antioxidants, and some substances that I would have to take three or four shots at to pronounce correctly.    At first, when I saw the newsletter, and found the reviews of the source, indicating that it was kind of sketchy, I was going to dismiss the claims entirely.   However,  further searches turned up research done at some fairly reputable places (like the University of Chicago) that supported the claims.

     All this from a substance that Bees use to glue and seal their hives!   The great thing about this (since I really do like and respect bees), is that here is an unexpected benefit from them that has the potential for making a huge difference in the quality of life for those of us who have physical issues.    Its effects at “freezing” the growth of cancers could, in conjunction with more standard treatments,  allow a greater chance of the cancer cells being killed off.    Its anti-viral and immunity boosting properties could help those of us with, for example, Hep C, slow the damage to the liver, and push off the time that the erosion forces a transplant.   When one considers that, currently, a liver transplant runs around $500,000.00, the longer it can be pushed off the better.   In terms of the costs of cancer treatment, if the cancers are not growing and are weakened by the propolis, they are more likely to be killed completely off by a shorter series of the conventional treatments.

     I hope that the issues of colony collapse and such get figured out and eliminated before we lose this valuable resource.

     Pleasant dreams

     BeeManDave