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Culinary

What is Organic Royal Jelly?

By Tracey Parece
Updated May 17, 2024
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Royal jelly is a sticky substance produced by worker honeybees that is used to feed the queen bee and bee larvae. While the worker bees subsist on a diet of pollen and honey, the queen bee thrives on a diet of royal jelly. The queen bee grows larger and lives longer than an ordinary bee due to this difference in diet. This has given royal jelly a reputation as a superfood and brought it into use as a dietary supplement for humans. Organic royal jelly is royal jelly that has been produced by honeybees in the absence of ionizing radiation, genetically modified organisms, pesticides, sewage sludge, or synthetic fertilizers.

There are numerous manufacturers who market products labeled as organic royal jelly. It can be challenging to produce a truly organic royal jelly because it is difficult to prevent bees from encountering any traces of pesticide without subjecting the bees to quarantine. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has a procedure for evaluating a product before granting it the USDA Organic seal. This process includes random inspections to ensure that guidelines are being met. Without the USDA Organic seal, royal jelly is not considered to be certified organic.

Natural royal jelly is a term sometimes used synonymously with organic royal jelly. Since royal jelly cannot be artificially created, all royal jelly is natural. Used as a dietary supplement, it can be taken internally as a royal jelly capsule. Celebrated for its reputation as a treatment for maladies ranging from arthritis to fatigue to high cholesterol, royal jelly has even been called a remedy for some sexual dysfunction, such as low libido in women after menopause. In spite of its popularity, royal jelly has not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to treat or cure any diseases.

Royal jelly contains many vitamins, including niacin, vitamin B1, vitamin B2, vitamin B6, folic acid, inositol, biotin, pantothenic acid, and trace amounts of vitamin C. Creams that contain royal jelly typically are available in a topical preparation that claims to soften and smooth the skin while protecting it from free radicals, which can cause premature aging. In spite of the effects of royal jelly on the queen bee, studies have not shown any definitive royal jelly benefits in humans. In addition, royal jelly side effects have been reported, which range from asthma and hives to anaphylactic shock. These side effects are most common in users who are allergic to pollen.

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Discussion Comments

By anon325042 — On Mar 13, 2013

Don't knock something until you try it yourself.

By indigomoth — On Sep 11, 2011

I read a short story a while ago, which is famous, but I can't remember the name of it. In the story, a family starts feeding royal jelly to their daughter and she starts to grow more and more like a bee.

It always made me a little bit nervous about royal jelly, actually. I know it's got lots of organic vitamins, but I've heard that bee pollen has almost as many and hasn't been as processed by the bees as the jelly.

On the other hand, I happily eat honey, and that's been made by bees as well. I probably shouldn't let a story make me so nervous.

By Mor — On Sep 10, 2011

@browncoat - There's nothing to say that royal jelly doesn't help people either. There have been studies done which have shown it to make people healthier.

A vitamin pill might seem like the answer to all of your problems, but combining all those vitamins sometimes makes them ineffective. I know you aren't supposed to take calcium with iron for example, because it stops you from absorbing the iron.

When you think about how long humans have been making vitamin pills, compared with how long bees have been making royal jelly, I know which one I'd expect to be a better product. It is expensive, but if people want to spend their money to buy royal jelly, why shouldn't they?

By browncoat — On Sep 10, 2011

Royal jelly is certainly good for you, but I don't see any proof that it's any better than taking a decent vitamin pill.

People forget that just because it is good for a honey bee, doesn't mean that it's good for everyone. I'm sure that it contains hormones or something that help the queen bee to grow large, but why should those hormones have an effect on humans?

Not that there is any harm in eating it, but it costs so much money, and I'm sure that royal jelly with organic certification is even more expensive. I hate to think of people pouring money into something when there is a much cheaper alternative available.

I guess the placebo effect can be a powerful thing, though, and maybe it is worth paying for.

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