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No royal jelly is not some new pristine topping to be spread on your whole-wheat toast. Rather, it is a thick, creamy, white, sometimes golden-colored) nutrient-rich treasure-house from a select group of "young nurse bees between their sixth and twelfth days of life," explain James F. Balch, M.D., and Phyllis A. Balch, C.N.C., in their 1997 edition of Prescription for Nutritional Healing. "When honey and pollen are combined and refined within the young nurse bee, royal jelly is naturally created," they continue.

A hiveful of nutrient and beauty
The egg and the queen bee hatched from it live exclusively on royal jelly -- the queen becoming an incredibly beautiful specimen, averaging 42 percent larger in size and weighing 60 percent more than a worker bee.

Aside from being a thing of beauty, the queen bee has abundant energy and stamina and raw materials for laying as many as 2,000 eggs daily -- 350,000 to 450,000 yearly -- and lives 60 times longer than other bees -- for years, compared with seven or eight weeks for worker bees.
What's the secret? Royal jelly. This is perhaps the most nutritious food produced by animal, insect, or plant.

Imagine a food so nutrient-rich that it contains vitamins A, B-complex, C, D, and E -- with a heavy accent on B-complex: B-1, B-2, B-3, B-4 (pantothenic acid), B-6, B-12, biotin, folic acid, and inositol. It is the richest single source of pantothenic acid, known especially for its ability to reduce stress levels.

And even that is not the end. It contains the minerals calcium, chromium, magnesium, phosphorus, iron, potassium, silicon, sulphur, and zinc, in addition to 18 amino acids -- eight of which are essential. There is little wonder that royal jelly, with its gold mine of nutrients, makes remarkable contributions to a longer life, improved vitality, and radiant skin.

Royal jelly as a skin-care ingredient gains in use across the globe
For many, that first wrinkle is a shocking reminder that nobody stays young forever. However, much can be done to retain or recapture a youthful appearance by working from the outside in and the inside out. Royal jelly is one way.

A great deal has been said and written about cosmetic products that help to restore a youthful appearance. They include: hyaluronic acid (a mucopolysaccharide [complex sugar] that's found in tissue spaces, intracellularly, and in and around joints); aloe vera to moisturize skin; and retinoic acid (vitamin A), alpha-hydroxy acid, and vitamin C to reduce shallow wrinkles and discolorations. Each has great merit based on a high success rate.

Royal jelly, a not-yet-household name product in the United States, is widely used in Europe where it is known for its ability to enhance skin texture and smoothness, and for its contributions to longevity. In a German medical report, Royal Jelly in Dermatological Cosmetics, Hans Weitgasser, M.D., writes that royal jelly, added to face masks, creams, and lotions, softens the skin, causing fine lines and wrinkles to disappear.

"Through local application, as an ingredient in face masks, creams, and lotions, royal jelly has tremendous effects at the cellular level. In regular use, the skin becomes soft and wrinkles disappear. When royal jelly is used topically as a salve on skin damaged by the effects of radium treatment (radiation), the skin heals rapidly and symptoms disappear.

A German dermatologist, Elfriede Kirschbaumer, M.D., writes that royal jelly appears to maintain the youthfulness of the skin longer by stimulating blood circulation, by delivering additional nutrients and oxygen to nourish the skin and, then, by carrying off wastes. As a consequence of these benefits, the skin loses its sallow or muddy appearance and often becomes more clear, fine-pored, and healthy-looking. Additionally, after an application of royal jelly, dry skin becomes more lubricated. In clinical tests, Kirschbaumer's patients who used royal jelly appeared to look more youthful in that it tightened sagging facial skin and breasts.

Royal jelly's role in any anti-aging program
H.W. Schmidt, M.D., faced the toughest possible critics of natural foods and supplements, the German Medical Association, when he encouraged them to share his belief in the benefits of royal jelly. "The action of the active substances and nutrients in royal jelly takes place throughout the body and regulates all functions of the body. From all the investigations and observations regarding royal jelly, it is apparent this is a powerful agent, composed of hormones, nutrients, enzymes, and bio-catalysts, which start up and revive functions of cells, the secretion of glands, the metabolism, and blood circulation.

"To summarize, it is the interplay of all the complex factors present in royal jelly which work to preserve life and strength in the organism, which delays the aging process, and which retains for as long as possible, the youthful physical freshness of the body, elasticity of mind, and psychic [mental/emotional] buoyancy."

Royal jelly's antibiotic compound
Argentinean researchers, J.R. Lamberti and L.G. Cornejo, discovered that royal jelly contains globulinic acid (gamma globulinj, which works like an antibiotic, increasing resistance to bacteria and viruses. It also contains a gelatinous amino acid, a basic ingredient in collagen, a key to youthful, smooth, firm skin.

We age in appearance through our loss of collagen, as well as through our arteries, explain Lamberti and Cornejo. Royal jelly works to prevent this through its gelatinous amino acid, and the aforementioned minerals and vitamins.

Collagen is a fibrous protein that's a vital part of connective tissue. it supports and strengthens the skin -- helping to retain its youthful appearance. If this support gives way, the skin becomes loose, wrinkled, or both.

A French researcher has also observed royal jelly's positive influence on the skin. M. Esperrois, of the French Institute of Chemistry, maintains that certain substances in royal jelly often reverse the effects of normal aging in the skin, correcting darkening, brown spots, other blemishes, and shallow wrinkles.

In recent years, a growing number of health-care professionals in the United States, including progressive medical doctors, have come to recognize, and acknowledge, the value of royal jelly in any anti-aging program.

Nutrition writer, James F. Balch, M.D., board certified by the American Board of Urology and a fellow of the American College of Surgeons, recommends use of royal jelly by patients, due to its unique richness as a nutritional source.

Royal jelly for good health
Royal jelly has been shown to act as a diuretic, as an antiobiotic (as mentioned), to alleviate some symptoms of respiratory allergies, and to help guard against arthritis and cancer. Royal jelly is the only natural [dietary] source of pure acetylcholine," according to the Balchs. Acetylcholine is a neurotransmitter which enables body organs, glands, and the brain to communicate, sparking the brain to think and remember at peak efficiency.

Many studies reveal that royal jelly strengthens the immune system to fight off diseases which steal energy and deduct active years from our lives.

It is further suggested that "a regular dose of this jelly can alleviate discomfort by cleansing the body, increasing circulation, and aiding the disposal of body waste," Janice Strubbe Wittenberg, R.N., says in her thought-provoking, yet practical. 1996 guide, The Rebellious Body: Reclaim Your Life From Environmental Illness or Chronic Fatigue Syndrome. Taking it seems also to restore homeostasis to our body multidirectionally, or selectively. Wittenberg describes it this way: "Royal jelly affects people differently, by bringing abnormal bodily functions back to balance, as needed. With CFS [Chronic Fatigue Syndrome], it is suggested to take this substance for at least three months to experience the cumulative effect of increased energy and mental alertness."
Scientists at the New York Medical College in Valhalla, N.Y., have discovered that royal jelly also has a complex compound that stimulates the sex glands -- male and female -- and acts like a natural hormone. One cautionary: some researchers believe that people who are allergic to bee stings should be careful in their use of royal jelly (or avoid it), although this has been disputed.