Speakers Available!

Let Us Tell You About Honey Bee Resources

As beekeepers and bee lovers, we love to share about the riches that come from bee hive resources.   As a business, BEEpothecary creates artisan batches of  health, skin and hair care products made with beehive resources – propolis, honey, pollen and beeswax. We have a particular passion for propolis and have pent several years pouring over scientific research on the use of propolis for health and illness. We have several presentations that we do for beekeeping conferences, honey festivals, individual beekeeper clubs and homesteading/natural living festivals.  We offer Power Point programs with demonstrations and sampling of various products and raw materials. We also buy raw propolis (and other hive resources) from other beekeepers by the pound and can provide instructions for how to clean it to prepare for sale.

Our presentations include:

• The health benefits of hive resources;
• How to collect clean and prepare hive products for use in value added products;
• Different forms of hive products that can be marketed;
• How to make many different products using bee resources;
• The categorizing, production and labeling laws that must be followed to market value added hive products other than honey;
• Honey Bees and Beekeeping, for non-beekeepers
• Combinations of two or more of these topics in one presentation.

Our speaking charge is $100 for a 45 – 90 min presentation,  plus travel costs.  (We are willing to negotiate, in some cases, for smaller groups with a limited budget.)  We love sharing about the amazing health benefits of hive resources with others! If your club, conference or event is in need of a speaker on any of these topics, please contact us at beepothecary@gmail.com  or call 1-614-450-2339.

HEALTH ~ POWERED BY BEES!

Customer Successes Using BEE Rescue

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

How can people not believe

That God did not create these little bees

Who create perfect hexagonal beeswax cells

And make treasures in the hive that can treat people’s ills?

 

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

We’ve been sharing some customer stories and pictures for several years at fairs and festivals, telling about their successes using propolis on wounds.  Though the pictures can be found on our Facebook page, it recently occurred to me that we have never shared them on this blog, where you can see the pictures AND read the story.  So, today, I am going to do this and here is a warning:

 IF YOU ARE SQUEAMISH ABOUT WOUND PICTURES, THEN SKIP THIS BLOG ENTRY. DO NOT SCROLL DOWN ANY FURTHER!

Now that you have been forewarned, if you want to see and hear about some amazing success stories about the Power of Propolis, keep reading.

Customer Story #1

Laurie heard on FaceBook about an old high school friend who had undergone elbow surgery and was having difficulty getting the little 2″ wound to heal.  It had been 2 months since the surgery, the doctors had tried all kinds of treatments, yet the wound was still gaping open and weeping.  This fellow, a law enforcement officer, was using up all his sick leave. Laurie sent him a tube of our BEE Rescue to try. He took pictures for us to document what happened.

2 month old elbow surgical wound

 

This is what his wound looked like after 2 months of treatment by his doctors, trying to get this to close up.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Wound had closed up after five days of using BEE Rescue Cream.

 

 

He got the BEE Rescue and started using it, applying three times a day. He was able to go back to work at this point.

 

 

 

 

 

Wound after one moth of treatment with BEE Rescue

 

 

He continued using the BEE Rescue Cream and took this picture after one month.  He said he continued to use the BEE Rescue Cream after this and said it  diminished the scar into a almost indiscernible line.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer Story #2

Larry, a 60 something diabetic was working on his running lawnmower one day a few summers ago, when he fell over it.  he gashed his calf open and had to be rushed to the ER.  He received 20+ stitches.  Three weeks later, he called and asked for BEE Rescue.  At this point, his wound was black, oozing infection and gangrenous. It was strongly recommended that he go to the hospital, but he refused.  He stated he was going to use the propolis cream.  He also volunteered to have his wife take a picture each week to document his progress.

Larry’s leg wound 3 weeks after falling over a running lawnmower

 

 

 

This is what his wound looked like before he started using BEE Rescue Cream.

 

 

Larry’s wound after one week of twice a day BEE Rescue Cream dressing.

 

 

 

Larry had his wife put BEE Rescue Cream on his wound twice a day an re-bandage it.  This is the result, after one week!  All the gangrenous tissue is gone.
The infection is gone and a soft scab is starting to form. AMAZING! And look at the skin around the wound.  It looks better, too.

 

 

Larry’s leg after 4 weeks with BEE Rescue put on 2 times a day.

 

 

They continued to put BEE Rescue Cream on the wound twice a day.

 

 

 

 

Pretty amazing transformation using BEE Rescue Cream for 10 weeks.

 

 

And here it is after 10 weeks, with twice a day Bee Rescue Cream treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Customer #3

A young couple bought BEE Rescue from us at a festival a few years ago.  They used it on their chickens, on pecking wounds.  Here are the before and after pictures, 5 days apart.

Chicken with pecking wound on head

 

Chicken head wound after 5 days of BEE Rescue Cream treatment.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

If you would like to read more about propolis for treating hard to heal wounds go to this research study: Propolis for Poor and Chronic Non-Healing Wounds.

Psalm 147

¹ Praise the Lord.How good it is to sing praises to our God, how pleasant and fitting to praise him!

² The Lord builds up Jerusalem; he gathers the exiles of Israel. 

³ He heals the brokenhearted and binds up their wounds. 

⁴ He determines the number of the stars and calls them each by name.

⁵ Great is our Lord and mighty in power; his understanding has no limit.

 

Summer of Swarms, Sales, Sweat, Snares, and Bee Wrangling

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Active heathy, hive box

Bees swarm

When we fail to brave the heat

To check on them

Chickens swoon to thieving raccoons

when doors don’t close in the dark

Cook and sell, travel and prosthelytize

Snare those bees, raccoons and possums

Wrangle some bees in the trees

All too soon, summer’s over.

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

BEEpothecary kept us so busy all spring and summer, that I haven’t written about our ventures and adventures in months.  It was a juggling act to keep up with the growing business and still take care of our bees and chickens!  With BEEpothecary, we did festivals and conferences in Delaware, Gahanna,  Oxford,  Lithopolis, and Findlay, Ohio, and East Lansing and Frankenmuth, Michigan.  We spent a whirlwind three days in the Bee Pavilion at the Ohio State Fair and participated in Gay Street’s Moonlight Market several times. We also added products to three new stores and have had a wonderful increase  in online sales.  It is exciting and gratifying when people write or come back to see us and say, “Your products do exactly what you said they would do!” More important to us than anything else is that people can benefit from the amazing things made by bees, and that these products might help someone when nothing else has worked.

 

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

 

Since we lost all our hives but one, between our two apiaries,  we needed to replace and rebuild this past spring.  Keeping the bees is integral to our business and mission.  We got 2 nucs in early spring for each family, that were bursting at the seams.  We had to take a last trip out to Kansas right at this time, for the final clean out of my mom’s home, so Laurie and Pete had to install our nucs into full-sized hives, as well as their own.  Everything went fine until the last hive install at our house.  This nuc was full to the brim and hot!  Laurie got chased down the driveway, ripping her hat, veil and clothes off!  She ended up with several stings!

~   ~   ~   ~   ~   

We also ordered two bee packages and Ohio queens for both families.  Pete and Laurie got some Russian bees to try another strain.  When we picked them up, we found that the Ohio queens had not been available.  Disappointing.

Pete and Laurie installed some of their bees in two top bar hives that took off well.  Pete had built them with viewing windows and it was neat to watch the bees  build and develop the hives.  But  in less than one  week after putting in our package bees, one of the Dotson’s hives just absconded!  They actually were outside and saw it happen.  Then didn’t swarm, they just flew into the air, swirled around for a bit and then took off into the beyond.  They were so disappointed.  It’s hard to see over $100 in bees fly off into Neverland!

~ ~   ~   ~   ~   ~   ~

The rest of our hives grew quickly, though, and we had a great spring and early summer.  And then the swarming started, en masse!  I think we had about 3 swarms a week for about 3 weeks in a row, between the Saums, Dotsons and our friends down the street.  Fortunately, the swarms landed nearby – mostly in our little trees out front, or in our son’s yard, next door to some beekeeping friends!

Steve and I were able to capture most of our swarms, since they landed in our little fruit trees.  Pete and Laurie had a few swarms, too, so we’d trade the swarms we caught and put them into hive boxes in the other apiary.  And for the swarms of our friends, that ended up in son, Nate’s, tall tree, so we had to call on him several times, to climb a ladder and capture a swarm!  Young adult sons are very handy.  We are so glad we let him live past 12 years old!!

Taking care of bees a hot sweaty job in the summer!  We aren’t brave enough to handle the bees without our gear on.  The extra layer – jacket, pants, helmet veil and gloves – makes quite a sweat box!  You can’t wipe your brow, your glasses slip down your nose, and you can’t take a drink of water without taking off your hat and veil!  We found we could only work on two or three hives at a time, and then take a break.  I don’t know how these beekeepers with 200+ hive, do it!

~   ~   ~   ~   ~

Steve and Nate were even called upon twice, to come “wrangle” some bees in cut down trees.  They brought home two big logs full of bees, by screwing boards over each end to cover up the holes, loading them into the truck with a farmer’s front loader, or by brute strength, and bringing them home.  The next step was to suck them out with a modified shop vac – a baffle to cut down on the suction so the bees didn’t end up – SPLAT! – on the inside of the shop vac.  But then an experienced beekeeper suggested just putting a hive box with a few honey frames in it on top of each log.  This would entice the bees and the queen to move up into the box and start laying there.  Much easier!  So that’s what we did.  We’re overwintering them this way!

Half way through the summer, one of the Dotson’s top bar colony’s just disappeared and shortly afterward, the other one was overcome by hive moths.  This was a disappointing loss to an interesting project.   It seems like we had swarms of swarms as the summer progressed!  When people asked us how many hives we had, we couldn’t remember, the number had changed so many times!  We got to  harvest honey mid summer and then again in early fall.  All in all, I think we ended up with over 400 pounds of honey!

And then there were the chicken adventures.  Laurie wanted more chickens and got pullets to raise in a box in the garage, 2 different times, two different ages. .  But once they got full-grown every time she tried to put the new ones in the coop with the old ones, all hell broke loose!  They pecked one poor little hen to death, and Laurie called the combining effort quits.  This meant, she had to make a second coop for the younger birds, quick, since they had outgrown the box in the garage!  She made a stationary one out of pallets, that was really quite nice, but lacked a door.  In order to get eggs, or add water, she had to climb in and out of it each day!  Eventually she decided to get rid of the older birds to a good home and put the younger ones in the movable coop!

We, on the other hand, had a different kind of problem – predators.  Since we had 25 birds, we really didn’t notice for a few weeks that our flock was shrinking.  We saw no evidence of critters at first.  But then, one day, we found a

They always expect a treat and love popcorn!

half-eaten chicken, in the coop, and realized that the automatic door was not closing at night and a critter was getting in.  By the time we realized this, we had lost 8 birds!  And of course this happened at a time we were scrambling to prepare product and running to shows. So I fixed the auto closer, while Steve got the live trap  ready!  It took only one night to snare a big, fat, well-fed raccoon!  We  read in the paper that week, that it was the season for all the young adult critters to leave their parents and head out on their own.  Evidently raccoons and possums were becoming a problem in town, too.  Interestingly, we read that it was against the law to relocate the critters!  Guess you are not allowed to pass your problem on to someone else!!  So, Steve dispatched that nasty, chicken-eating raccoon!

Since Pete and Laurie have a dog, they don’t have to worry much about critters getting to their chickens.  Rowdy usually takes care of wild critters who wander into his territory, and often brings his snared prize to the back door steps as a gift!  One day, he laid a big possum on the back steps and then lay inside  at the door, in the cool air conditioning “guarding: his catch outside!  And just before “Daddy” Pete came home, he moved his prize possum into Pete’s parking space in the driveway!  A proud hunter!  Thought sometimes, not too smart.  More than once, Rowdy unwisely tangled with a skunk and had to have many tomato juice and peroxide baths for his error! Never did see a prized skunk body on the back steps at the Dotsons’!

Somehow, we made it through the summer of swarms, sales, sweat, snares, and bee wrangling – with 12 hives (I think),  23 chickens, a growing business and a dear friendship still intact! Praise God for his blessings and strength!

2 Samuel 22

31“As for God, his way is perfect:  the e Lord’s word is flawless;  he shields all who take refuge in him.

³² For who is God besides the Lord?    And who is the Rock except our God?

³³ It is God who arms me with strength  and keeps my way secure.

³⁴ He makes my feet like the feet of a deer;  he causes me to stand on the heights.

³⁵ He trains my hands for battle;  my arms can bend a bow of bronze.

³⁶ You make your saving help my shield;  your help has made^[i] me great.

³⁷ You provide a broad path for my feet,  so that my ankles do not give way

 

 

Cleaning Propolis – an Update

Psalms from the Hive

raw propolis

by Jeannie Saum

Harvesting propolis from the hive – Like mining gold from ore.

Claiming what’s of value, According to the lore

Saving all the sticky goo, Picking out the chaff

What bees use to sterilize, We can use to heal a rash.

 

 Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

We have been taught a new way to clean propolis, from our beekeeper friend Dwight.  He has  hundreds of hives and supplies us with a lot of propolis!  So we are updating this post with the news information about how to clean propolis.  Messy, but much easier than hand picking out all the debris!

Two Ways to Collect Propolis

1. From spare hive bodies and frames (pulled off for winter) – Scrape propolis from hive bodies and frames using a hive tool.  Do it outside or in the garage.
   • It’s good to put down a drop cloth, because propolis tends to chip off and fly everywhere.  Using a hive cover turned upside down, to work over, catches most of it and drop cloth will catch the rest.
   • Don’t scrape all the propolis from hive bodies the bees are using!  They need it to keep the hive healthy.  As you inspect, only scrape away propolis that is in your way, or prevents you from getting frames back down in in the box!  S ave this propolis, too.
2. 

   scraping propolis from a propolis trap

   Propolis traps -Put trap on top box of frames and block up lid with stick or thumb tacks- You have to do this to let light in, so they will fill up holes to block light.  Otherwise it is just up against the cover and they won’t fill it.  No inner cover needed.

   • Once trap is full, pull off, put  trap in large trash bag, and put in freezer.
   • Once frozen, you can bend, twist and whack most of the propolis off the trap, inside the bag.  
   • You still may need to scrape or pick some out of the trap using a hive tool.

Storage

•  Keep any propolis you collect in a plastic bag or closed container in the freezer until you have finished collecting and are ready to clean it.  
• Try not to let it get too warm or it will glob together.  Much easier to clean when crumbly in little pieces.

To Clean Propolis

WORK OUTSIDE!  Remember, whatever you use to do this, (except the garden hose), you will never be able use for anything else.  It must be dedicated to cleaning propolis, because you will never get it completely clean! You will need:

• hammer
• strong plastic bags or several grocery store bags
• tarp,
• 5 gallon bucket
• garden hose
• strainer or a piece of window screen for straining
• rubber gloves if you don’t want propolis strains on your hands or under your nails
• second  piece of window screen for drying out the propolis on.

Steps to Cleaning

breaking up frozen propolis

1. Work outside!  Lay out place outside with tarp if needed – don’t want propolis all over your walk or concrete driveway!
2. Take propolis baggies out of freezer.Put baggie in stronger bags (feed bags work well) or layers of bags.  
3. On a hard surface, smash the frozen propolis into the smallest pieces you can.
4. Put an inch of water in the 5 gal. bucket so propolis won’t stick to bottom and put smashed propolis in the bucket. 
5. Use the garden hose to fill the pot with cold water. Swish the propolis around with your hands several
   times.  This frees up the debris – like bee parts, beeswax, wood shavings, paint, etc.  Most of this will float.
   

   straining out debris

6. Let the propolis settle to the bottom. Add water slowly to the top of the bucket. Then skim the debris off the top with a wire strainer or screen.
7. Repeat steps 2 and 3 until no more debris floats to the top. ( You will never get ALL the debris out.  There may still be tiny pieces of paint or whatever.  This will be strained out in the infusing process)
8. 

   pouring propolis onto screen to dry

   Pour off most of the water, leaving the propolis in the bucket.

   

   stirring propolis as it dries

9. Place a piece of screen on a board, cookie sheet, or patio table and pour the propolis onto the screen, allowing the water to drain off and the propolis the dry. Every so often mix the propolis on the screen to help speed up dry process.
10. Once completely dried, then put propolis in quart to gallon size freezer bag and freeze until ready to mail!

 

Selling Propolis

Call us to let us know you are ready to send propolis.  We pay $30 a pound for clean propolis.  Less if we have to clean it. 614-450-2339

Mail to:  BEEpothecary, 3320 Toy Road, Groveport, OH 43125

Please add a card or note with your name, phone number, address, and the weight of propolis you are sending.  We will inspect it, weigh it and then send you a check. If we have any question we will call you right away.

Making Your Own  Propolis Infusions

 

There are instructions on other posts on this blog site, that tell you how to make prop

infusing propolis at home

olis oil or tincture.  Just search those topics to find our how-to.  Be forewarned from our own experience – making propolis at home for your own use is perfectly legal.  But in order to sell it, one must make it in an FDA/ODA ( or your state) certified production space, follow labeling laws for dietary

 

supplements, and let your state’s Dept. of AG. know what you intend to do.  Lots of hoops to jump through.

Be sure that whatever you use to make your own tincture or infused oil in, it needs to be a container you don’t care about and with utensils you don’t need to reclaim!  You won’t be able to ever get them clean again! Just plan on dedicating them to the making of propolis products.

And, you can reuse the propolis several times.  Just add a little more to replace the weight of what was infused in the first batch.  You can test the viability of propolis by putting a tsp. of the used propolis you’ve filtered out, into a cup of milk and let it sit out for 3-4 days.  If the milk doesn’t spoil, the propolis is still good.

Propolis Infusions

If you don’t want to make your own, you can get the amazing benefits of propolis by purchasing any of our products.  Go to our online market using the link/tab at the top of the page.

Powered by BEES!

Deuteronomy 28 

1 “Now if you faithfully obey the Lord your God and are careful to follow all His commands I am giving you today, the Lord your God will put you far above all the nations of the earth.

² All these blessings will come and overtake you, because you obey the Lord your God:

³ You will be blessed in the city and blessed in the country.
⁴ Your descendants will be blessed, and your land’s produce, and the offspring of your livestock, including the young of your herds and the newborn of your flocks.
⁵ Your basket and kneading bowl will be blessed. ⁶ You will be blessed when you come in and blessed when you go out.

⁷ “The Lord will cause the enemies who rise up against you to be defeated before you. They will march out against you from one direction but flee from you in seven directions.

⁸ The Lord will grant you a blessing on your storehouses and on everything you do. He will bless you in the land the Lord your God is giving you.

⁹ The Lord will establish you as His holy people, as He swore to you, if you obey the commands of the Lord your God and walk in His ways.

¹⁰ Then all the peoples of the earth will see that you are called by Yahweh’s name, and they will stand in awe of you.

¹¹ The Lord will make you prosper abundantly with children, the offspring of your livestock, and your land’s produce in the land the Lord swore to your fathers to give you.

¹² The Lord will open for you His abundant storehouse, the sky, to give your land rain in its season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations, but you will not borrow.

¹³ The Lord will make you the head and not the tail; you will only move upward and never downward if you listen to the Lord your God’s commands I am giving you today and are careful to follow them.

¹⁴ Do not turn aside to the right or the left from all the things I am commanding you today, and do not go after other gods to worship them.

Honey and Propolis on bee stings

The Land of Milk and Honey

Cooking with Honey

by Laurie Dotson

What a weekend! Pete and I picked up four Honeybee Nucs, from our friends John George and Terry Eddy, in Plain City, OH. You ask, what are Nucs? I’ll tell you what they are. Nucs are small honey bee colonies created from larger colonies. The term refers both to the smaller size box and the colony of honeybees within it. The name is derived from the fact that a nuc hive is centered around a queen – the nucleus of the honey bee colony. Pete installed our two in our bee yard, while I assisted. It went great so, we decide this is the way to go instead of buying 3 lbs packages of bees. Before we finished in the Bee yard, we feed the new family members sugar and water. Now we let them do what they do best. BEE stuff!

Nucs with five frames full of bees and a queen

Then we took the other two Nucs to Steve and Jeannie Saum’s bee yard, to install them into empty hives. Pete gets started on the first hive and I start on the second one. Pete’s hive was calm, gentle and easy to install. I opened my box of bees. You would have thought a volcano erupted, with an over flowing of bee lava. All of a sudden, I have bee stinging me through my gloves and clothes. The worst thing that can happen, happens.

My worst nightmares come to life. Two or three bees find their way up into my veil. I can feel one crawling on my neck and   then   comes the  “bleeping” sting.  Holy, moly! it hurts and the burning begins. It’s at that point, I need to get my veil off, while remaining calm. I had no idea how many bees were on me.  I’m telling you it felt thousands of buzzing, angry honeybees ramming into me, diving at me and into my hair, swarming around my head and body!  I started to leave the bee yard to free myself of my veil…I try to  stay calm …walking …STAYING calm… walking faster…then I panic and break into a “run for my life” kind of a run.  I’m running down the Saum’s neighbor’s driveway, heading towards their house.  I’m screaming and whacking at every buzzing noise I hear. Whacks to my face, head, body, arms and legs. That’s when I start ripping my clothes off to rid myself of the bees clinging to my jacket and clothes. I had bees stuck in my hair, crawling up my shirt, and down my under clothes. I ran for the carport to redress and to figure out what the heck,  just happened.  I still had a ton of bee following me.  uugh!

Pete is still watching me and looking at the eruption that just happened. Those bees wouldn’t even let Him install them.  So we left those HOT honeybees for the night and decided to come back the next morning.

ALL in all, I was only stung five times.  One on my neck, two on my wrist, one on my armpit and one on top of my head.   At home, I get out the BEEpothecary Propolis Oil to help with pain and inflammation.  I felt so much better, but few hours later my wrist was swollen, very hot and in painful. At this point, I put on the BEEpothecary Wound Salve, because I know it has soothing and healing herbal oil, in addition to,  propolis. Within a few minutes I feel better and now I can sleep.

The next day, we returned to the angry bees and opened up the box. First thing, Peter gets stung.  We decide to leave them again, only this time with the lid off the box, to let them cool down… A few hours later, with a smoker that was heavily smoking. We were able to install the bees, feed them sugar and leave without a bite.

Whew!  That is done!  I would do it again, because our bees are vanishing and without bees we won’t have food!

We Thank God for the honeybees and all the opportunities we have been given because of them.

Thank you, to each of person who have bought our products, listened to us talk about Bees and BEEpothecary!  We appreciate you and your feed back!  We have been given this moment, to help and promote health through the honeybees.

Your Health…Powered by BEES!

Blessings from Laurie and Pete –

Check out out Marketplace:  mkt.com/hive-and-honey-beepothecary

Psalms 40: 4-5

Blessed is the one who trusts in the Lord, who does not look to the proud, to those who turn aside to false gods.  Many, Lord my God, are the wonders you have done, the things you planned for us. None can compare with you; were I to speak and tell of your deeds, they would be too many to declare.

Bee Powered Beautiful Skin

Psalms from the Hive, by Jeannie Saum

Propolis to help our skin! Another great use, we find.

From eczema and psoriasis, Herpes 1 and 2,

To wounds and burns, Even wrinkles, too.

Pass this on, If you’d be so kind!

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

Whether your skin is unblemished and beautiful and you just want to keep it that way – or you have a bothersome skin condition, PROPOLIS could be the answer for you!  We’ve studied the research, tried it ourselves and want others to reap the benefits from this amazing substance made by the honeybees!

In  our first years as beekeepers, we found that honey was becoming more widely known for its antimicrobial properties and its benefit for a healing dressing on wounds and burns.  It was also being used more readily in treatment of skin conditions like pityriasis, tinea, seborrhea, dandruff, diaper dermatitis, psoriasis, and  hemorrhoids.  In cosmetics  it was known for moisturizing, softening, soothing, and hair conditioning effects,  helping keep the skin young-looking and slowing wrinkle formation, regulating pH and preventing infections.  All this had been known for decades, but honey had not been used widely in the US until recently.

We were excited to learn about these benefits of the honey our bees make.   But, we have found that honey is hard to keep in-solution in all natural cosmetic products without adding a chemical emulsifier to keep it mixed with the oils (honey is water based).  It tends to separate out of balms and ointments, and we just didn’t want to add artificial chemicals to our products.

Fortunately, we quickly found a solution!  We discovered something just as effective, or maybe even better that the bee’s honey – PROPOLIS, the sticky tree resin-based goo the bees make to seal and sterilize their hive.  It can be used to help with many conditions and health ailments, both inside and out, in ourselves and our animals.  And we find it  easier to keep it mixed in our skin care products.  We’ve used it ourselves for three years, and are truly amazed at what it can do!

As we have noted many times in our blog, over 50 years of research has proven that propolis contains flavonoids and plant esters that have  antibacterial, antifungal, antiviral, anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties. (see previous blogs about propolis for additional research we have reported on.)   One study from 2011  found that poplar bud extract significantly regulated genes involved in antioxidant defenses, inflammatory response and cell renewal, processes involved in skin aging. Poplar bud resin is the main component of bee propolis. The  antioxidant properties  suggest potential anti-aging properties in propolis which could be utilized in cosmetic and nutraceutical formulations. (Stéphanie Dudonné, Pascal Poupard, Philippe Coutière, Marion Woillez, Tristan Richard, Jean-Michel Mérillon, Xavier Vitrac)

Beyond just the daily use of propolis in normal skin care routine, research has shown that propolis can be effective in treating many bothersome skin conditions.  In a 2013 study, propolis was used as a topical treatment for psoriasis.  While testing was done on mice, the conclusion was that propolis extract could possibly  treat psoriatic lesions by reducing the inflammatory cells without any

toxic effect.  (Fitoterapia)

From livestrong.com, in a 2013 article by Carol Sarao,  it was reported that propolis is being used by naturopathic healers and herbalists to treat eczema.  Eczema, or atopic dermatitis, is a chronic skin condition which causes inflammation and itching. Symptoms include red or grayish patches, thickened, scaly skin and small raised bumps which may ooze and then crust over.   Eczema is usually treated with steroids, antihistamines and antibiotics, which often have undesirable side effects.  Propolis treats the infection and inflammation without these bothersome side effects. Our daughter, Sarah, who has had eczema all her life, has found skin balm, with propolis, helps her eczema outbreaks.

A clinical study published in 1993, in an issue of the journal “Drugs Under Experimental and Clinical Research,”  propolis was reported to be a potent anti-inflammatory agent.  It suppressed production of histamines and prostaglandins in animal tissue. Drugs.com states that both oral and topical applications of propolis can improve wound healing.   The University of Maryland Medical Center says that propolis is rich in antioxidant flavonoids, which help enhance the immune system, and notes that it may heal lesions from the HSV-1 virus more effectively than Zovirax, an antiviral ointment.

Propolis has shown to be an effective antimicrobial agent against many microorganisms including Staphylococcus aureus strains and Candida tropicalis, even those resistant to antibiotics!  (A Ugur, M Barlas, N Ceyhan, V Turkmen, 2000) This study can be found at greenmedinfo.com (see Blog Roll for link)  In a study on humans, propolis was found to be an effective treatment for cutaneous warts. In patients with plane and common warts treated

with Propolis, cure was achieved in 75% and 73% of patients, respectively.  (Hatem Zedan, Eman R M Hofny, Sahar A Ismail, 2009, Department of Dermatology, Venereology and Andrology, Faculty of Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt.) Found at greenmedinfo.com

A study reported in 2009 showed that Propolis extracts might be suitable for topical application against herpes infection.  (Paul Schnitzler, Annett Neuner, Silke Nolkemper, Christine Zundel, Hans Nowack, Karl Heinz Sensch, Jürgen Reichling) greenmedinfo.com  Another study reported in 2009 showed its effectiveness against HSV-2, the genital herpes virus that causes recurring outbreaks. It stated that propolis extracts might be suitable for topical therapy in recurrent herpetic infection.  (Silke Nolkemper, Jürgen Reichling, Karl Heinz Sensch, Paul Schnitzler)

A study reported in 1988 reported that propolis was an effective treatment for Herpes Zoster, the virus that causes Shingles.  (Silke Nolkemper, Jürgen Reichling, Karl Heinz Sench, Paul Schnitzler)  In a more recent study, Propolis  Ointment was applied topically to the Shingles blisters  of study patients, 4 times a day.  Those in the propolis test group showed faster healing than the other medication tested, and the placebo group. (Vynograd et al., 2000).

Propolis continues to amaze us, as a nature-made, God-Inspired substance that borders on the miraculous.  Nowhere have we ever seen one substance that can do so many things.  For healthy skin and bothersome skin conditions, it can have positive and safe results!  We encourage you to see for yourself.

We include  propolis for these possible benefits, in all our skin care products.  We use skin benefitting oils and butters that soften and moisturize and infuse them with herbs known for beneficial skin effects.

For Propolis Products go to :     mkt.com/beepothecary

PROPOLIS FOR HEALTHY SKIN – POWERED BY BEES

Song of Songs 4

9 You have stolen my heart, my sister, my bride; you have stolen my heart with one glance of your eyes,   with one jewel of your necklace.
¹⁰ How delightful is your love, my sister, my bride!  How much more pleasing is your love than wine, and the fragrance of your perfume     more than any spice!
¹¹ Your lips drop sweetness as the honeycomb, my bride;  milk and honey are under your tongue. The fragrance of your garments  is like the fragrance of Lebanon.
¹² You are a garden locked up, my sister, my bride; you are a spring enclosed, a sealed fountain.
¹³ Your plants are an orchard of pomegranates  with choice fruits, with henna and nard,
¹⁴ nard and saffron,  calamus and cinnamon,   with every kind of incense tree,  with myrrh and aloes  and all the finest spices.
¹⁵ You are^[b] a garden fountain,   a well of flowing water     streaming down from Lebanon.

BEE-Power – Propolis for Our Pets and Livestock

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Our four legged pets and livestock, too

Can benefit from the sticky goo

That honeybees make inside their hive.

Propolis can heal them many ways

Inside and out.

Healthy pets, happy days.

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

PROPOLIS has been used for thousands of years to fight infection and improve health and is still used all over the world as a natural antibiotic.  Yet it remains unknown to most Americans.  Made from tree resin by honeybees,  it is used to sterilize and seal up the hive.  This propolis coating inside the hive makes it one of the most antiseptic and sanitary environments found.  Propolis kills harmful bacteria, fungi, yeasts, and  viruses  without harming beneficial bacteria.  It is also anti-inflammatory and antioxidant, helps prevent allergies, and speeds healing.  Amazing isn’t it?  God has created this little creature to make this amazing substance that can do so much for us.  AND TO MAKE IT EVEN BETTER, IT CAN BE USED TO TREAT AND HELP OUR ANIMALS, TOO!

Propolis can be given orally, in tincture or infused oil form, to our four-legged pets and livestock  for ailments like  canine flu, kennel cough, and other infectious illnesses. It can be applied to cuts, wounds, burns, bites, stings, hot spots, and lick granulomas (its bitter taste helps deter licking).   Propolis oil or ointment is best for this.  A propolis ointment or cream  can also be used to moisturize dry skin, heal sores or sooth cracked paw pads.   It can be mixed with honey to help heal gum disorders.  In veterinary medicine, propolis has been used to treat wounds and in the treatment of many conditions, such as diarrheas, abscesses, burns, dermatosis, mastitis, coccidiosis and eimeria in rabbits.  These uses are all supported by research, which can be found on the National Institutes of Health’s website, nih.gov.

Got rid of Roxie’s ear mites with propolis oil!

As always, we are dedicated to backing up information with verifiable studies that have been carried out.  Research can be found as far back as the 1970’s on the documented success of propolis for animal treatment!    A report of research by Tzakoff,  in 1978,  noted the use of propolis against foot-and-mouth disease,  for pigs against enzootic pneumonia,   and as a health supplement for the growth of underdeveloped lambs, pigs and calves.   Propolis used for the health of the respiratory and immune systems, and specific ailments where  antibacterial properties are needed were  reported in a study by Glinnik and Gapanovich in 1981 .

Application of propolis liniment  to treat mastitis in animals was reported by several researchers starting in the 1980’s. ( Mirolyubov and Barskov 1980; Meresta et al, 1989; Kegl et al ,1995; Dudko & Kurpisz , 1996 and Teterev ,1998.)  In 1998, Teterev reported  several veterinarian uses for propolis at .5% – 2% solution including  internal use against gastroenterology diseases, and as a preventative treatment.  It was shown to improve weight gain and reduce diarrhea in milk-fed calves with 20% propolis extract(Gubicza and Molnar 1987).  More recently, propolis had gained popularity  in veterinary applications such as treatment of young cattle for  dermatophytosis

Nate treats Bella’s hot spots with propolis oil or salve.

(Cametal, 2009).

Propolis has been studied as supportive treatment for mammals, poultry and fish. When paired with vaccines or other treatments, propolis seems to increase the treatment success and survival rate.  Propolis has high stability, slowly release in the body and long storage stage ( Chu, 2006) and (Shen et al,2002).

Propolis  has been shown to stimulate an increased immune response  and increased protection against the herpes virus , SuHV-1, which causes an infectious disease in swine.   Many studies showed that propolis and/or one of its active components reduced blood sugar level in experimental diabetic animals.

So, to summarize, propolis can be used to treat and heal your animals for many conditions, inside and out.   It has been shown to be effective for many of the same kinds of conditions it helps in us humans!

Just one thing to keep in mind – the size of the animal you are treating.  I have noticed that the propolis tincture percentages used in these studies  have been less than the 10% solution we use.  In the reading I have done, the percentages have been in the 1%-4% range, and even smaller with birds. (see my Propolis for Pet Birds and Poultry blog)  This makes sense, since  most pets, small animals and birds weigh  quite a bit less than an adult human.  While I have read it is almost impossible to overdose on propolis, since it is mostly nutrients and it does not seem to have harmful effects on “good” tissue or organisms, it still makes sense to me to give animals a dose proportionate to their weight.

For Propolis Products, go to:    mkt.com/beepothecary

HERE’S TO PROPOLIS FOR OUR PETS AND LIVESTOCK !

THEIR HEALTH –  POWERED BY BEES!

Genesis 1

²⁴ And God said, “Let the land produce living creatures according to their kinds: the livestock, the creatures that move along the ground, and the wild animals, each according to its kind.” And it was so.

²⁵ God made the wild animals according to their kinds, the livestock according to their kinds, and all the creatures that move along the ground according to their kinds. And God saw that it was good.

²⁶ Then God said, “Let us make mankind in our image, in our likeness, so that they may rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky, over the livestock and all the wild animals, and over all the creatures that move along the ground.”

²⁷ So God created mankind in his own image, in the image of God he created them; male and female he created them.

²⁸ God blessed them and said to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number; fill the earth and subdue it. Rule over the fish in the sea and the birds in the sky and over every living creature that moves on the ground.”

Propolis Has Arrived!

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Eagerly anticipated, Our box of golden propolis

Purchased from a fellow beekeeper, Can not wait to open it!

We cherish every golden nugget Like the miners on TV’s “Gold Rush”.

It’s value is unmeasurable. We’ll make some tincture of it.

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

We found an Ohio beekeeper who was collecting propolis, and were able to purchase 6 pounds of this wonderful, healing goo!  We had run out of the propolis we had collected from our hives, and needed more to keep up with the demands for propolis oil and tincture from our customers.

treasured box of golden propolis

A whole box of propolis, what a beautiful sight!  We cherish every bit of it, and go around picking up tiny stray morsels of it, as if it were nuggets of gold!  We won’t let any of it go to waste, as we process it into useful healing forms.  We are continually amazed at how it works to keep us healthy.

A month ago, husband Steve felt as if he was getting sick.  He had congestion and a tightness in his chest, that usually means 2-3 weeks of bronchitis and asthma flare-up in addition to antibiotics.  He started taking 1/3 a dropperful of propolis tincture 3 times a day for three days, and was fine!

Last week, I had a flare-up of carpel tunnel syndrome and my arm and hand hurt so that I could not sleep.  Ibuprofen was not helping the deep ache in my forearm.  When I got up in the morning, I tried ice and then heat – no  help.  Then I decided to try rubbing my arm down with propolis oil.   I had a tin of propolis coconut oil, a new item we had made.  I rubbed this in and in about 30 seconds, the deep aching was GONE!

I just tried the propolis coconut oil on my very dry and peeling feet last night.  When I got up this morning, they were so much better.  I did another treatment before I put my socks on this morning, and by afternoon, my feet are almost completely smooth!  Steve used our wound salve on his cracked and dry feet a few days ago and had similar success.

A few days ago, we were at son Nate’s house and noticed his dog Bella’s hot spot on her paw was back and she had licked it raw.  I got out my tube of propolis tip balm, took a hunk off, rubbed it into the sore, and left the tube with Nate.  He said, the next morning it looked so much better, all the redness was gone.

New batch of propolis tincture “brewing”

We are continually amazed at what  propolis can do for health and healing.  We encourage everyone to try this nature made substance to see for yourselves what it can do!

HEALTH  ~  POWERED BY BEES!

John 6

²⁸ Then they asked him, “What must we do to do the works God requires?”²⁹ Jesus answered, “The work of God is this: to believe in the one he has sent.”

³⁰ So they asked him, “What sign then will you give that we may see it and believe you? What will you do? ³¹ Our ancestors ate the manna in the wilderness; as it is written: ‘He gave them bread from heaven to eat.’”

³² Jesus said to them, “Very truly I tell you, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven. ³³ For the bread of God is the bread that comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”

³⁴ “Sir,” they said, “always give us this bread.”

³⁵ Then Jesus declared, “I am the bread of life. Whoever comes to me will never go hungry, and whoever believes in me will never be thirsty.

³⁶ But as I told you, you have seen me and still you do not believe.

³⁷ All those the Father gives me will come to me, and whoever comes to me I will never drive away. ³⁸ For I have come down from heaven not to do my will but to do the will of him who sent me.

³⁹ And this is the will of him who sent me, that I shall lose none of all those he has given me, but raise them up at the last day.

⁴⁰ For my Father’s will is that everyone who looks to the Son and believes in him shall have eternal life, and I will raise them up at the last day.”

Stories from Propolis Users

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Healing from the bees,

It warms our hearts

To share with others

What God has brought.

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

We love it when we talk to people who have had improved health results by using propolis – our products or any others.  It affirms our amazement at the remedies God has given us in nature.  On the second day of the Lithopolis HoneyFest, we had two-day one customers come visit us again, to tell us how well the propolis product they had bought the day before had worked!  One gentleman said the propolis throat spray had gotten rid of his almost year-long irritated throat, overnight!  Another man named Jim came back Saturday to tell us he had used our Propolis Saline Nose Drops the evening before and for the first time in months, his sinuses were clear.  He came back to buy more!  We are thrilled when customers have the same successes we have had with honeybee propolis.

Last weekend, we had a booth at the Columbus Oktoberfest, where people come to pay $16 for a mug of beer and $8 for a brat!  Amazingly, despite the focus on beer and brats, we were able to turn people on to the wonders of propolis.  One family spent a long time learning about it from Laurie and Peter, but weren’t ready to buy.  Their preschool-age son with them wasn’t feeling well due to an ear ache.  Laurie offered to put prpolis oil in his ear and told them to go enjoy the festival for a while and see what happened.  An hour or so later, they were back, with a pain-free, happy child and bought their own supply of propolis products!  Another vendor purchased our rejuvenating skin balm (containing propolis) , used it on her sore, tired feet after day one of the festival and shared it with her business partner.  The next day, her business partner came by to get her own jar of rejuvenating cream, saying it really soothed their tired, worn-out feet!  (Now, we had originally designed this product for aging facial skin –  but whatever!  If it works, it works!)  One of the event organizers bought some Propolis Nose Drops, tried it and came back for more the next day.

Our friend, Donny burned his tongue on piping hot food last week, and suffered with a blistered tongue for several days, before he remembered propolis!  He treated his still-sore tongue with propolis tincture, put up with the burn for a few seconds and then was pain free.  He treated the blister for 2 more days, was pain-free, and it cleared up.

We also listen to our customers and users and make changes to our products to improve them.  Our men customers of our beard and ‘stache wax have told us that it has hardened too much, so we will be reformulating our recipe to soften it up, and will replace their too-hard wax with a new, softer formula.  We also have had questions about why we are not putting  propolis in our skin balm and soap.  After thinking about it, and realizing that propolis is what we really are promoting, we have decided to rework our recipes and add it to our skin balms and soaps.  In this way, almost all of our products will carry the health benefits of propolis

We love these stories and suggestions, so keep them coming.  And we love that we get to harvest and share these natural health products with others.

1 Timothy 6

¹⁷ Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment.

¹⁸ Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share.

¹⁹ In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life.

Propolis and Endometriosis

Psalms from the Hive

by Jeannie Saum

Always a wonder

God’s little bees

Designed to be a blessing

To those who will believe!

Clover, Bee, and Revery

Reverie (revery) –(n.) state of dreamy meditation or fanciful musing; a fantastic, visionary, or impractical idea

 

Thanks to our young friend, Amber W., , who did some searching about this topic, I decided to look for some research on propolis and endometriosis.  I am amazed daily at what God’s little creatures, the honeybees, have been designed to do.  Turns out that propolis and its anti-inflammatory properties help with the pain of endometriosis,  but also produce an unexplained increase in conception among women with enodmetriosis, who take propolis!

In a study from way back in 2003, as reported in Fertility and Sterility it was found that:

• Women with endometriosis who have been unable to get pregnant may have a more successful outcome by taking bee propolis, according to a preliminary study in Fertility and Sterility (2003;80:S32). This is encouraging for the millions of women with endometriosis who are suffering from infertility.

• In the new preliminary study, 40 women with mild endometriosis and primary infertility (i.e., they had never been pregnant) who had unsuccessfully tried to get pregnant for at least two years were assigned to receive 500 mg twice a day of bee propolis or placebo for nine months. The number of pregnancies was recorded during the treatment period.

• Women taking bee propolis had a significantly higher pregnancy rate than those taking the placebo. The number of women who became pregnant in the treatment and placebo groups was 60 and 20%, respectively. No adverse effects were reported by the women taking bee propolis.

This article can be found at: http://bastyrcenter.org/content/view/623/&page=

I always wonder why this kind of research doesn’t get more press, and why further studies have not been done.  Could it be that since propolis is a natural substance, no one will make millions on it??  People in other countries all over the world us it and much research is being done on propolis in Europe and Asia.  We need to get the word out about this amazing natural healer!

 

For Propolis Products go to :    mkt.com/beepothecary

Isaiah 43

8 Lead out those who have eyes but are blind, who have ears but are deaf.
⁹ All the nations gather together and the peoples assemble. which of their gods foretold this and proclaimed to us the former things?  Let them bring in their witnesses to prove they were right, so that others may hear and say, “It is true.”
¹⁰ “You are my witnesses,” declares the Lord,  “and my servant whom I have chosen, so that you may know and believe me  and understand that I am he. Before me no god was formed,  nor will there be one after me.
¹¹ I, even I, am the Lord, and apart from me there is no savior.

¹² I have revealed and saved and proclaimed— I, and not some foreign god among you. You are my witnesses,”  declares the Lord, “that I am God.