Royal jelly is a controversial product. Like honey, it is made by honey bees, but unlike honey, it is not made from flower nectar, honeydew or resin, but from the bees’ glands. It’s sour and pungent. People don’t consume it as food, but as medicine.

What is royal jelly made of?

Royal jelly is a substance mainly secreted by the hypopharyngeal and mandibular glands of worker honey bees (Apis
mellifera) between the days 6th and 12th of their life.

It is not connected in any form with honey. It is secreted by bees, just like animals secrete milk for their newborns. (in some countries, its name refers exactly to this: bee’s milk). Newborn honey bees will be fed with it for their first 3 days, and queen for their entire life. Hence the name.

Royal jelly is a complex substance containing a unique combination of proteins (12-15%), sugars (10-12%), lipids
(3-7%), amino acids, vitamins, and minerals.

What is royal jelly used for?

Honey bees use royal jelly to feed their newborns in their 3 days of life.
If they continue to feed a honey bee with royal jelly, it will turn into a queen. An insect with a different body morphology.

Humans use royal jelly as medicine (supplements) only, to treat various conditions mainly connected to hormonal imbalances, immunity and anti-aging.

What is royal jelly versus honey?

Royal jelly and honey have almost nothing in common. Royal jelly is a yellowish substance secreted by the bees, almost like a mammal secretes milk for its baby. This royal jelly is used to feed their offspring. To form a queen, a bee is entirely fed on royal jelly and the transformation occurs naturally.

Honey is made of flower nectar and bees’ secretions. The nectar can be replaced with honeydew (see honeydew honey or forest honey) or tree seva (like in frankincense honey).

Is royal jelly good for men?

Clearly, yes. It has been proven by numerous studies.
It increases ejaculation, number of sperm, and sperm motility.  A man should take 2 g of raw royal jelly per day, for a period of 90 days.

Read: Is royal jelly good for men?

Is royal jelly good for estrogen levels?

Royal jelly mimics estrogen in the body, scientists said, although the compounds mediating its estrogenic effects remained largely unknown (Paraskevi Moutsatsou et al., 2010).

It could be successfully used by postmenopausal women as a dietary supplement for the treatment of aging-related

pathologies, such as neurodegenerative diseases, diabetes, obesity, cancer, osteoporosis or cardiovascular pathology.

Royal jelly has estrogen-like effects and can therefore be considered a viable alternative to hormone replacement therapy. It could improve sleep disorders, hot flushes, postmenopausal headaches, anxiety or depression.

And from my personal experience, as I’m a menopausal woman, it is very effective. I take 2 grams per day and got rid of the hot flashes, sweating, frozen shoulder and insomnia. Read more in How to treat menopausal symptoms? Try royal jelly!

Is royal jelly good for testosterone levels?

There are studies that say yes. Either due to the presence of zinc contained in royal jelly, that can play an important role in testosteron levels (study), or due to the amino acid content, that was also found to have a role in androgen homeostasis.

A trial done in 2012 showed that 6-month ingestion of 3 g of royal jelly per day in humans improved erythropoiesis, glucose tolerance and mental health.

Does royal jelly have side effects?

In very rare cases, yes, it might. Mostly related to allergenic reactions.
If you are sensitive to various allergens, then, yes, you may be allergic to royal jelly as well.

The major allergens of this product are the major royal jelly protein 1 (MRJ1) and major royal jelly protein 2 (MRJ2)[study], and these are common with honeybee venom allergens. However, the fact that you are allergic to bee venom doesn’t mean you are automatically allergic to royal jelly. (study)

However, the chances of a royal jelly allergy are very small. In the above mentioned clinical trial involving ingesting of 3 g of royal jelly daily for 6 months, there were not observed any serious adverse effects of royal jelly.

And as Angela Ysseldyk from bee-pollen-buzz says, “You have a higher probability of experiencing a side effect to aspirin than you do to royal jelly.”

More on Contraindications and side-effects of royal jelly

Can I take royal jelly with other drugs?

There are no reports regarding the possible interactions between royal jelly supplements and other drugs if they are taken simultaneously.

There is one case, reported in 2006, of an 87-year-old man with long-term warfarin therapy, supplemented with royal jelly capsules. He referred to the hospital for hematuria, and the most probable explanation for his symptoms was a possible interaction between warfarin and royal jelly.

However, allergic or not, always start with a small quantity and increase it in time.

Why is royal jelly so expensive?

The production of it is not that high and the storage conditions are very strict.
The price lowers if you buy it in mixtures with honey. But the dose and effects are lower as well.

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References and further readings:

https://nutritionj.biomedcentral.com/counter/pdf/10.1186/1475-2891-11-77.pdf

Effectiveness of a herbal formula in women with menopausal syndrome , https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/22105039/

Midcycle pericoital intravaginal bee honey and royal jelly for male factor infertility: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18222449/