<Four years ago I, my wife, and my son were plagued by ear, throat and
<sinus infections...
<Antibiotics kill ALL bacteria, both the good and the bad...
<...not only does propolis seal holes and cracks, it's a natural germicide.
 
If propolis is a "natural germicide" then it is, by definition,
an antibiotic.  Many (most?) drugs used as antibiotics are
derivatives or synthetic analogs from natural sources (plants or
other microbes-- remember the penicillin from moldy bread?).  One
should distinguish between wide-spectrum antibiotics and those that
are more specific.  Likewise, one should also remember that the
properties of propolis will vary with the sources of plant resins
(and other sources such as wet paint, tar, and insect-trapping
adhesive) which bees will collect and incorporate into that
catch-all propolis.
 
One really can't make accurate broad, unqualified generalizations
like "propolis is good for you"-- just as one really can't even
say that about honey (as we all know some honeys are actually
poisonous) or fruit (some fruits are poisonous)
 
Not that I'm disputing (questioning isn't the same as disputing
is it? ;-) your experience with propolis as a more specific
antibiotic for what ailed you but the source of the propolis is
probably more important than that it contained bee secretions.
(It is my understanding that propolis from alder trees is,
supposedly, the most desirable).  So as not to appear a total
"nay-sayer" I have seen clinical documentation for positive
results in the application of some kind of propolis in veterinary
medicine.
 
>it's my understanding that the inside of a bee hive is
>one of the most sterile places on the earth (more sterile than
>an operating room).
 
As far as a beehive being more sterile than an operating room--
any beekeeper who has had experience with brood diseases such as
chalkbrood, foulbrood, nosema, etc will tell you that it just
ain't so-- the antibiotic properties of propolis, wax and honey
are what make the place livable at all ;-).
 
Bee well,
 
        -              Conrad Berube
       "  `            ISLAND CROP MANAGEMENT
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