If a bee falls in the forest and no one is around to see it, does it make a sound?

As I sat at a stop light this morning waiting to make a left-hand turn I see what I first think is a fallen leaf come flying toward the hood of my truck. I thought that was strange there were no trees nearby and it was not windy and then CLUNK! A tiny little bee hits my hood and walks around in a daze. Poor little thing looked like it half way knocked himself out at impact and he seemed discombobulated with the landing, not quite knowing where he was. I had a few moments before the light changed so I looked closer to see if maybe he had stung someone or something and possibly he was missing his stinger and was dying. We all know bees can only sting once, so it better be a doozy because they don't recover. But his stinger was still intact but he looked to me as if he were dying. By the time the light changed he hung on for dear life as the wind kicked up and I was accelerating. When I arrived to my destination I noticed he was still there and still wandering aimlessly on the hood and it got me thinking. Over the past few years when I randomly see a bee he's either dead or dying and it is concerning.

Bee's are amazing creatures. We need them for all kinds of processes. They first and foremost pollinate our plants. Without them there would be no blooming flowers and the beauty of Earth would become lackluster. In fact, they are so important that without bees we would not survive. They are the one's who pollinate the crops from which our food comes. Albert Einstein once postulated that if bees were to go extinct mankind would have only four years to live. Four years is that all? Now that's a scary thought. Unfortunately, we are seeing such an event of epic proportions happen right before our eyes. The honeybee has been dying at alarming rates where complete collapse of hives has been see for almost five years now. I hate to be an alarmist and I know how important it is to know when Lindsay Lohan's next court date is and who's going to win Dancing with the Stars but I think a more newsworthy story should be this...BEES ARE DYING AND WE DON'T KNOW WHY! But what could be the cause? Some say maybe pesticides, I mean when you spray crops to kill bugs then one could think maybe the bees would die too. It could be from new types of pesticides that attack the nervous system of target bugs but instead are harming the bees. Others point to possibly a virus or fungus that has been invading the hives, then others look to the genetic modification of our food supply. For sake of simplicity here, we take DNA from other plants or animals and inject it into a certain seed crop and a new hybrid plant is born. One where plants become more hardy and insect resistant internally so less pesticides are needed. On the surface this might seem like a great idea, more food with less chemical pesticides, only problem is the pesticide is often put directly into the fiber or DNA of the plant and if the pollen has genetically modified material on it and the bees cannot evolve fast enough to handle it, it could wreck havoc on the population. Developing Frankenfruit might be quite destructive to humans and the bees might be the canary in the coal mine telling us so. I shutter to think. The European Union has now banned the use of Genetically Modified (GMO) crops. Let's hope we're next, though something tells me we will not be that lucky.

Some have even gone so far as to think maybe Electromagnetic Fields from cell phone towers are causing problems with bees. The idea is that when they leave the hive to go in a five mile radius in search of plants to pollinate and gather nectar for the honey they might be getting mixed up on how to get home because of these frequencies thus dying outside of the hive and diminishing populations because of this. Probably the most confusing and disheartening problem with all of this is that scientists just don't know exactly what the cause is. Let's hope they don't find the cause when it is too late.

So if you think about the past couple of years have you seen many bees? As many as you saw as a child? Have you seen many dead bees in your garden or when you're walking about? I have noticed too many dead bees to count. I can recall for the past couple of summers sitting outside of my parents' house while the kids play, dead bees would be a common site. So sad. Now I didn't want this blog to be all about the sadness of losing the bees. Though I do want to make the very important point that something terrible is happening to our beloved bees, whether you are allergic to their sting or don't find the beauty of bees know that without them there will eventually be no you!

I think a good idea would be to let you know the goodness honey bees bring to us. They are an amazing little flying bug, one so important that aside from helping bring fruits and vegetables to your table, they create a perfect food for you to eat as well. Honey is highly nutrient dense. Honey has been used for a millennia as a healing food. It has astringic and antiseptic properties. Bet you didn't know honey could be used to clear up conjunctivitis (pink-eye)? Add a few drops to warm water and it can be used directly in the eye to help clear up the redness and infection. Honey is high in antioxidants and might be able help to reverse free-radical damage in the body. Honey can help aid in calcium absorption and may help prevent osteoporosis. Who knew all this could come from yummy delicious honey? There are many types of honey. Eucalyptus honey, sage honey, wildflower honey, red clover honey, orange blossom honey just to name a few. There are powerful medicinal varieties like Manuka honey which comes from New Zealand. Bees of the same hive will go to the same types of flowers to get the nectar. The melaleuca (or tea) tree is a special tree that is common in New Zealand. The bees in the region go to this tree and make a pungent honey that has amazingly powerful therapeutic properties and it is called Manuka honey. This type of honey is rated for it's strength. 15+ will give you some amazing antibacterial properties. I've seen varieties of up to 25+ strength and these can be quite powerful and extremely expensive. It has been shown in some recent clinical studies to actually be effective against the antibiotic resistant bacteria MRSA. It can be put on wounds to heal them and when taken internally can calm a sore throat and end heartburn and even slow the common cold and cough. Honey is not the only delicious wonder food given to us as a gift from the hive of bees. Royal jelly is another remarkable bee product that yields a wealth of goodness. Royal Jelly is a specialized honey that the bees make expressly for the queen bee, hence the name "royal." Unlike the amber clear color of honey, royal jelly is opaque and milky. Royal jelly is considered an adaptogen. This means that it helps the body adapt to environmental invaders and will help to balance the system when assaults occur. It has been shown that royal jelly can have anti-inflammatory effects on the body, may be helpful in lowering blood pressure and could possibly aid in glucose metabolism for people with type 2 diabetes or metabolic syndrome. Studies have also shown it to have a protective effect on the liver. All from the tiny bee, imagine that!

Bee pollen is a granular substance that the bees actually collect from the flowers they go out to pollinate each day. Allergy sufferers report great success using bee pollen to help rid themselves of allergy symptoms. The theory of pollen is this: If pollen in the air makes one sneeze and creates a histamine response of runny nose and sneezing to help rid the body of an environmental invader then regular intake of local bee pollen could make your body become used to the pollen in the air so when they are inhaled you can effectively avoid an allergy attack. Cool right? Something so simple can impact a problem that thousands perhaps millions of people suffer with daily

Then there is bee propolis. A thick blackish tar or resin like substance the bees create to protect the hive. It's a door mat, if you will. Bees line the opening of the hive with this resin and when the bees come in from their daily work out in the field they walk on it as they enter the hive and it kills any bacteria that they may have come into contact with outside in the world, thus keeping the hive pristine and perfect. The propolis will also afford such benefits to us. It is a thick wax-like substance with a very powerful odor and super strong flavor. One which is distinct and not super palatable. Be propolis however, has been show to have miraculous healing influence especially due to it's anti-microbial power. It is often used in throat sprays to help calm a sore throat. The resin is used in some chewing gums to protect the mouth from unwanted bacteria. Propolis has an ability to prevent bad bacteria while encouraging healthy bacteria to create a homeostatic environment in the body. In the rain forest of Brazil there are other types of propolis coming from the bees who forage the lush jungle. These are green and red propolis. Green propolis has been show to have anti-inflammatory properties and can perhaps be protective of our neurological system and immune modulating. It is very high in a substance called Artepillin C which has been shown, in some recent Japanese studies, to cause apoptosis of cancer cells and suppression of tumor growth. Red propolis has been shown to possibly help relieve menopausal symptoms and is starting to come out in certain health supplements for menopause and hormone health.

So here's the skinny: Bees are our friends. Bees are dying at alarming rates especially in the US and no one knows why. We need to get the word out. We need people to know that beehive products are so essential to our good health and how important the bees are to all of us. Now whether you like honey or are willing to try some of the beehive products like royal jelly or bee pollen or not, the most important idea we should take away from today's lesson is the notion that bees are an integral part of society and we should do whatever we can to make certain they stay so we can ensure that we stay!

*The above statements have not been evaluated by the FDA. The information in this blog is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.