Thursday, August 24, 2006

Utah Conference to Focus on Medicinal Uses of Bee Products

Interest in ‘apitherapy’ as an alternative treatment growing worldwide

(AUGUST 24, 2006) – From September 21-24, 2006, those interested in learning more about the medicinal use of honey bee products will gather in Salt Lake City for the Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course & Conference (CMACC).

The four-day event is sponsored by the American Apitherapy Society (AAS), a nonprofit membership organization established for the purpose of advancing the investigation of apitherapy, and has in past years attracted participants from around North America and the world. Utah is known as “the Beehive State” and the state insect is the honey bee.

(NOTE: AAS President Dr. Andrew Kochan was recently interviewed on CBS Sunday Morning.)

This year, for the first time ever, AAS is offering the option of attending either the introductory apitherapy training from Thursday evening through Saturday morning, or an advanced conference from Saturday afternoon through Sunday afternoon that covers trends in apitherapy around the world. Participants may also opt to attend both.

Apitherapy is the use of bee hive products such as bee venom, bee-collected pollen, royal jelly, propolis, beeswax, and honey to maintain good health and in the treatment of a variety of medical conditions. Propolis, known as nature's antibiotic, is a resinous substance collected by bees from plants and trees and is used to coat the inside of the bee hive and the honeycomb cells with an antiseptic layer. Royal jelly, heralded for its rejuvenating properties, is a substance produced by young worker bees and fed to queens.

Hive products have been used medicinally for thousands of years in folk medicine and are now gaining popularity worldwide as medical research validates their effectiveness. Bee venom has historically been used to treat arthritis and rheumatoid conditions and honey has been called "the original medicine."

Contemporary research documents the benefits of hive products in supporting overall health and vitality, as well as confirms their therapeutic benefits in addressing a wide range of conditions that include multiple sclerosis, skin problems, infections, and cardiovascular concerns, among numerous other conditions.

CMACC will feature workshops on the properties and medicinal use of all the hive products, as well as on topics such as “Preparations and Indications of Propolis,” “Cleansing & Detox, Weight Management,” “Practical Apipuncture,” and “Recent Advances in Apitherapy.” Other lectures will focus on legal issues related to apitherapy, veterinary apitherapy and on actual case studies. Course participants will be able to take an examination and receive a certificate of knowledge.

AAS makes no claims about the safety or efficacy of honey bee products and does not endorse any specific type of apitherapy.

Charles Mraz, who died in 1999 at the age of 94, is recognized as one of the American pioneers of the use of bee venom to treat diseases. In 1994, he published "Health and the Honey Bee," a history of his decades-long experience with that treatment.

For more information about the Charles Mraz Apitherapy Course & Conference, go to: http://www.apitherapy.org

For more information on apitherapy, go to: www.apitherapy.com and www.apitherapynews.com

NOTE: Beginning October 12, 2006, the 1st International Forum on Apitherapy will be held in Athens, Greece.

The 1st International Conference on the Medicinal Use of Honey will be held August 26-28, in Malaysia.

CONTACT: Frederique Keller, (631) 351-3521, E-Mail: Kellerf@optonline.net; American Apitherapy Society, Inc., 5535 Balboa Blvd., Suite 225, Encino, CA 91316 - P: 818.501.0446 - F: 818.995.9334 - E: info@apitherapy.org

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