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A
Local organic honey in the United States is kind of a scam.
B
This is the problem with local bee products. You buy organic blueberries, those blueberries are staying put, the bees are flying. The bees are going to forage, so they're going to move around and they're going to get exposed to whatever is around them. So I will not give my family local bee products.
A
So what should we be doing when we first start getting that itchy throat rundown feeling?
B
First thing you do, you want to spray propolis in your mouth. How we get sick is we're breathing in air particles from, from other people who are carrying bacteria or viruses. If we're spraying propolis in our nose, spraying propolis in our mouth, we're creating a barrier, we're creating a defense system and we don't have to get sick.
A
Is local organic honey actually a scam? Today we're exposing what most people don't realize about the honey industry. Immunity, antibiotics, and the natural medicine industry with Carly Kramer, the founder of Beekeepers Naturals. She's a beekeeper, health advocate and entrepreneur who built one of the fastest growing natural medicine brands in the world. She started Beekeepers Naturals after her own health crisis with chronic tonsillitis and now sells one bottle of Immune Support Prop Throat Spray every 15 seconds. I had no idea until this interview how influential bees are to all of the food that we eat and how the pesticides that we are continuing to spray in the US Are impacting our food, our honey, our bees, and our immunity. To watch this episode, go to real Alex Clark on YouTube or Culture Apothecary on Spotify. Every link that you could possibly ever need is in the show notes. Don't forget to leave a five star review and let us know which guest you'd love for me to have on again. Please welcome Carly Kramer, the founder of Beekeepers Naturals to Culture Apothecary. You shared that chronic tonsilitis was the beginning of your health journey. Do you think that most of us are removing tonsils and we shouldn't be?
B
I don't think it's necessary for everyone. I think there's different solutions and I think that people just don't know the basic hygiene for their immune system. There's this thing called propolis that the bees have been making for thousands of years that humans have been relying on forever that can completely modulate, reset and affect our immune system. And there are not just tonsillitis, but tons of things that people are probably suffering with that they don't need to be.
A
So when Our tonsils are inflamed. What do you think they're really trying to communicate to us?
B
It's an immune response. So in certain situations, if there's an infection, I think it's totally fair to get your tonsils removed. But I think in a lot of situations it. It's the immune system needing to be reset and it's the immune system needing to be supported. Starting to use propolis on a daily basis, I was able to totally reset my immune system. I now use it on a daily basis. It's been years. I started beekeeping in 2012 and I still have my tonsils today and I have not had tonsilitis since I started working with the bees.
A
You had tonsillitis. You learn a lot about the immune system in this time. And then are you also working in finance as all of this is happening?
B
Not yet. So I started beekeeping in 2012. I was still in college and yes, I was studying, but I was able to really focus on the bees, focus on my immune system. I was doing a lot of chemistry courses at the time, so I was able to bring the stuff I was learning in the apiary into the lab. And I was kind of creating this product line for myself. But it was a really authentic experience because I wasn't looking to start a big company or make some career transition. I was literally just thinking about how can I heal myself and how can I work with these incredible creatures that have so much potential to change our health?
A
So when did you decide, okay, I think I need to walk away from this high achieving finance career to literally focus on bees.
B
So after college I went into finance. I was at Goldman Sachs until end of 2016. And it was never authentic for me. I've always been nature focused and I had this great job on paper, I had a lot of debt when I graduated and I couldn't turn it down. But I didn't feel like I was creating an impact the way that I wanted to. And I had had such a profound health change and healing experience working with the bees. I felt like other people could benefit from this and people deserve to know about this.
A
So where did you go to learn more? Was it somewhere in the United States? Was there some sort of retreat?
B
So I started beekeeping when I was in Canada. I grew up in Toronto and I started working with the bees. I was in British Columbia and I had an amazing mentor there. And then I found another mentor in a part of Canada called Queens. And so I was going there every single weekend, working with the apiary. There wasn't a retreat, but I found local beekeeping association meetings and they have chapters in every state, every province, so you can literally just find it online. But I started going to local chapter meetings wherever I was and meeting with other beekeepers and I started volunteering with them and I really learned everything working for free.
A
Did you find there to be any glaring differences between how we beekeep in the United States versus Europe and other countries?
B
Yes, there's a big pesticide problem in the United States and you can't ignore that. And I think that shapes how we work with the bees because the bees are pollinating flowers, plants, trees. If there's pesticides on the things they're pollinating, it is getting into their system, it is getting into your bee products. And so for me now with beekeepers, I work with all sustainable regenerative beekeepers, which means we keep the bees far away from pesticides. It is very hard to do that in the current environment in the U.S. i have so many friends in the U.S. who are incredible beekeepers that share these values, but they can't really do it because their neighbors are spraying pesticides or things are be being sprayed locally and the bees will fly for a mile radius. So it doesn't matter if the hive is sitting on certified organic ground. If next door some dirty stuff is happening, it's going to get into their systems and into your end products.
A
So when we're buying bee pollen or honey from a local beekeeper and it says local organic honey, that might be true for the plot of land it's sitting on. But what you're saying is these bees are flying for miles around, and so they could be going and picking up stuff from some other plot of land that's flying fills glyphosate.
B
Absolutely. So this is the problem with local bee products. And let me just say I want this to change because I love supporting local, I love shopping local. And the beekeepers I speak to, they don't want it to be like this. But what's happening is you buy organic blueberries, those blueberries are staying put. Right. They're not going to go get into the neighbor stuff. The bees are flying. The bees are going to forage. So they're going to move around and they're going to get exposed to whatever is around them. So I will not give my family local bee products.
A
This is crazy. It's like local organic honey in the United States is kind of a scam.
B
Yeah.
A
Talk to me about propolis. What is that word? What does it mean? When we're shopping for bee products.
B
Okay, so propolis is another thing that the bees make. They make honey. They also make propolis. Propolis you can think of as the bee's immune system. It literally comes from plant and tree resins. So think of the immuno properties of the plant itself. The bees are collecting that, mixing it with their enzymes, and then they make propolis and they use it to line the entire hive and keep it germ free. And for newborn baby bees, they actually line the cell wall with propolis to create a sterile environment for newborns. So for the bees, it is how they protect themselves from germs, bacteria, pathogens, anything that could hurt them. And for humans, we can really use it in the same way to protect our body from any of the toxins, any of the bacteria that we're exposed to, and help to really bring inflammation down.
A
It's cold and flu season as we speak. What are Americans doing on a day to day basis? That is not helping. When it's this time of the year and everybody's getting sick so much.
B
I feel like the conversation around immunity has always been reactive. It's like, okay, I get sick, I hate getting sick. And then I take all of this toxic stuff just to put a band aid on it and feel better. But what are you doing on a daily basis to actually support your immune health? What is your immune system hygiene look like? And so the average person right now, they don't have immune system hygiene. And they need it the same way you brush your teeth and, you know, wash your hands. It's a really important part of caring for your body. So for me, my immune system hygiene, every single morning, every single night, I spray my propolis spray in my mouth and I use my propolis nasal spray in my nose. How we get sick is we're breathing in air particles from other people who are carrying bacteria or viruses. That's going in through our respiratory system. So it enters through our mouth, it enters through our nose. If we're spraying propolis in our nose, spraying propolis in our mouth, we're creating a barrier, we're creating a defense system. And we don't have to get sick. We plus the propolis itself, it's amazing for inflammation, it regulates your immune system. So for people who are autoimmune, it can help to balance out their bodies and it will strengthen your immune system if you come into contact with anything that could hurt you.
A
I'm obsessed with this verbiage immune system hygiene routine. Like, it's cute, you know, What? I mean, like, I like that. Like, yeah, that makes me excited and I want to do it because it makes it sound like it's like a get ready with me my immune system hygiene routine.
B
Everyone needs one. I mean, we all have immune systems. It's responsible quite, quite literally for how we feel. But people aren't building the routine the way they should.
A
Okay, so what should we be doing when we first start getting that itchy throat rundown feeling?
B
First thing you do, you want to spray propolis in your mouth. Propolis is, it's been around forever. There's over 300 beneficial compounds. It is the most powerful, totally natural, by the way. It's just as powerful as a lot of the non natural stuff, for the record. But it is the most powerful thing you can do to support your overall immune health. And so stop that sickness before it starts. So you want to be spraying that right away. I am obsessed with our nasal spray because that is just. If you're, if you're doing those two things, you just will not get sick. And I'm a working mom. I have a busy life. I know all your listeners are also incredibly busy, high achieving people who have so much on the go and you just can't afford to get sick. Like it just, you can't, you can't take time off like that. And so if you're doing something on a daily basis to nurture your immune health and care for your body in that way, you can really bypass cold and flu season and make it through without any issues.
A
Do you think that modern medicine is better at suppressing symptoms than building immunity?
B
I love modern medicine. I'm a big fan of it. There's a lot of amazing things that have come out of that world and there's a lot of things that we don't need. There's a lot of things that have come out that are, you know, kind of predatory and really prey on people who want to and deserve to feel well. And I think big medicine is a big problem. I think a lot of things are engineered not necessarily to heal you, but to help you feel better. So, you know, we, we can numb the throat so you don't feel it, but what's happening in your immune system, what's happening inside your body, not to mention what's happening with all those chemicals, those numbing agents you've just taken. So I think medicine really needs a makeover here. And that's what we're trying to do at Beekeepers Naturals. We're all about reinventing the medicine Cabinet using clean, truly effective science based solutions that have been around in nature forever.
A
What is something that we're told is normal when we're getting sick? You think is garbage advice.
B
The entire ethos of getting sick is kind of garbage. Because you don't have to get sick if you're treating your body the right way. You don't have to get sick. And if you do, if you come into contact with something that your body can't fight off, you can use tools to recover so much more quickly.
A
Like what?
B
I mean, propolis. Propolis. If you come into contact with something and you start using propolis, it can take down the inflammation. It's supporting your immune system, it's balancing your body. So it will help you get back to feeling 100% way faster. Things like, you know, the right probiotic system that can also really help you to heal quickly. Vitamin C is incredible. I take liposomal vitamin C and propolis every single day. You know, taking a thousand milligrams of vitamin C, it's something that can seriously reduce your recovery time.
A
Do you think another thing that we're doing wrong as Americans is we're over cleaning things and it's leading to us getting sick. Do you know what I mean? Like, we're obsessed with hand sanitizer and sanitizing soaps and bleach and Clorox. Do you think that's hurting us?
B
I think it can. I think that stuff definitely affects your microbiome. And so, you know, I love creating. I like use my own hand sanitizer with thieves, oil and all kinds of stuff. But there's natural ways to do it. There's natural ways to stay clean. But if we're overdoing it with the hand sanitizer totally, it affects our microbiome.
A
I wonder if we're weakening our immune systems because we're not letting ourselves be exposed to germs.
B
So for the hand sanitizer specifically, I'm much more concerned about our microbiome than I am our immune system. But I think our immune system is getting weaker because of all the toxins we're exposed to in our environment. I think, you know, we travel, we interact differently with the world today. I think there are chemicals that are being used all around us that have not been used before. And it really suppresses our immune system. So it's never been more important to take care of that part of your body.
A
Let me tell you something nobody wants to admit. You can eat clean, you can lift weight, you can get sunlight at the sea. Like Beth and little women. And you can still feel like garbage. I know people who are doing all the right things. You know, allegedly cold plunges, red light supplements that they can't pronounce and their hormones are still completely off. They are tired, they are irritable, they are inflamed, and no one can tell them why. That is where Jevity comes in. Jevity was built for proactive health optimization. It was created by a founder who lost his own father to what he believes was a largely preventable disease. So instead of waiting until something breaks, Jevity helps you optimize now through every stage of life. They start with at home blood work. And I mean real blood work. Okay. A phlebotomist comes to your house like a little health wizard. And then after you get over 100 biomarkers tested, you're going to get on do a virtual consult with your own personalized health team. They're going to help you with supplements if you need them, get your nutrition on lock if you need hormone help, and recommendations for deeper testing. They test over 90 biomarkers twice a year for reference. Your primary care doctor checks about 20 and says, looks fine. Maybe you'll have spicy diarrhea, but so does mostly every American. And then you just feel like you're slowly losing your mind. Jevity takes the guesswork out of health. Everything is data driven, personalized, and delivered straight to your door. It's all included for 129amonth with 40 off supplements and premium prescriptions if you need them. Use code Alex for 20 off your first purchase@gojavity.com Genie Peptides. Jevity can help with that. That's code Alex for 20 off your first purchase@gojevity.com we're all willing to forgive when a 15 year old's foundation doesn't quite match. You know, orange necks, wrong undertones. We've all been there, so we feel for her. But by the time you're 30, it's more than a little cringe. And honestly, most of the time it's not user error. It's that the makeup itself just isn't working with your skin. That's why I love Adele Natural cosmetics. Their moisturizing foundation is their top rated product for a reason. It evens out your skin tone while still looking like your skin. It genuinely feels wearing nothing at all, but with this really beautiful natural finish. And if you've ever struggled to find your exact shade, Adele offers a complimentary color matching service. So you just email customer service. They're going to help Find your match. And if it isn't perfect when you get it, they're going to send you a new one for free. No stress, no guessing. Everything is handcrafted in small batches in Central Texas, made with clean, nourishing ingredients and rooted in the belief that beauty comes from the heart, not harsh chemicals. If you're ready for makeup that actually matches your grown woman's skin, use code Alex for 25 off your first order@adele natural cosmetics.com. if you are Hillary Clinton, we can find a foundation that matches your grown lizard woman skin. That's Adele natural cosmetics.com code Alex for 25 off your first order. If somebody was constantly getting sick, like, do you have those friends that have kids and it's like every other week they're like, oh, so and so sick again. They're always sick.
B
Yes.
A
What is the number one question you would ask them first when they tell you, I just can't stop getting sick?
B
So I would ask them what they're feeding their little one. If there's a high sugar diet, that's a problem. Sugar is a major immune system suppressor. And so starting there, I mean, I think so much can be solved with dietary changes. And then what are you giving them? Do you have an immune system hygiene protocol for your little one? My daughter's two and for a long time now, I mean, she sprays her nasal spray every morning. There was a while where she wouldn't let me spray the nasal spray. Babies don't love you putting stuff up their nose. Now she's actually really into it, but I started her with the propolis throat spray. I was sprayed in her mouth every morning. She loves the taste. She's been doing that since she was 1 years old. And my daughter never gets sick and I send her to play dates sometimes and I go to pick her up and I see like this kid with a runny nose coughing and I'm like, okay, cool, you could have told me. But I'm also not worried about it because my daughter's not going to pick it up because she has really great immune system hygiene because she's doing the things that she needs to do to. Well, I'm doing them for her. I'm her mom, but at this age. But we're giving her the things that she needs to stay well to bypass these germs and these exposures.
A
What do you think antibiotics have done to our culture when it comes to immunity and gut health?
B
I think we way over prescribe them and it's done a lot of Damage to people's microbiomes. So it's really interesting when I started studying bee products and propolis. Propolis is like the original antibiotic before the advent of antibiotics. During, you know, there. It's all through history, people have been using propolis because propolis is amazing at combating viruses and combating bacteria. And so you put an antibiotic into your system, it kills all the bad stuff, but it's also killing all the good stuff. And that has a lasting effect for your body. You need to replenish your gut. You need to be taking probiotics. You need to be supporting your health after and during an antibiotic situation. Propolis, it will kill the bacteria, but it's not going to disrupt the microbiome in the same way. It's something that our body can actually not just tolerate, but work with. So it's good for reducing inflammation holistically. There's actually a lot of studies that show that propolis is amazing for gut health. So things like leaky gut. Propolis actually helps to strengthen the tinctures in the digestive wall.
A
Ooh, I didn't know that.
B
Candida as well, propolis contains pinocembrin, which acts as a fungicide for candida for overgrown yeast. So propolis has so many effects in the body to help you just feel well. And that's why when I think about immune hygiene, I'm thinking about it in a really holistic way. I'm. I'm not just thinking, how can we get rid of the runny nose or fix the scratchy throat. I'm saying, how can we reset our bodies so that we're not defenseless?
A
You know, how, like, for UTIs and stuff people talk about in the holistic space, like, you got to be taking D Manos.
B
Yes.
A
Okay. Do you feel like D Mannose with propolis?
B
That would be like, I've had UTIs before, and I always use propolis orally, and I've used it topically as well. And propolis, there's actually studies that show that propolis has synergistic effects with antibiotics. So anything you're taking to affect your immune system, propolis will really help to balance your body. Body.
A
What does it mean when we're sick? And we see products that say liposomal vitamin C, what is that?
B
Liposomal is a new delivery method. So when you take a capsule, you swallow a capsule of something, your body absorbs a percentage of it, but it's not necessarily bioavailable, and it's a long journey from, you know, through your digestive tract. There's a lot of heat, there's a lot of stomach acid. Sometimes people are taking supplements and spending a lot of money on supplements they're not even getting any of the health effects from because it doesn't survive and it's not bioavailable. And so liposomal is super bioavailable. It mimics the cell structure. So when you take something in a liposomal form, it actually gets to the parts of your body that need it. So it's just much more effective.
A
It's.
B
It's a funny thing because there's so many supplements and the wellness industry is massive. And, you know, I am a part of that world. And as a consumer, I have lost so much money, and I've had that experience of buying the expensive product that the amazing influencer is using and telling me is the best. And I hate that experience. And I never want to have that experience. And I don't want any of our customers to have that experience. So I'm obsessed with finding what actually works, what is truly clean, what is truly effective, and what's the best delivery mechanism to get it into your body. So, you know, for me, I would rather spend a little bit more on liposomal than take a capsule where I'm only going to get a small percentage of the nutrients.
A
Do you think that children's immune systems today are weaker than previous generations?
B
I think there's more sugar and more synthetic dangerous ingredients in food today than there has been in the past. I think the classes of pesticides being used and how pervasive they are is so much worse than it ever was. And I think all of that really affects our children's immune systems.
A
When do you personally reach for propolis the most? Is it like when you're traveling? Is it crowded spaces just the first sign that something feels off?
B
All of the above. It's an everyday routine. Morning and night, every single day. And then I'll reach for my liposomal vitamin C with propolis metropolis in it before I get on an airplane. I will never travel without that product. Because you're in an enclosed space and you're exposed to so much. What's.
A
What's in your purse, like when you're traveling on an airplane.
B
I mean, I can show you right now because I just flew here.
A
Yeah. Oh, I love this. I love going through people's things.
B
This is what I have in here right now. Of course. My propolis spray.
A
Yep.
B
Your throat spray every day.
A
Okay. I love that your bag says save the bees.
B
You're really on brand. I'm always talking about bees. This is my nasal spray. The lid came off.
A
Off. Okay.
B
But I sprayed this this morning. And then I have two liposomal vitamin Cs, which is probably excessive. And I took one of these before I started recording with you. This is my brain health. So this has royal jelly, Bacopa, Monieri, ginkgo, biloba, and cognizant, which is a form of city choline. So this is like focus in a little bag. Like, this is like, gets me in the zone.
A
What is royal jelly?
B
Great question. People don't know what royal jelly is, and it's often the thing that's missing in people's health health. So royal jelly is the colostrum of the beehive. So it is a secretion made by nurse bees, given to newborn baby bees, and it's fed to the newborn baby bees for the first three to five days of life. And for the bee who's to become the queen bee, it's her exclusive diet. And it's really interesting in nature because. And sorry, I'm like, nerding out on the.
A
No, I love it.
B
But it's really interesting in nature because you can see the difference between a bee who has some royal jelly and a bee who has a lot of royal jelly. Because the queen bee will live three to five years versus a regular bee who lives six to eight weeks. She'll have up to 1500 babies a day. Whereas a female worker bee doesn't have reproductive organs and she's just stronger, more robust. Like, she looks different. If you were to Google a picture or look at our Instagram or something. Royal jelly is amazing. It's been most studied in the Western world for brain health, for traumatic brain injuries, for neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer's, dementia. It's amazing for focus, memory, concentration.
A
I don't ever. And I. I really should. I apologize. I should do this more for the college girls in my audience. I. I really speak to moms a lot, but there's a good amount that are in college and they're always asking me for tips and tricks in college, and I honestly don't know. I didn't go to college, but you saying this, I'm like, dude, I would be loading up on this stuff.
B
Yeah.
A
And before a test or final, that's what I'd be taking.
B
Well, people call it liquid Adderall, which is really funny because it's so natural as the opposite of that. Okay, wait.
A
Liquid Adderall. This is amazing because it's all natural, and we don't like add.
B
And it's going to give you the focus, memory, concentration, allow you to kind of cut through the fog. But it's actually good for your brain. It's really nourishing for your brain. And speaking of moms, I can say this as a mom. Mom brain is real. At least it is for me. I felt so, so different postpartum coming back to work. And I used it every single day. And I feel like it really helps me to just kind of cut through that fogginess. And then I'm using it all the time just to support my brain health. And then the. The other thing that I love about royal jelly, and we're kind of early into the SC and more people are studying this Royal jelly for hormone balancing effects. This is so important because I'm sure you're seeing it all around you. Women are struggling with menopause. We're hearing about fertility issues, all kinds of things that are happening today. And Royal jelly is a really great way to support your overall health. There was a study done looking at rodents, and it found that taking royal jelly actually increased follicular growth in the ovaries. So it's actually a natural way to. To stimulate your fertility.
A
Okay, what does it taste like?
B
Royal jelly on its own doesn't taste great, but in our superfood honey, it's blended into the honey, so all you taste is honey. And in our brain health packets, it's also mixed in with some honey so it doesn't taste bad. It tastes a little bit more medicinal than just a plain honey, but it's so powerful. And for. For myself and my partner, before we decided we wanted to get pregnant, we were both taking Royal Jelly for a couple months because we just were like, we hear things all the time. We don't want to have any issues. And this is a great way to support our hormones and support our fertility.
A
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B
So I like things that have an NPN number or they're formulated to EU standards. I think there's just different standards in those places. I'll often email companies and ask for heavy metal testing and so I was just talking to my team this morning about the matcha I use because I've emailed every company and I've got their like scores and everything. So I like to do things that way and I use a lot of food based supplements. There's the certain supplements that I take every day that are not beekeepers. I take a vitamin D and I really like Thorne. I think they've got really good practices. Pure Encapsulations is another good brand. Designs for health as well though those three that I listed I'VE spoken to their founders. I like their testing standards. They're for the most part brands that retail in Europe and so they know what it looks like to build a product there. But I also, I like things that come from nature, that come from food, that come from the ground. I think our bodies really know what to do. And so I'm not a big believer in overloading with this supplement and that supplement. The reason I love the products coming from the beehive is because they're kind of coming from plants. Plants and honey and things that the bees are making and they're just really well integrated versus coming from a big lab that has, you know, who knows what kind of contamination?
A
Are you into any other, like, wellness gadgets or products that aren't necessarily like supplements?
B
I'm insane about water quality. Reverse osmosis water. I'm checking water everywhere. That's like a rabbit hole that I've gone down way too deeply. I love red light. I love hyperbaric oxygen. I've done eboo. I've done total plasma exchange. If anyone read my substack, I'm constantly talking about toxicity in our environment and the tweaks we can make in our own life to help us stay healthy even though we're exposed to so much more today than we should be. So total plasma exchange, it's replacing, it's taking out your plasma. It's kind of like an oil change for the body. It's like a super new age thing. It's crazy expensive right now. It's not accessible for people. I only have access to this because I work with a lot of doctors as formulating my products. And, you know, it's part of my job to have access to these things. So it's not a thing that like, people are really doing today, but I think in the future it will be. And it, it helps to clean our plasma and pull a lot of these toxins that we've ex been exposed to out of our body.
A
What does the average person not realize about what they're keeping in their medicine cabinets when it comes to conventional drugstore medicine?
B
I think a lot of conventional drugstore medicine is made to confuse and mislead you. And I'll tell you why. There's something called a drug fact panel. You've seen it, you turn around your product and it says the calories, it says the sugar. If you're doing a drug product, you don't have to disclose all of the drug fact panel. So sometimes people are buying. I can think of someone in the lollipop space. Right now we make lollipops at Beekeepers Naturals. We disclose every single thing because our customers would never let us get away with anything less than that. Nor should they. But I can think of a company in the lollipop space that makes immune supporting lollipops for kids. And they have panel. And so mom turns that around. And by the way, if I didn't work in this world, I would do the same thing. So parents don't feel bad. If you've given these products to your kids, you turn it around and it doesn't say anything about the amount of sugar, the calories, anything like that. So you assume, oh, there's, there's no sugar in here. This is healthy. Lo and behold, it's got 6 to 10 grams of sugar per lollipop. You're basically giving your kid a Kit Kat bar and they have a sore throat. So there is products like that. You, you know, same with the conventional cough syrups. You turn them around, it says no calories, it says no sugar. You have to like, like pull apart the outside wrapper to see what's in it. And then you see ingredients like food dyes that none of us should be taking. Refined sugars, artificial sweeteners. You see ingredients like dextromethorphan and phenylephrine that literally do not even work. This happens all the time. Cuz, you know, in my mom groups, I'll meet a parent and they're giving their kid this cough syrup and then I have to be like, okay, let me give you all of this and please give that to me so I can throw it in the garbage because that's got dextromethorphan and phenylephrine in it. And your little one does not need that because it's been proven that phenylephrine doesn't actually even do anything for our bodies. There was actually a really big study looking at upper pediatric respiratory infections and it compared dextromethorphan to honey. And the kids using honey just as much relief as the dextrome with orphan. So when you see a study like that, why would you give a kid.
A
A chemical when you are in a mom group or you're meeting new mom friends and they are giving their kids something that like, you and I are like, no way. We would never give our kid that. How do you approach the subject to not like shame them or make them feel bad, but inform them.
B
So look, it's really hard because being a mom is really hard. And I'M sure there are things that I have done or will do that could be greatly improved. And for me, if somebody witnessed me doing something, I really would just appreciate the constructive feedback. So usually this happens a lot actually, because in, in my mom groups all the time people are like, oh my God, my little one's sick, or I've got a newborn and our 3 year olds at preschool and everyone at the preschool is sick. What do I do? And so I actually, instead of being like, don't give this, I'm like, here, let me gift you some stuff. That's it. I don't tell them that I'm the founder of this company. I don't say anything. I'm just like, I work for this company, let me gift you some stuff. And they a hundred percent of the time come back to me and are like, oh my God, that worked. I looked at the ingredients, it's all natural. Should I be using this? And then it will kind of open the conversation and we can.
A
And then they're like, oh my gosh, she's the boss.
B
I know for me, this propolis Royal jelly pollen, these ingredients from the beehive, it sounds so simple, but they've really changed my health. And I just got lucky enough to stumble into beekeeping when I was a very young woman. And I know that I, I wouldn't know these things had I not. So I just like to share that information when I can.
A
I want to dive into the honey quality conversation a little bit more. I know that people are going to hear that local honey, or just because it says organic local honey doesn't even mean that it's truly organic or the best. And they're like spiraling and they're going, that's it, I've had it. Nothing is good enough. There's nothing I can do. What's the point of any of this? Like, I know my audience. So what is your response to them?
B
Okay, so first of all, don't panic. Most people's bodies can process out some amount of these chemicals. Chemicals. And honey has a lot of amazing benefits. But it's probably time to make a change. So there's a big situation with honey, the local situation. The problem is the pesticides. But then when you're buying honey, there's also a lot of honey that's cut with agave and corn syrup. And you see this a lot in medicine. Big brands that are starting to come out with products because people want natural. So big brands are starting to come out with products that are honey based. And you look at the honey. And it's a proprietary blend. Now if I were to do a proprietary blend of honey, it would be like from my apiary in Spain and my apiary in Brazil and this. But when I have taken some of these products and sent it to our lab to reverse engineer and break down, I've found really large amounts of agave and really large amounts of corn syrup. And what I've learned from talking to some other labs who we don't work with is a lot of the time in proprietary honey blender blends, it's expensive because really, really good honey is expensive. And so companies to take the cost down will cut it with other things. And so a lot of the honey on the market is counterfeit. So really you need to find a brand that has pure, high quality honey, ideally coming from outside of North America. Somebody who talks about sustainable beekeeping, sustainable agriculture. I know it sounds like I'm describing my own company. Yes, we do that. But there are also other people out there who are doing things the right way. And it's just about finding them.
A
For somebody that just does not know anything about, you know, environmental toxins or pesticides. When you say, you know, this bee may have drank a little bit of glyphosate, they're like, who cares? Whatever, it's still honey. Can you explain why the average mother should care about her honey being filled with pesticides?
B
Let's just look at the bees for a second. We've, we've heard a lot about colony collapse, about the bees dying before we even get into how the bees affect, affect our health. The bees pollinate one third of our food supply. If we lose the bees, we are losing all of our natural food. Like we're, we're creating a food desert. So what we've seen and studies have confirmed this neonicotinoid pesticides, they act as a neuroactive agent for the bee. So they're completely messing up their spatial reasoning and to put it differently, scrambling their brain. Now that's what's happening in our little bees. We're much larger than bees, but we're ingesting this stuff every day from a lot of different angles. And what we've, what we're seeing, seeing right now in the environment, dementia, Alzheimer's, all of these neurodegenerative conditions are on the rise. We're seeing younger and younger people being diagnosed with cancer. We're seeing cancer in 30s and 40s, whereas, you know, it used to hit older populations. So, you know, these things, it might, you might not think it's affecting you, or it might not be affecting you right now, but these things build up in your body and that's why it's really important. And this isn't about living scared and being scared about all the toxins around us. It's about being informed so you can make choices. Because look, we're exposed to toxins. There's no doubt I am. And I try to live as clean as possible. But there are things I can do to protect my body knowing that I'm going to have those exposures. Propolis is one of them things that I can do to reduce inflammation. You know, doing the best that I can to use clean water, use the right filters, doing whatever I can to have clean food sources, and then doing my best to limit exposure to these different pesticides.
A
Does it matter what type of container your honey is sold in?
B
I prefer glass. Our honey comes in glass. Glass. We do have some things that are coming in plastic, but we do no heat in our manufacturing process. So I think things are pretty temperature sensitive. I try to reduce my plastic use in my house just generally. But I'm not stressing out if it's not like a super hot or a super cold thing in plastic. Cuz unfortunately it's a standard material that we come into contact with a lot.
A
Let me tell you a real horror story story. Cue the haunted house noises. Not a movie, not a podcast. Real life. My pregnant friend just found out her rental house has black mold. Not maybe mold, not a little mildew, black mold. The kind that lawyers get rich from. She's been dealing with headaches, congestion, weird fatigue, all the stuff people tell you. Oh, it's probably just stress. No. Then the mold remediation guy, he comes in, he runs the test, he says something wild. Thank God you already have Jasper air scrubbers in every room. Otherwise your symptoms would be way worse. That is what really solidified it for me. Okay, these are my real life friends. Jasper is not just some cute air purifier. It is the first air scrubber built specifically for home use using commercial grade power. These guys helped invent commercial grade scrubbers for wildfire smoke mold remediation and disaster cleanup. This is the best air purifier for your house. It is designed to actually live in your house without looking ugly too. It's beautiful. It's engineered in one intentional size. It's big enough to clean your air, compact enough to fit seamlessly into your space. Jasper has smart sensors that Detect ultra fine PM 2.5 particles. Dust, smoke, pollen, Cooking fumes and it captures airborne mold spores with a true HEPA filter. It also removes vocal seas, the toxic chemicals released from wall paint, cleaning products, furniture, all the stuff slowly wrecking your indoor air. This is multi threat protection. Wildfire smoke, cigarette smoke, mold, pet dander, odors, chemicals. This is not just my experience. This is thousands of you in my audience, including one of my closest best friends who is pregnant with mold in a rental home dealing with this right now. But she is. Jaspers in every room. Jasper is now one of the the bestselling products of all time with the Culture Apothecary audience. My friends are telling me their kids are sleeping longer, their snoring is disappearing and sickness is clearing from their homes faster. It is backed by a lifetime warranty because this is a health investment. It is not a temporary seasonal fix. Go to Jasper Co Jasper J ao, fill out the Culture Apothecary submission form and use code Alex for a discount. That's Jasper Co JCO with code Alex for a discount. Because if your house is making you sick, clean air is an optional. It's survival. If you've ever just had a baby, you know this moment. Friends show up at your house with food, love, good intentions and meanwhile your home smells like a crime scene of dirty diapers. You really want to light a candle, but then that voice in your head kicks in. Oh, I can't do that. Those chemicals are slowly poisoning my baby. Well, guess what? Here's your solution. Natural sloth Beeswax candles. This is what I have all over my house. Most conventional candles are made with paraffin, synthetic fragrances and hormone disrupting chemicals that pollute your indoor air. You certainly don't want a newborn baby breathing that in. Beeswax is different. Pure beeswax burns clean. It supports better indoor air quality, and when scented properly, it doesn't overwhelm your nervous system or your newborns. Natural sloth candles are made safe, certified, meaning they're rigorously tested and proven free from harmful chemicals. They're made with real beeswax, wooden wicks that crackle softly. And they're scented only with pure essential oils. No synthetic fragrance, no toxins, no endocrine disruptors. Every product is handmade in small batches in Texas from a veteran owned business. And they're radically honest about every ingredient they use, which matters when you're lighting something in your home every day. Natural sloth isn't just candles. They also make soaps and room sprays. All organic, all non toxic, all safe. For families, babies and anyone who's sensitive. So yes, you can welcome guests, neutralize the diaper smell and protect your baby's health. Go to naturalsloth.com use code ALEX for 15 off. This is also a great gift for Valentine's Day. Naturalslop.com code ALEX for 15 off Honey shows up in ancient and biblical texts as something sacred. Why do you think that it was such a special superfood?
B
Propolis does too. Cleopatra used propolis. So honey is the only food on the planet that never expires. So think about the enzymes in honey. They found honey in Egyptian tombs that's still totally nutritionally intact. So honey propolis, royal jelly. These are incredibly powerful nourishing compounds that can help us really change our health. And I think our ancestors knew that and our ancestors experienced it. And bees have been around since prehistoric times. Think about what they have survived. There's a reason they survived. They have a very strong capacity to heal, protect and regenerate.
A
What does eating bee pollen do?
B
Bee pollen, I like to think of it as nature's multivitamin. It's really high in branched chain amino acids. It's, it's got, it's full of B vitamins. So it actually is really great for boosting your energy levels. So it's kind of like I mentioned that I don't like taking a lot of stuff because I'm worried about contamination. Bee pollen is like you're getting a multivitamin, but it's coming from something food grade. And so it's amazing for boosting energy, for just covering your bases nutritionally. For all of my workout people, it's the best at boosting your endurance. There's actually studies that have shown that when you take pollen, it increases your blood hemoglobin value and that increases your endurance. So. So I love taking bee pollen. I do a teaspoon every morning. Another thing I give to my little girl, I'll like put it on her toast, I'll put it in smoothies, I put it on top of yogurt. Anywhere where you would use like chia seeds or hemp seeds, I will sprinkle bee pollen.
A
Can you like overdose on too much B stuff? Like, I mean, you're spraying propolis spray, you're eating royal jelly, you're eating bee pollen. Like, is there too much?
B
So the only thing that you can overdo is bee pollen because for a lot of people there's an allergy there. And that's why you hear about bee pollen for allergies. People are actually micro doing with the allergen. For some people, that really works. But allergies are not one size fits all. So when I talk to people with allergies who are doing bee pollen, I actually say, hey, switch over to propolis. Propolis will reduce the histamine response and you're not at risk of overdoing it in the same way. Bee pollen, especially ours, I think just a conventional bee pollen from the store. That's why you see, you see photos on Instagram of like a smoothie bowl that's half covered in bee polish pollen. If you did that with beekeepers naturals bee pollen, it would be way too much. Bee pollen that's been heated and treated, it's watered down. On the enzyme front, it's not as powerful. Ours is a raw bee pollen.
A
So you want to start with like 1/4 teaspoon.
B
Yes, like less than a teaspoon. You need so little and it's so powerful. Now I do a teaspoon a day.
A
So you're telling us that it's better to have European honey, essentially to stay away from pesticides. But also I was taught that, that to help with allergies, it's really important to have bee products from your local environment to help with allergies. So are you just weighing the pros and cons and saying pesticide use matters more?
B
So here's the thing. The allergy argument totally makes sense. In the olden days. Oh, my gosh. In the olden days, we think about farms in the olden days. Some blueberries, some apples, some wildflowers. There's a bunch of different things. If you look at a farm today, it's got a dedicated single monocrop crop. We've got our almond farm and our avocado farm. They're not growing a bunch of different things. So local oftentimes means exposure to one of these big corporate monocropped farms. So the idea behind the allergies is you're getting a little bit of exposure to all these different plants that will help your body to work with these different plants when you're exposed to them. And you're not going to get the puffy eyes and runny nose that you once did. So it's just, it just doesn't work like that anymore, unfortunately. And again, pretty propolis is a. It reduces the histamine response. So it doesn't matter if you're getting propolis from Brazil, Japan or New York City, it's going to limit the histamine response. And that's a great way to treat allergies.
A
Can food Influence gene expression?
B
Yes, absolutely. I mean, so much influences gene expression. Our lifestyle completely influences it. And so I think the foods that we're ingesting and the different toxins and pesticides that are, are either there or not present on those foods. Those things are influencing our bodies in a massive way.
A
So is, are your products actually regenerative and organic?
B
So we're not certified organic simply because I don't believe in certified organic for bee products. It's more of, I guess we are technically organic, but it's more of like a statement because I like to really educate people about what organic means. Because I think organic when it comes to bee products, as we've talked about, is kind of a way of confusing and tricking people.
A
People.
B
And so I don't like to say that, but I like to say that we have sustainable regenerative practices which go beyond organic. The biggest thing we do that goes beyond organic is making sure that there is zero pesticide exposure, not just for our bees, but for a five mile radius surrounding. So what that means is our apiaries are in the middle of nowhere. When I go visit our apiaries, it's intense. Like I'm, I'm like on a plane for 12 hours and then I'm driving for like four. Yeah. But then I get there and I'm like, oh, this is magic. I get to just go be with my bees. But we're, we're keeping bees in the middle of nowhere, frankly. This is how we choose our geographies. We're working in places where there's better pesticide regulation. So in Europe there's much better pesticide regulation than there is in North America right now. So we're doing a ton of work in Europe. And then we're going to like kind of middle of nowhere locations. So it's proximity to a forest, it'll be in the mountains. That's what our apiaries look like. So we are really removing pesticides from the equation. And then we also do batch testing. So once our product comes back, just in case, because I can't be at every location all the time looking over everyone's shoulder. So we will test for every pesticide, toxin and pollutant in accordance with Health Canada, which is more rigorous than the U.S. so, you know, we're really making sure our products are clean. And we do that one, because it's on it. Honest. It's, it's what I wanted and what didn't exist. And two, because we have customers that are people who are longevity focused, people that you Know are just looking to support their health, live as long as possible, and feel the best that they can. And then we have customers that are dealing with serious chronic illness. And in those situations, those customers can't even ingest trace amounts of this pesticide or this toxin. So we take it seriously.
A
You would love to be able to say we're made in the usa.
B
I would love that.
A
But you're saying it's not even possible because of how bad it is.
B
It's not possible right now.
A
Is it true that certain agricultural chemicals are decimating bee colonies in the United States?
B
Yes.
A
What happens if the bees cease to exist or at least dramatically decrease in.
B
The US the bees dramatically decrease in the US we are going to be spending like $50 to buy an apple. So bees pollinate one third of our food supply. They literally. What that means is bees literally allow our food supply supply to grow. If we lose the bees, it is going to get very expensive very quickly to buy fruits and vegetables, to buy these natural items that are pollinated by bees, not to mention the ripple effect in our entire ecosystem. Bees pollinate clover. Who feeds on clover? Cattle. How is it. How are people going to continue raising cattle with a clover shortage?
A
How old was your daughter when you started having her eat honey?
B
So I breastfed for a long time and I was eating all this stuff every day, so I feel like she got some in her system, but I started really giving it herself at 1 years old.
A
Okay. Okay. So you agree with that rule? Like one, so botulism.
B
I started giving her propolis before she turned one.
A
Okay.
B
The concern there with no honey before one is botulism, and that's a contamination risk. And look, I don't ever want to tell anyone to mess with that rule just because it's too precious. So I wouldn't. But I think propolis is really an incredible thing to get into your system. And I think starting at one, it's an amazing way to set a little one up for life.
A
What is this I hear about beekeepers living longer than the average person and.
B
Lowest incidence of cancer of all professions?
A
Really? Why do you think that is? Just all the bee. The propolis stuff.
B
Every beekeeper I know is getting high on their own supply. They're every. Every beat we all. We all ingest. So all of our bee products, we really do it. It becomes such a part of your life. And then I think being around the bees is incredibly calming and good for the. The soul.
A
If anybody has never tried anything from beekeepers, naturals, which honestly, I I don't even know how that's possible. I have been using beekeepers naturals products for years, been recommending them to my audience for years, my staff. Anytime somebody's get sick, I'm buying them the Propolis throat spray. I'm like, you need to take this. It'll cut your sickness in half or like catch it before you even begins. I have always been a fan and so I was so delighted that you wanted to come on the show and that I guess a bunch of people were telling you that you should come on, which is so exciting. Exciting to me. But I want to know, like, for those people who haven't tried it, what are the products they should start with?
B
Start with Propolis. And I'm pretty sure Propolis is our most, like our propolis spray is our most affordable product. So that's a great place to start. But I think everyone should be having propolis every single day. You'd buy your propolis. You do four sprays a day. You will see how you feel. It is. It's different. It's a different world.
A
Where can people buy your products?
B
We are available all across the US you can find us at Target, Walmart, Sam's Club Sprouts, Whole Foods, Amazon. We're available on our website. And yeah, any natural grocers, any retailer near you, most of them carry us. And because I love you and you've been supporting us forever and I want everyone listening to have the opportunity to feel and experience these products. We're going to give a code for all the listeners. It's Alex Clark, all caps. And you will get 20% off all of our our products.
A
Okay.
B
Insane.
A
Now I'm gonna be loading my card up because that's incredible. Thank you so much. If you could offer one remedy to heal a sick culture, physically, emotionally or spiritually, what would it be?
B
I think love and kindness is number one. And that sort of affects everything. If we're acting with loving kindness, we're not going to spray pesticides that are hurting people and causing all kinds of illnesses all over our world. And we're not going to be at each other's throats over things that we that, you know, should be uniting us. I think that the whole world just needs a little bit more love and kindness and a stronger ability to work together and support each other.
A
Okay, other random fun question. How hype were you last year when Butter Yellow was having a moment?
B
Oh, my God. It's never for me. It's never stopped having a moment. I was thinking, I bet she wears yellow today. And you did?
A
Yes.
B
That's so cute. You okay?
A
Thank you so much, Carly, for coming on Culture Apothecary.
B
Thank you so much for having me.
A
Not me. Fangirling over here. Shop beekeepers naturals with the 20% off discount on their website with code Alex Clark. That was so nice of her to provide that for us. Leave a five star review if you support us and want us to keep the show free. New episodes come out every Monday and Thursday at 6pm Pacific, 9pm Eastern, where we work hard to heal a six culture physically, emotionally and spiritually. I'm Alex Clark and this is Culture Apothecary.
Podcast: Culture Apothecary with Alex Clark
Guest: Carly Kremer — Founder of Beekeepers Naturals
Date: February 3, 2026
Theme: Exposing myths and sharing science-based truths about honey, bee products, immunity, and the role bees play in human health and culture.
Alex Clark welcomes Carly Kremer, founder of Beekeepers Naturals, to discuss the hidden realities of the honey industry, the underestimated power of bee products (propolis, royal jelly, bee pollen), and the impact of pesticides on both bees and human immunity. Carly’s personal journey—from chronic tonsillitis to beekeeping entrepreneur—frames a conversation on holistic health, immune “hygiene” routines, the limitations of local and “organic” labeling, and why modern approaches to illness fall short.
This episode is a deep dive into the little-known truths (and hidden deceptions) behind honey and bee products, offering actionable routines for better immunity, an honest look at “organic” labeling, and a passionate argument for regenerative, nature-aligned medicine. Carly Kremer's story and expertise highlight why bees are not only vital for our food supply but could also be the missing remedy for healing both our bodies and our culture.
Where to find Beekeepers Naturals: Major retailers (Target, Walmart, Whole Foods), Amazon, and their website. Use code ALEX CLARK for a discount. [53:49]
Remedy to Heal a Sick Culture:
“Love and kindness is number one. If we're acting with loving kindness, we're not going to spray pesticides that are hurting people and causing all kinds of illnesses...” — Carly [54:31]