More Pollen Facts And Fallacies

Has news about bee pollen’s magical properties made you buzzing with excitement? Don’t pin your hopes too high or you might be disappointed. Here are more pollen claims and the truth behind them.nnCLAIM; Pollen contains mysterious ingredients that boost an athlete's performance.nnFACT: Many athletes swear by pollen but scientific studies show it doesn't increase their performance. This was proven in a study conducted at Louisiana State University which involved members of a swimming team. Half of them who took pollen tablets a day for six months did no better than those who didn't take pollen at all.nnCLAIM: The best protection against common poisons is the ingestion of additional amounts of pollen.nnFACT: If pollen offers any protection at all, it is only to those who sell this useless substance. It certainly protects the interests of its promoters and nothing else.nnFar from helping you, pollen might even be dangerous to your health since it can cause life-threatening allergic reactions to those who are allergic to it. nnCLAIM: Even if pollen had none of its vital ingredients, its content alone of rutin would justify taking at least a teaspoon daily, if for no other reason than strengthening the capillaries. Pollen is extremely rich in rutin and may have the highest content of any source in the best and most easily assimilated form. nnFACT: Rutin belongs to a group of chemicals called flavonoids that give color to flowers, fruits and vegetables. This means we already have enough of it in our diet.nnHowever, some health food stores have come up with fantastic claims about rutin just to sell this useless sub¬stance. You've probably heard that it can cure varicose veins, high blood pressure and hardening of the arteries.nnOther misleading claims are that it can strengthen the capillaries and dissolve blood clots, prevent cancer and fight anything from colds, rheumatic fever, polio and tuberculosis.nnAll this nonsense began when a Hungarian named Szent-Gyorgi erroneously thought that an extract of Hungarian peppers (that contain flavonoids) was more effective than vitamin C in treating fragile blood vessels seen in scurvy.nnThe results of his mistaken theory were never duplicated and it remains to be seen whether flavonoids like rutin have any use at all. Most of the rutin we get is destroyed by bacteria in the bloodstream. This means that buying pollen for its rutin content alone is like throwing away your money.nnAs early as 1968, the Food and Drug Administration said flavonoids were worthless for any condition and sought to remove products containing this substance from the market. Sadly, they are still sold in health food stores today even if their only use is to make the owners of these stores filthy rich!nnNeither is there any truth in the claim that pollen is a rich source of rutin. One pollen product says it contains 16 milligrams of rutin - not exactly a good source considering that one glass of grapefruit juice has 40 milligrams while orange juice contains twice as much.nn"Tomatoes contain between 85 and 130 milligrams per 100 grams. If you really want a lot, 100 grams of onions will provide between 100 and 4,000 milligrams," explained Arnold Bender in Health or Hoax?nnIn fact, a typical diet supplies 1,000 milligrams of rutin daily. So why buy pollen to boost your body's supply of rutin when you can easily get this substance from other inexpensive sources? nnMore pollen claims and facts in the fourth part of this series. To strengthen your body, take Immunitril – your first line of defense in maintaining a healthy immune system. For details, visit http://www.bodestore.com/immunitril.html. n