Working on your fitness and health throughout this year is the best decision you’ll make for a happier and more able lifestyle. A critical factor is what you consume, and propolis, a natural bee product, has the makings to improve your results.

Propolis is a resinous liquid, with a gummy appearance, that some bee species (primarily the Western honeybee) make from thicker tree resins mixed with beeswax and saliva, to seal their hives and other things, such as dead intruders.

The Ancient Egyptians, Greeks, and Romans harvested propolis for use in medicine, which we’re still doing, but more so in propolis supplements.

This article will prime you on the benefits of adding propolis to your routine in 2026.

Benefit #1: Improve your natural defences

Immunity and feeling well is a balancing act between how your immune system responds to infection and distress, so to say it’s complex is an understatement, and to claim that propolis or anything else can magically save you from illness is daft.

HOWEVER, people have used propolis for thousands of years as a healing aid via both topical application for cuts and other wounds, and ingestion, and it has stuck around long enough to still be used for those things today.

Some people swear by propolis in the winter and autumn to fend off illness, and that it’s available in lozenges, as a liquid, in creams, and in tablets and capsules makes it suitable for multiple problems you might be facing.

Benefit #2: Sore throats and coughs

Cough syrups and lozenges are the port of call when you’re groggy. Propolis is available in both forms as an alternative to the traditional stuff.

Propolis Winter Mixture is the syrup in question, a glycerine product with honey powder, propolis extract, and vitamin C. It’s more palatable than most cough medicines and provides a natural alternative that your body will appreciate.

Moving on to propolis lozenges, these come in three decent flavours: Aniseed, turmeric and ginger, and honey and eucalyptus.

The flavourings are unique between these lozenges, and the propolis content is the same, so picking them is literally a matter of taste.

Customers love these syrups and lozenges as part of their daily routine, but you can equally take them when you’re only feeling unwell for a touch of relief.

Benefit #3: Energy levels

It isn’t an uncommon thing to wake up with little energy, nor for your fantastic-in-the-morning energy levels to deplete by lunchtime. The crash happens, but you can stem the flow with the right supplements.

Propolis products containing glycerine provide energy from the sugar alcohol, which your body turns into glucose and metabolises for kicks.

As a standalone energy improver (without the glycerine), there are no guarantees, but there was an interesting study performed in 2022 on 18 men that found a high dose of propolis can reduce muscle fatigue.

Adding it to your routine as an energy enabler, rather than a solution for outright energy, is a good way to approach it.

Benefit #4: Diet improvements

Whatever you’re eating provides most of the nutritional elements your body uses, either directly or via your body converting compounds into more useful ones. Supplements are for improving your intake, and propolis has some beneficial elements to note.

Propolis contains vitamins and minerals, plus antioxidants. The vitamins are B1, B2, B6, C, and E in quantities making up around 3% of the propolis, in what we’d class as trace amounts, meaning not enough to be of HUGE benefit.

But it all adds up. Propolis naturally contains small amounts of vitamins; you are getting a natural, pure source of them. The same goes for minerals.

The flavonoids are much more interesting for your diet because they are all plant-based compounds in concentrated amounts, circa 20% of the propolis. Pinocembrin and chrysin are superb for your health.

Summing up: A complex natural product containing “the good stuff”

Whatever you’re eating provides most of the nutritional elements your body uses, either directly or via your body converting compounds into more useful ones. Supplements are for improving your intake, and propolis has some beneficial elements to note.

Propolis contains trace vitamins and minerals, plus some antioxidants, and can form part of your healthy and varied diet.

The flavonoids in propolis are also interesting for your diet because they are all plant-based compounds in concentrated amounts and make up a larger part of propolis. Look up pinocembrin and chrysin for their potential effects on health.