It will bee fine.
Everywhere I look at the moment there seems to be articles about honey, whether it is Bee Venom Facials in the Sunday Times Style magazine or the health benefits of honey in Country Living and, being a huge fan myself, I am always delighted to shout about honey! But this time I can go one step better because I am going to tell you a story about propolis!
About WHAT?! I had never heard of propolis until Ian Hart, our fantastic bee keeper and honey trader at Lavenham and Sudbury Farmers' Market introduced me to this incredible substance a couple of weeks ago.
Propolis is an amazing product of nature. It's a resinous material produced by plants to protect closed buds, leaves and flowers from harsh weather and it also exudes from bark in conifer forests. Over 95% of propolis are antioxidants and the substance is collected by bees and then used by the bees to add to the wax, polish cells, reduce entrances, level out inconsistency in the hive and clean the hive. Propolis is hugely antibacterial and can significantly add to the colonys health and survival.
So, when I told Ian that I had toothache, he handed me a small lump of this pale brown, slightly soft stuff and told me to mould it around my tooth!! It tasted a bit like furniture polish crossed with pine and it felt immediatly soothing. I left it there for about four hours and as I removed it I waited to feel the pain in my tooth return.....I waited and waited......I waited some more......I am still waiting two weeks later for my tooth to hurt and it doesn't. The wonders of nature are simply incredible. I love honey, I'll always love honey but propolis - now that is Queen Bee.
