Bee Bread • Hacker News Board

Re: Bee Bread

#51

Post by arkades » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 9:07 PM UTC

adrianN wrote: post #23

hueving wrote: post #21

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Placebo effect

It could also be something like https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Allergen_immunotherapy#Oral

Allergen immunotherapy requires long-term small-dose exposures which cause an immunoglobulin class switching resulting, in effect, a "masking" of the allergen with the non-allergy-inducing globulin. It requires small doses over an extended period of time: no bolus infusion (e.g., "I'm having my big cup of pollen tea now") is going to do it, and it's not going manifest over a short period of time ("and 20 minutes later I feel better.")

Additionally, a general fault of immunotherapy for allergy is that we tend to present the allergen in a manner distinct from its biological presentation - e.g., oral presentation of inhaled allergens. Since we have different mucosa-associated lymphoid tissues throughout the body, and since they do react differently, generally you're not going to get a great response to oral administration of a non-oral allergen (e.g., something you'd normally inhale, like pollen).

Re: Bee Bread

#52

Post by fit2rule » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 9:08 PM UTC

adrianwaj wrote: post #22

Bee Bread is awesome and much more nutritious and digestible than flower pollen (mistakenly called bee pollen) which the bees ferment in their hive to make bee bread. The problem I've found is that anything coming from Lithuania or Latvia (a lot on ebay), could be radioactive from Chernobyl, as radioactivity concentrates in pollen. That's my assessment of it anyway, so I won't risk it. Also, there was another acciden…

My family is involved in exporting Manuka from NZ at the moment - would you like to know more? PM me your email ..

Re: Bee Bread

#53

Post by arkades » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 9:09 PM UTC

nommm-nommm wrote: post #49

adrianwaj wrote: post #22

Bee Bread is awesome and much more nutritious and digestible than flower pollen (mistakenly called bee pollen) which the bees ferment in their hive to make bee bread. The problem I've found is that anything coming from Lithuania or Latvia (a lot on ebay), could be radioactive from Chernobyl, as radioactivity concentrates in pollen. That's my assessment of it anyway, so I won't risk it. Also, there was another acciden…

How is bee bread "more digestible?" I've never had an issue digesting honey. Do others? Is it common for honey to cause gastrointestinal symptoms?

In general, fermented products have more bioavailable products, due to pre-digestion by bacteria.

How much this actually matters, I'm personally skeptical of, but it's a boon touted loudly and widely by all fans of fermented products who feel their food choices need to be justified by more than "it tastes good."

Re: Bee Bread

#54

Post by yawz » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 9:34 PM UTC

0xffff2 wrote: post #35

bpchaps wrote: post #32

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> I think it's safe to say it doesn't have anything to do with humans taking the bees' food. > we don't really understand colony collapse disorder Look at the bee expert here. ;) But really, the parent post didn't make a direct connection to the two. More of an implication of a combination of the two being pretty disastrous.

I mean, humans have been harvesting bee products for at least a few thousand years...

Actually, up until very recently (relatively speaking), it was not really "harvesting", but it was "destroying the hive while getting the honey". Modern hive design (there are a few popular ones) allows us, beekeepers, to harvest the honey without harming the bees. It also allows us to manage the hive and the colony much more productively.

Re: Bee Bread

#55

Post by jcoffland » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 9:41 PM UTC

saalweachter wrote: post #33

bradbeattie wrote: post #29

Are there any negative effects to harvesting this bee bread? > But the bees do not consume their pollen fresh. Instead, they take it into the hive and pack the granules into empty comb cells, mixing them with nectar and digestive fluids and sealing the cell with a drop of honey. Once processed in this way, the pollen remains stable indefinitely. Beekeepers call this form of pollen ‘perga’ or ‘bee bread’. This implies…

All harvesting from bees is essentially stealing their food. Modern hive designs allow a beekeeper to take excess honey or pollen from a hive non-destructively. The trick is to only take it from strong hives, while leaving the bees a sufficient quantity to overwinter. Honey is the overwinter food; beekeepers typically try to leave the bees about 80 lbs, depending on the climate. Pollen is much more important for rais…

> All harvesting from bees is essentially stealing their food.

Calling this stealing speaks more about humans than it does of bees. Why do we view bees as selfish? Another, more charitable view, is that the bees willingly share with humans.

But they sting, you say. Bees only sting if you move rapidly, destroy their home or you catch them on a bad day, like right before a storm. On sunny days I have successfully harvested honey from hives, in normal street clothes, with zero stings simply by moving carefully and staying calm.

So why do we view bees as selfish creatures? Because we are selfish.

Re: Bee Bread

#56

Post by jcoffland » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 9:48 PM UTC

noipv4 wrote: post #20

For my seasonal pollen allergies here's what I do. a) Take a spoonful of dried bee bread b) Take 2 spoonful of local honey c) Add 100ml warm water d) Stir it until the bee-bread dissolves e) Drink it. (Starts acting in 10 minutes) Anyone know why it works?

From the New York Times:

> Among allergy sufferers, there is a widespread belief that locally produced honey can alleviate symptoms. . .when University of Connecticut Health Center researchers did a test, they found that the honey had no such effect.

http://mobile.nytimes.com/2011/05/10/health/10really.html

Re: Bee Bread

#57

Post by dpratt71 » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 10:07 PM UTC

jcoffland wrote: post #55

saalweachter wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All harvesting from bees is essentially stealing their food. Modern hive designs allow a beekeeper to take excess honey or pollen from a hive non-destructively. The trick is to only take it from strong hives, while leaving the bees a sufficient quantity to overwinter. Honey is the overwinter food; beekeepers typically try to leave the bees about 80 lbs, depending on the climate. Pollen is much more important for rais…

> All harvesting from bees is essentially stealing their food. Calling this stealing speaks more about humans than it does of bees. Why do we view bees as selfish? Another, more charitable view, is that the bees willingly share with humans. But they sting, you say. Bees only sting if you move rapidly, destroy their home or you catch them on a bad day, like right before a storm. On sunny days I have successfully harve…

Why would bees willingly share with humans?

Re: Bee Bread

#58

Post by kawsper » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 10:43 PM UTC

yawz wrote: post #54

0xffff2 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I mean, humans have been harvesting bee products for at least a few thousand years...

Actually, up until very recently (relatively speaking), it was not really "harvesting", but it was "destroying the hive while getting the honey". Modern hive design (there are a few popular ones) allows us, beekeepers, to harvest the honey without harming the bees. It also allows us to manage the hive and the colony much more productively.

Could you link to the modern hive designs, and maybe tell a bit about them?

Re: Bee Bread

#59

Post by mathrawka » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 11:12 PM UTC

jcoffland wrote: post #55

saalweachter wrote: post #33

Earlier quoted context omitted.

All harvesting from bees is essentially stealing their food. Modern hive designs allow a beekeeper to take excess honey or pollen from a hive non-destructively. The trick is to only take it from strong hives, while leaving the bees a sufficient quantity to overwinter. Honey is the overwinter food; beekeepers typically try to leave the bees about 80 lbs, depending on the climate. Pollen is much more important for rais…

> All harvesting from bees is essentially stealing their food. Calling this stealing speaks more about humans than it does of bees. Why do we view bees as selfish? Another, more charitable view, is that the bees willingly share with humans. But they sting, you say. Bees only sting if you move rapidly, destroy their home or you catch them on a bad day, like right before a storm. On sunny days I have successfully harve…

Stealing does not mean we view bees as selfish. Stealing means we know it is not ours, yet we take it without consent.

Re: Bee Bread

#60

Post by cmurf » Thu, Jul 07, 2016, 11:20 PM UTC

noipv4 wrote: post #20

For my seasonal pollen allergies here's what I do. a) Take a spoonful of dried bee bread b) Take 2 spoonful of local honey c) Add 100ml warm water d) Stir it until the bee-bread dissolves e) Drink it. (Starts acting in 10 minutes) Anyone know why it works?

No, but that reaction time to me suggests insulin suppressing the histamine released due to the allergy. Or it could be the concoction provides a mild euphoric effect and it's adrenaline that's offsetting histamine reaction. Either way the short term effect is probably related to sugar and would happen with any sugar in this concentration, the long term effect probably is about the locally sourced honey and pollen desensitizing the reaction to air pollens, where if you used non-local bee products the efficacy would probably be less.