The object I chose to post is a bottle of Propolis.

The bottle is about 9cm/ 3 ½ inches tall. The spout of the bottle is covered by a plastic lid that measures about 2 ½ cm in diameter. There is a circular black sticker on top of the cover that states “AGITE ANTES DE USAR,” which translates to “shake before using.” Another rectangular green and white sticker is attached to the side of the plastic covering. This sticker has the words “QUALITY SEAL,” “CERTIFIED ORGANIC,” “IBD,” “INSTITUTO BIODINAMICO,” “SP 162,” and “This product is inspected and certified by Instituto Biodinamico according to international standards” stated on it. The bottle itself is made out of a thick, amber colored glass. The glass itself has another brown-yellow sticker label that measures 3 ½ cm tall, which goes all the way around the circumference of the bottle. This label indicates that this product was imported from Brazil. The official name for this product as stated on the label seems to be “MN Propolis.” Underneath the name of the product the label states “Composto de Mel com Extracto de Propolis” and “Producto Organico Spray.” This seems to translate into “Product of Mel com, Propolis Extract” and “Organic Product Spray.”  This bottle contains 35ml of propolis and the ingredients include organic propolis extract and distilled water. Finally, the label states that the product is valid from March 2011 to March 2013.

The bottle is about 2/3 full of the propolis extract. When sprayed in the mouth, the propolis has an almost minty, medicinal, slightly sweet, and very strong almost honey-like flavor. The bottle  looks slightly worn. The multiple stickers on the product are fraying slightly at the ends.

According to my parents, propolis has numerous health benefits and can be used to treat many ailments. In our household, we mainly use it to spray in our throats when we are sick or when we show any cold symptoms. Propolis itself is “a resinous substance collected by honeybees from tree buds, used to fill crevices and to seal and varnish honeycombs.” According to the free medical dictionary, propolis is a “compound made by bees by mixing balsams and resin collected from vertain trees with saliva and digestive enzymes. Used for its antioxidant, antiviral, antibacterial, antitumor, and anti-inflammatory properties and to promote the healing of wounds” (Healthline).

To me it’s not the propolis itself that is important, but it is what the propolis signifies that is important. Up until I was in second grade my parents didn’t worry about health foods and eating healthy. However my father suddenly picked up an interest, which was followed by many comical, painful, gross, and frustrating memories for me and my two brothers. One in particular was when my father tried to make a “yummy” healthy snack for his kids. He took organic strawberry yogurt and organic peanut butter, mixed them together, placed them on some homemade bread, and handed it to us. Whenever we (my two brothers and I) are sick, my father force feeds us onion oil and cooked garlic. He also comes up with strange concoctions of apple cider vinegar honey, lemon, water, and various other health foods. I’m sure if it were someone else other than parents who encouraged us to eat health products, then my brothers and I would have listened more. However, because it was our own father telling us we should eat this, not eat that, exercise, and be healthy, it was almost a game for us kids to get away with replacing the health foods with the junkiest foods we could find.

The only strange health product I allow myself to take is this propolis. Not because my father pushed it on me, but because my mother, who never really pushes anything on us as she was always on our side, recommended it. Just as my father has his many home remedies for all kinds of ailments, my mother’s remedy is green tea and propolis. Every semester when the time comes for me to come back to school, my mother always makes sure I have a bottle of propolis equipped with me to face all the ailments of college.

Farlex. (2005). Propolis. The free dictionary. Retrieved February 1, 2013. From http://medical-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/propolis

Healthline. (n.d.). Propolis. Healthline connect to better health. Retrieved February 1, 2013.  From http://www.healthline.com/natstandardcontent/propolis.