Seasonal nutrition changes in hives and humans
Honey bees’ nutritional needs shift with the seasons just like humans.
Nutritional needs change throughout one’s lifetime (my Health From the Hive series on women’s health focuses on this lifetime support with hive products) and these needs also change with the seasons. In our current contemporary American food culture, the only seasonal eating signals one may see in big box grocers are candy corn and candy canes. We can take a cue from the bees though—they look outside and they take what’s available, as much as they can, when they can.
Honey bees in a temperate climate that experience all seasons have varying nutritional needs throughout the year. Spring pollen is needed to raise healthy brood (baby bees), nectar is needed to make honey (future winter nutrition), and royal jelly needs to be produced year-round to feed the queen, more so during brood times since all brood receive royal jelly for their first 3 days after hatching.
As we move into fall—which, IMO, is the most tumultuous season for honey bees—some beekeepers ask me: What are you feeding your bees? What will you feed your bees? What should I feed my bees?
The answer to any beekeeping-related question is: It depends. How much honey have they stored? What’s their population like? What’s the queen’s laying pattern? Do you have honey from larger hives that you can share with smaller hives? Where are your hives located? All of the answers can contribute to if, when, and what you would feed the bees. The question of location is important on several levels. One, to understand the climate the bees will need to survive through winter. Two, what forage is available now for them to build up—and if they may be compromised by a rainy season or tropical storms preventing them from accessing the fall nectar when they need it. Three, if temperatures are conducive with syrup feeding. Folks with hives in Montana or Canada may need to suspend sugar syrup earlier than near me in the South because their bees cluster earlier and won’t be able to access the syrup in the cold.
Seasonal eating for humans varies by region, just like bees. A December farmers market in Southern California will have a lot more variety available than a market at the same time in my corner of North Carolina. In a way, seasonal eating is regional eating. Coastal areas have access to fish and fish migrations that inland folks don’t have direct access to. Today we can ship salmon, meats, and produce from places where the foods are in season to our homes, but we can also adjust meal planning and pantry filling to center on what’s in season in our own regions.
In-season produce picked close to the source will have more nutrients than the same produce trucked in over days or weeks. For instance, one report on seasonal eating revealed that broccoli (a cool weather-loving brassica) contains almost 2 times as much vitamin C when it’s grown in the fall compared to the spring. This could signal a benefit for buying broccoli more often in the fall and/or buying it in bulk from a local farm in the fall and freezing it to help preserve the high nutrient level for meals throughout the winter.
Broccoli contains almost 2 times as much vitamin C when it’s grown in the fall compared to the spring.
According to a piece from White Plains Hospital, regional environmental factors also impact our nutritional needs. Folks living further away from the equator experience shorter days in the winter or summer, depending on which hemisphere they live in. Lower exposure to sunlight reduces vitamin D levels. In advance of these shorter days and during them, we can prioritize foods rich in vitamin D and also try to make time to be outside.
Another environmental factor to consider is lifestyle and work. Someone who’s outside all winter working will have a different caloric and nutrient need to stay warm and mobile than someone sitting at a desk and limiting their time outside in the cold. Interior workplaces also pose immunity risks if folks are gathering inside and increasing exposure to germs and illnesses. Immune support through nutrient-rich meals with in-season produce like pumpkin, sleep, and products preserved in other seasons—like echinacea—can help reduce risks of getting sick. Pumpkin is rich in vitamins A and C, good “helpers” for immunity. Personally, when I know I’ll be in an office or on a plane, I’ll take an echinacea and a propolis tincture twice per day leading up to and during that time.
Focusing on seasonal, regional eating also helps to improve your local economy. Instead of funneling your food money to produce grown out of the area from places you may never pinpoint and handled by people who may not earn a fair wage, move the money to your regional farms.
What makes the most sense to me about eating seasonally in one’s area is that you’re getting a greater nutrient content in your food and spending less. Occasionally I grab a bag of frozen peas or beans at our local co-op—the bags are small and really only good for a single meal for two (two meals if I stretch it)—and they’re $5 each. A few weeks ago I bought just more than 5 lbs of beans at our farmer market for $16. They were already cut, washed, and bagged – so I put half in the freezer and portioned out the rest for the freezer and fresh eating that week. I probably won’t need to buy beans until next spring or summer—but by then my bean plants should be producing. (They weren’t producing the volume I expected this fall.)
What I love most about seasonal eating is the anticipation and the grounding. I love waiting for the orchards to open in the fall. It pulls me into the season. Maybe the bees feel the same way when the tea olive tree blossoms every autumn. In any case, let’s take that as a reminder to look closer at what’s available to eat around us.