Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is a milk-like substance secreted by bees that provides nourishment to developing larvae and the queen bee. Alternative medicine practitioners often use royal jelly to boost the immune system and help fight the effects of aging. Others believe it can treat or prevent a wide range of diseases such as diabetes and even promote fertility. However, evidence to support these claims is lacking.

The use of royal jelly falls underapitherapy, a form of alternative medicine that uses bee products such as pollen and bee venom. You can find royal jelly raw or in processed forms.

Also known as:

  • Bee saliva
  • Bee skewer
  • gelée royale
  • Bee's milk
  • Lait des abeilles

Benefits of Royal Jelly

Royal jelly is composed primarily of water, sugar, fatty acids, and several unique proteins, one of which is called royalactin.

Many of the purported health benefits of royal jelly are based on royalactin's effect on the development of bee larvae. When a queen bee dies, worker bees will feed high amounts of royal jelly to a selected female larva, the consumption of which alters the insect's DNA and turns it into a queen. Claims that eating royal jelly can help improve fertility stem from this fact.

The bee-derived proteins, along with several antioxidants and antibacterial compounds, are believed to offer health benefits to humans. Among some of the conditions that royal jelly is said to treat are:

  • Asthma
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Diabetes
  • Fatigue
  • Hay fever
  • High cholesterol
  • Inflammation
  • Kidney disease
  • Pancreatitis
  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS)

Royal jelly is also said to slow the aging process by eliminating free radicals or fight infections by strengthening the immune system. It is also used to increase stamina and well-being (not just to treat specific health conditions).

Diabetes

Royal jelly can regulate blood sugar, suggests a 2016 study in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes. According to the research, 50 people with type 2 diabetes were given a placebo or 1,000 milligrams (mg) of royal jelly three times a day. At the end of the eight-week study, the group given the royal jelly had a significant reduction in blood sugar, while those given the placebo had a slight increase.

Despite the positive results, a 2019 review in the World Journal of Diabetes found only a minimal benefit to using royal jelly. Based on an evaluation of 18 clinical trials, researchers concluded that the quality of evidence supporting the use of royal jelly in diabetes was low to very low.

High cholesterol

Hypercholesterolemia (high cholesterol) is a troubling condition linked to atherosclerosis (hardening of the arteries), heart attack and stroke.

In a small study published in Gynecological Endocrinology, 36 postmenopausal women who were given 150 mg of royal jelly a day experienced a 7.7 increase in HDL ("good") cholesterol, as well as a 4.1 decrease in LDL ("bad") cholesterol and a 3.1 reduction in total cholesterol.

Similar results were obtained in a 2017 study in Pharmaceutical Biology in which 40 adults with mild hypercholesterolemia were given a placebo or 350 mg of royal jelly daily. After three months, LDL and total cholesterol levels were reduced in the royal jelly group.

On the flip side, there were no changes in HDL cholesterol, triglycerides, body weight, waistline or body fat compared to the placebo group.

Premenstrual Syndrome (PMS)

Preliminary research suggests that royal jelly may help reduce symptoms of premenstrual syndrome (PMS). In a 2014 study published in Complementary Therapies in Medicine, 110 female college students with PMS received 1,000 mg of royal jelly or a placebo. Treatment began on the first day of menstruation and continued for two menstrual cycles.

After two cycles, women in the royal jelly group had a reduction of more than 50% in their PMS symptom score, while women in the placebo group had a decrease of less than 5%.

Further research is needed to confirm the results and better determine the exact mechanism of action of royal jelly.