Some Pollen With Your Red Wine?

These days, if you were to pull up a barstool at the Boar’s Nest in Dry Creek Valley (the local’s spot for a pint or four) and eavesdrop on the general conversation, at least some of it would probably sound like this:

Local Guy: “More rain a comin’, I hear.”
Other Local Guy: “Yup. Well, we need it.”

This would be likely be followed by silence and a lot of staring out the window into the cold wet grayness outside.

Yeah, we really DO need the rain to saturate the soil and fill the creeks, rivers and reservoirs. But you gotta admit, rain gets kinda depressing after awhile.

That’s why I felt almost giddy yesterday when the rain stopped for a few hours and the sun came out and I wandered out to the garden to find that the bees had responded instantly to the break in the weather. Hundreds of honey bees were pouring in and out of our 3 Estate hives, the ones going in loaded with colorful yellow and orange pollen collected from the first blooms of the year (mostly mustard).

That, of course, leads to the question of the day – what are those bees doing with all that pollen?

Pollen, a powdery dust-like substance, is the male germ cell produced by various flowering plants. Pollination occurs when pollen grains are transferred from the male to the female reproductive structures. This transfer can be mediated by the wind, in which case the plant is described as anemophilous (literally “wind-loving”). Anemophilous plants typically produce great quantities of very lightweight pollen grains. Entomophilous (literally “insect-loving”) plants produce pollen that is relatively heavy, sticky and protein-rich. This type of pollen is also called “bee pollen”.

Honey bees collect pollen from flowers and store it in specialized “pollen baskets” attached to their hind legs. The pollen is then formed into granules containing from one hundred thousand to five million pollen spores. These granules are the principal source of protein, fat, minerals, and vitamins essential for the growth and development of larvae. Adult bees will eat pollen but can subsist solely on honey, a pure carbohydrate diet. Each honey bee colony collects more than 60 pounds of pollen per year.

But, like honey, pollen is not just for bees…

Bee pollen is often referred to as nature’s most complete food, containing at least 18 amino acids, more than a dozen vitamins, 28 minerals, 11 enzymes or co-enzymes, 14 beneficial fatty acids and 11 carbohydrates. It is also low in calories. I guess it’s no wonder that human consumption of bee pollen is praised in the Bible, other religious books, and ancient Chinese and Egyptian texts.

The alleged health benefits of bee pollen is way too huge to detail in this post but includes the treatment of seasonal allergies, fatigue, constipation, prostate diseases, sore throats, acne, wounds, asthma, arthritis, eye problems, obesity and depression. And did I mention that pollen, like our Michel-Schlumberger cabernet, is also a powerful antioxidant? And check this out — The British Royal Society of Naturalists found that mice fed exclusively bee pollen had long and healthy lives through at least several generations!

So does this mean we should all run out and find some pollen to nibble on? Well, maybe. I reckon that even if pollen is not the miracle food many folks claim it to be then at least its consumption will directly encourage the preservation of the rapidly declining honey bees.

Pollen granules are available on-line and at most health food stores. Fortunately, you can also opt for simply taking a few spoonfuls of pollen-laden honey everyday. The trick is to make sure to get raw, unfiltered, local honey for the very best results.

Bee Healthy!

Tony

Tagged as: cabernet, Dry Creek Valley, honey bees, Michel Schlumberger, organic farming, pollen