Bee pollen is loaded with a wide variety of antioxidants, among them flavonoids, carotenoids, quercetin, kaempferol and glutathione (5).

Antioxidants protect your body against potentially harmful molecules called free radicals. Damage by free radicals is linked to chronic diseases such as cancer and type 2 diabetes (6).

Test-tube, animal and some human studies have shown that bee pollen antioxidants can reduce chronic inflammation, eliminate harmful bacteria, fight infections and combat the growth and spread of tumors (7)

Your liver is a vital organ that breaks down and removes toxins from your blood.

Animal studies have found that bee pollen may enhance its detoxifying abilities.

In older animals, bee pollen boosted the liver’s antioxidant defense and removed more waste products, such as malondialdehyde and urea, from the blood (12).

Other animal studies show that bee pollen antioxidants safeguard the liver against damage from several toxic substances, including drug overdoses. Bee pollen promotes liver healing as well (5,13, 14).

Bee pollen may boost your immune system, helping you avoid illnesses and unwanted reactions.

For one, research has shown that it may reduce the severity and onset of allergies.

In one study, bee pollen was shown to significantly reduce the activation of mast cells. Mast cells, when activated, release chemicals that trigger an allergic reaction (18).

Also, several test-tube studies have confirmed that bee pollen has strong antimicrobial properties.

Bee pollen extract was found to kill potentially harmful bacteria such as E. coli, Salmonella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, as well as those that cause staph infections (19, 20).

Bee pollen has anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties, which may aid your body in wound healing.

For instance, animal research found that bee pollen extract was similarly effective at treating burn wounds as silver sulfadiazine, a gold standard in burn treatment, and caused far fewer side effects (21).

Another animal study showed that applying a balm containing bee pollen onto a burn significantly accelerated healing over standard medicines (22).

Bee pollen’s antimicrobial properties may also prevent infections, a major risk factor that can compromise the healing process for scrapes, cuts, abrasions and burns (21).

Bee pollen may have applications for treating and preventing cancers, which occur when cells proliferate abnormally.

Test-tube studies have found bee pollen extracts to inhibit tumor growth and stimulate apoptosis — the programmed death of cells — in prostate, colon and leukemic cancers (23, 24).

Bee pollen from cistus (Cistus incanus L.) and white willow (Salix alba L.) may have anti-estrogen properties, which could lower the risk of breast, prostate and uterine cancers (25, 26).

Menopause, which marks the cessation of menstruation in women, is often accompanied by uncomfortable symptoms such as hot flushes, night sweats, mood changes and sleep disturbances (27).

Studies show that bee pollen may alleviate several menopausal symptoms.

In one study, 71% of women felt that their menopausal symptoms improved while taking bee pollen (27).

In another study, 65% of women taking a pollen supplement experienced fewer hot flashes. These women indicated other health improvements as well, such as better sleep, reduced irritability, less joint pain and improved mood and energy (28).

Moreover, a three-month study showed that women taking bee pollen supplements experienced significantly fewer menopausal symptoms. In addition, these supplements helped lower “bad” LDL cholesterol and raise “good” HDL cholesterol (29).

Some evidence suggests bee pollen may improve your body’s utilization of nutrients.

For instance, iron-deficient rats absorbed 66% more iron when pollen was added to their diet. This uptick is likely due to the fact that pollen contains vitamin C and bioflavonoids, which boost iron absorption (30).

Additionally, healthy rats fed pollen absorbed more calcium and phosphorus from their diet. Pollen contains high-quality proteins and amino acids that may aid such absorption (30).

Other animal studies have demonstrated that bee pollen may improve muscle growth, speed up the metabolism and promote longevity (3, 31).

Bee pollen comes in granule or supplement form and is safe for most people.

The granules can be added to your favorite foods such as breakfast or smoothies.