Summary
Royal jelly is a nutritious jelly produced by worker bees. It is fed to larvae worker bees and drones for the first three days of their lives to stimulate growth. Larvae that are fed royal jelly for a prolonged period of time grow up to be queen bees. In fact, the queen eats exclusively royal jelly throughout her life.
Royal jelly is a food product. It contains calories due to its protein, carbohydrate, and fatty acid content.
Supplementing royal jelly is claimed to promote longevity. This claim is not fully supported. It does, however, protect the heart by lowering triglyceride and lipoprotein levels.
Supplementing royal jelly can enhance testicular testosterone production. Animal research suggests it is able to increase estrogen in post-menopausal animals. Royal jelly may also reduce the effects of estrogen in youth. These hormonal effects are unreliable and difficult to predict.
Dosage information
More research is needed to determine an optimal dosage for royal jelly. Researchers have observed benefits when using 50-300mg doses. A 6g daily dose has also been shown to provide benefits.
Examine Database: Royal Jelly
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In this meta-analysis of randomized controlled trials, supplementation with royal jelly had no effect on liver enzymes or biomarkers of glycemic control.
Research Breakdown
Examine Database References
- Testosterone - Morita H, Ikeda T, Kajita K, Fujioka K, Mori I, Okada H, Uno Y, Ishizuka TEffect of royal jelly ingestion for six months on healthy volunteersNutr J.(2012 Sep 21)
- High-density lipoprotein (HDL) - Hang Guo, Ai Saiga, Mikako Sato, Izumi Miyazawa, Makoto Shibata, Yoshihisa Takahata, Fumiki MorimatsuRoyal jelly supplementation improves lipoprotein metabolism in humansJ Nutr Sci Vitaminol (Tokyo).(2007 Aug)
- Irritability - Georgiev DB, Metka M, Huber JC, Goudev AR, Manassiev NEffects of an herbal medication containing bee products on menopausal symptoms and cardiovascular risk markers: results of a pilot open-uncontrolled trialMedGenMed.(2004 Dec 16)
- Allergy Symptoms - Andersen AH, Mortensen S, Agertoft L, Pedersen SDouble-blind randomized trial of the effect of Bidro on hay fever in childrenUgeskr Laeger.(2005 Sep 19)
- Total cholesterol - Vittek JEffect of royal jelly on serum lipids in experimental animals and humans with atherosclerosisExperientia.(1995 Sep 29)
- PMS Symptoms - Taavoni S, Barkhordari F, Goushegir A, Haghani HEffect of Royal Jelly on premenstrual syndrome among Iranian medical sciences students: a randomized, triple-blind, placebo-controlled studyComplement Ther Med.(2014 Aug)