Bee pollen

Bee pollen is flower pollen that worker honeybees gather in the field and pack into small balls or pellets, and it is the main protein food of the hive. Inside the hive the pollen is mixed with nectar and bee saliva and sealed into brood cells with a drop of honey, where lactic fermentation begins and makes its nutrients easier to digest; in that stored form it is often called bee bread. People harvest it as a food and supplement, and its make-up depends on the plants the bees visited, so no two samples match. A commonly quoted average is roughly 40 to 60 percent simple sugars and 20 to 60 percent protein, with minerals, vitamins and fatty acids making up the rest. Claims of health benefit remain unproven, and people with pollen allergies can react badly to it.