Bees do it! Why we should do it too.

If you want to add the world’s most nutritious natural item to your diet, then follow the bees.

No, not honey (delicious though that is) but something much earlier in the process - bee pollen.

It’s a powerful superfood that sometimes gets overlooked thanks to an emphasis on the sweet sticky end result. But bee pollen is used in holistic remedies all over the globe, and its value has been understood for centuries, for very good reasons.

What is bee pollen?

The title actually pretty well sums it up. It’s the pollen that younger honey bees gather as part of their busy lives.

It packs such a punch because the adolescent bees compress around a million male flower pollen specks into each one of the bee pollen granules you can buy from Detox Trading.

It is remarkable to think that these little creatures know exactly what to look for when gathering 'the good stuff'. Bee pollen is approximately 40% protein. Compare that to other animal by-products and you can see it flies high. This is a rich source of amino acids, including the variety that is ready for your body to use immediately.

Why else should you eat it?

As mentioned previously, this natural substance is incredibly complex despite the fact it is also compact. It offers an unrivalled range of minerals, 18 different vitamins (including B complex and folic acid), amino acids and other nutrients.

It really is the ultimate complete food.

On top of all that, it also contains enzymes that can give your body a boost to strip nutrients out of the other food stuffs you eat too! What a hero.

So, with so much goodness in each granule, what are the other health and well-being benefits of adding bee pollen to your diet?

Great energy source – Bee pollen packs an energy punch well above its weight. The slow-release kind can keep you going for hours. It can also help muscle recovery after exercise too. Some top athletes have already made it a staple in their healthy diet.



Metabolism stimulant – This and its ability to help control cravings makes bee pollen helpful for weight management.

Cardiovascular support – As it contains substances that help to strengthen blood vessels, bee pollen is a handy aid for circulatory problems. It helps you to regulate cholesterol too and has anti-clotting potential to help fend off strokes.

Skin boost – Bee pollen helps skin cells to regenerate. (Also, its usefulness as a natural anti-inflammatory means it can help soothe skin conditions if applied as an ointment.)

Allergy relief – Just like locally sourced honey, bee pollen offers natural abilities to suppress the production of allergy-causing histamines.

Immune system support – Bee pollen supports natural processes, and some nutritionists believe it has antibiotic properties to help combat illnesses. It’s a rich source of antioxidants that protect cells from attack too.

Best way to add it to your diet

This all-round, versatile superfood is an anytime snack as it is sweet to taste and so easy to digest.

However, to optimise its potential, it is a great idea to eat it at mealtimes with fruit (which helps to get it working its magic quicker).

Sprinkled onto a smoothie is one of our favourite ways to enjoy what nature and our furry little friends have provided by their hard work. It goes well in milkshakes too.

By the way, this amazing superfood is another reason why you should join the campaigns and efforts to protect and grow bee populations in the UK.

And when you order your bee pollen from Detox Trading, you can get your hands on our “hive” of other wonderful foods too!

How to make kimchi...


If you have not yet been introduced to kimchi then I promise you, and your gut, are going to love it. Hailing from Korea and similar in style to sauerkraut, kimchi is a spicy, tangy, fermented food that is traditionally served as a side dish.

This recipe uses red cabbage as the base, but white cabbage and other vegetables can be used in it's place. And the spicy flavour comes from a whole lot of ginger, chilli and garlic.

Fermented foods like kimchi go through a fermentation process in which the natural bacteria feed on the sugar and starch in the vegetables, converting them in to lactic acid. This process in turn preserves the food but also forms multiple strains of probiotics, as well as B-vitamins and omega 3 fatty-acid.

The probiotics, or 'good' bacteria, formed in the fermentation process have huge benefits for your digestive health when eaten. The bacteria helps with digestion, metabolism and absorption of essential nutrients. Having a healthy gut also contributes to a strong and resilient immune system, helping to keep away acute and chronic disease.

Making your own kimchi is easy, the fermentation process takes a few days and you can play with the recipe to suit your taste. You'll need an airtight container, a glass kilner jar is ideal but a large Tupperware tub would work too.

Ingredients

750g (1 medium size) red cabbage, finely sliced
50g table salt
50g fresh ginger, grated
4 large fresh garlic cloves, finely chopped
8 tbsp filtered water
3 tbsp of chilli flakes
1 tbsp soft brown sugar
1 tsp Himalayan crystal salt
A few grinds of black pepper
Optional - 2 tbsp fish sauce, 4 tbsp toasted sesame seeds, 1 tbsp sambal paste.

Method

Add sliced cabbage to a large mixing bowl and sprinkle over table salt, thoroughly massage the salt in to the cabbage. Let this set for 2 hours to allow the salt to draw out the moisture. After 2 hours rinse salt completely away. Rise the mixing bowl ready for re-use.

Add the ginger, garlic, water, chilli flakes, sugar, salt, black pepper and any of the optional ingredients to the mixing bowl and mix very well until it forms a paste. Add in the cabbage and again mix in thoroughly.

Transfer the mixture in to your jar and pack down, all the cabbage should be submerged in liquid, you may need to add a little extra water to ensure it is submerged. Close the lid (this has to be airtight as you want as little air in the jar as possible) and leave to ferment at room temperature for 3-7 days.

Each day open the jar and press the kimchi mixture back in to the liquid. After 3 days the kimchi is ready to taste, it will be strong and spicy. You can leave it for longer if necessary, for best results leave for the full 7 days but continue to check everyday and it's fine to eat from day 3 or 4 if it's to your taste.

Once ready store in the fridge, it will continue to develop and can last for months.

Enjoy x