I recently had the great opportunity to meet Monika Kozdrowiecka, CEO of Virgin Raw Foods, and sample a bottle of her hallmark product: bee panacea. It’s a unique blend of adaptogenic herbs in a raw honey base that has wonderful immuno-supportive properties. I was intrigued and wanted to learn more!

Andria Taylor, Eat Naked Kitchen’s health coach, had the opportunity to sit down with Monika and hear her own story of healing and transformation, and how she created this powerful product in conjunction with some of the top herbalists in the country. We don’t have a video unfortunately, but the full transcript is documented for you here below.

We did this interview long before the coronavirus was a thing, and so there’s no mention of that in here, but what she shares is powerful and another exceptional tool for your immune-supporting tool kit! I know I’m placing my order today!

Monika has generously offered Eat Naked Kitchen readers a 10% discount on bee panacea. Simply enter the code EATNAKEDKITCHEN on checkout to receive your discount!

Monika: For me was my personal journey. I moved to the United States from Poland 20 years ago. After being here for a few years, I became very sick.

In Poland, all the food was from my Grandma, from the land and from the garden. Very pure natural because we didn’t have restaurants. It was communist and very poor. I felt we were very poor but now I’m super grateful for that. When I moved here there was a lot of stress because I moved by myself with $40 not speaking a word of English. The food I started eating here was processed, things like white bread with additives and chemicals. At that time I ate chicken but I could feel the chemicals. I could taste them. I remember talking to my dad and he said the chicken has antibiotics and I said dad, I can actually feel the chemicals.

A few years later it built up in me, so that at about five or six years in, I became very sick. I had a tremendous pain in my stomach – a big, bloated stomach because my gut bacteria was very unhealthy. I had severe depression; I couldn’t stand up out of the bed. I was just so tired, I had acne on my face, I was much larger in the waist and my body was just larger overall.

I didn’t know what to do but I remember that my grandma told me when I was little, “Heal your body with natural remedies” so when I had a pain my ear she gave me like a little plant to put in my ear, or when I had a sore throat or cough she’d use honey with onion; it was always all natural remedies. When I moved here I kind of had the feeling that doctors are not the way to go.

I Googled “detoxification spas” and I started healing my body. For me it was a very hectic time. I never received a formal diagnosis, I just knew I just I was very sick and I heard that very often we are toxic. I found the best detoxification site in the world. It’s is an island in Thailand called Koh Samui, and I found that it was one of the best in the word and so I saved the money and I flew there.

The first time I went there, I learned a lot about healing the body, detoxifying the body, and taking the proper herbs. It transformed my life and that’s how it started for me. Over the years I went there many times and got to experience many holistic health practitioners, attending lectures about natural ways of healing. It took me over a year to heal detoxify, and even then, I still had a problem with my stomach: my gut bacteria was very off. My stomach was very bloated and often I had severe pain.

Ultimately I flew to Taiwan and went to see a Chinese doctor. I remember walking through this little room with a little door, and seeing this older very energetic guy. I could see a whole bunch of jars and could smell herbs. We didn’t speak because we didn’t speak each other’s language. He checked my pulse, my tongue and my eyes, and then he prepared a formula. He gave me the formula, I drank it and maybe 2-3 minutes later, the severe pain in my stomach was gone for the first time in years!

That was when I realized this will really work. Not only was I starting to feel better and have more clarity, but the physical pain was gone.

And so: it became a passion. I began researching all the herbs. With the clarity in my mind, and the energy from healing my depression and belief I started going to longevity conferences, holistic practitioner lectures, and anything else I could attend. I took any money I had and I moved to Asia to learn directly from the source.

After some time people started noticing the difference: “You changed, what happened?” I thought, why don’t I start a business with something that I’m so passionate about? Those formulas transformed my life. Why don’t I share that with others?

I learned at that time raw honey, if taken in small doses, is very anti-inflammatory, it has antibacterial and antiviral properties, and it’s a great delivery system for the herbs I’d been taking every morning. When you put these herbs into honey they go quickly to the bloodstream because of the glucose, but with the fructose it balances the sugar level. Also, I added cinnamon, which has chromium in it, to help balance the sugar levels, making it a great delivery for the herbs and also very healthy for the body.

I incorporated knowledge from many doctors as well. I asked the doctors from UCLA, many well known herbalists in Los Angeles, such as Dr. Ron Teeguarden, who’s been in the industry for 30 years. And so, I gathered as much knowledge as I could from much more experienced people, they helped me and that’s how I started. I travel a lot, I went to India twice last year, I travel to Europe a lot, travel for business all over the world and even with all that travel for the last 9-10 years, I didn’t get the flu or a cold, or any other sickness…not one. I used to have a very weak immune system, I was catching everything. It took over a year to a year and a half, it’s a process, but my immune system became very strong. I feel like I have an army inside me. I love it. I take my product every day. When I travel, I take more to strengthen me.

Andria: 9-10 years with no symptom; with no flu; no cold? Wow, that is so powerful.

Monika: I will tell you I had moments. I just went to Florida for business mastery with Tony Robbins. I landed in Florida and set down my bags. There was so much work and stress plus the travel on the airplane. I sat on the bed; I turned off the light and lay in my bed. I could feel that my body was weak, that it needed my help. I turned on the light, I went to make my suitcase; I took an extra dose of the panacea and woke up in the morning with nothing. Nothing.

And that’s happened for me a lot. I have moments that when I trust my body. There are times with little sleep, lots of troubles, stress. I listen to my body when it needs help. I give it water with lemon, bee panacea and sleep. Those are the three things I do.

I’m also a huge proponent and probiotic and prebiotic. Bee panacea has natural probiotics to absorb the prebiotic.

Andria: It’s incredible; I’m absorbing every bit of this! What makes your product truly different than any other products out there? It’s almost hard to ask that question after everything you just told me.

Monika: I can tell you Andria, the two things that I believe make it very unique:

Number one is Bee Panacea is distinctive because I made it originally for myself. Therefore I did extensive research on the quality of the herbs. For 11 years I went to supply side Expo where all the companies bring ingredients. And I became part of AHPA which is the American Herbal Products Association and I learned that there herbs and then there are HERBS. Some of them are very potent and some of them are just very diluted. Some of them are not inspected for heavy metals but some of them go through certificates of purity verification. Because I originally did it for myself I really want that the best of the best. I sourced the very best ingredients. So, even though the price of Bee Panacea is not the lowest, you know you can trust it’s much high quality and that it works. I’d personally rather pay for quality and for something that works from a company I can trust. Number one is the quality of the ingredients and the fact that we make the product ourselves in Southern California, no additives, no fillers, no chemicals, nothing. We make it in small batches and it’s all natural and pure. I don’t know of many companies that are really that devoted to just making something that Mother Nature makes. We don’t mess with it, we just combined ingredients together.

Andria: I love that.

So you just started diving into my next question; I was wondering about the manufacturing process of it. You shared it’s handcrafted in small batches in California. Is there anything else as far as the manufacturing process that makes it different or that you could share?

Monika: It’s really the sources of the ingredients. Every single ingredient has a certificate of analysis. So what that means is each is inspected for heavy metals and in California we also have proposition 65 for testing. We want to make sure that there are no impurities and especially no heavy metals in the herbs. When I was choosing the herbs, I reached out to Michael McGuffin, the President of AHPA – the American Herbal Products Association – and he verified that the herbs we are using are the most authentic, potent and pure. Our honey is from a local, small beekeepers I have developed personal relationships with, so I know that the honey is raw, not processed.

Andria: I love that personal connection and dedication you have to your product.

What would you say are the healing benefits? I know legally you can’t promise anything but, we have anecdotal evidence through your experience and the things that healed within you. What are some healing benefits that you believe the product can help with or that you’ve seen?

Monika: I think that’s the simplest thing for me will be to jump into the latest article about Bee Panacea. There was a travel agent who contacted me who she writes for Forbes magazine. She emailed me and she said, “I’ve been taking your product for some time, I would like to write an article about it”. I thought wow; I honestly didn’t believe she was with the magazine at first!

But I said, call me she did call me, and she said Hi I’m Rana Good and I’m writing for Forbes magazine, and she did a whole feature article on it naming the Bee Panacea “number one product to not get sick, ever.”

Bee Panacea Forbes article – 8 Wellness And Beauty Products To Travel With This Fall

Andria: Wow, what powerful and validating words.

Monika: Yeah, so Forbes magazine, that’s really good! That’s my benefit personally as well, not getting sick.

There was this guy in the gym who just ate beef and chicken and mashed potatoes and, you know things that I don’t necessarily eat. I shared with him about my product for many years, but he wouldn’t try it. He got married a few years ago and his wife, she is she’s super sweet and into health, and told me she wants to be healthy because they were constantly getting sick. I told her to just try my Bee Panacea so she purchased a bottle. She took it and he didn’t. Later he came to me and said, you know my wife stopped getting sick. This happened a few times, he’d call and say I’m sick but my wife isn’t. This guy was constantly sick. He finally decided to try it – this was about two or three years ago. I recently went to a Super Bowl party at their house and he said “I have to tell you, for the last two years, I’ve been taking Bee Panacea every day I don’t skip one teaspoon. I haven’t been sick once, and I used to get sick all the time.” I was really proud of that one. I love hearing from people. I actually have a couple videos on the website people have sent me to share their experience.

Andria: What a great feeling.

Monika: It is! Number one benefit people see is the immune system, because of the double adaptogenic herbs that support detoxification. After a few months, people often feel a clarity. Oh, I’m a little bit happier, I’m a little bit more clear, I have a little bit more energy, it’s just the whole well being of the body.

Andria: I absolutely love that.

Are there any contraindications or anyone that in your opinion should not take this product? Are there any interactions you are aware of, an ideal age demographic or anything along those lines?

Monika: For sure children under one year old should not take it because they cannot eat raw honey. When they are small children 1 to 1.5 years old they can have very small dosage. We also recommend that pregnant and nursing women consult with a doctor before taking this

Andria: What’s the best way to consume Bee Panacea? Do we just take it straight from the bottle, do we eat it with or without food, how often do you take it, and how much do you take? What do you recommend?

Monika: If somebody is healthy and for maintenance, one teaspoon is great. It’s the healthiest teaspoon you can have during the day! If you’re traveling or fighting something, you can take up to 3 teaspoons a day. It can be taken on its own, but can be taken with food as well. The only thing which is very important is not to mix it with hot liquid. The reason is the hot liquid, like hot lemon water, coffee or tea, will destroy some of the enzymes in it.

Andria: Absolutely. That makes perfect sense. I feel like my family and I might just end up being your biggest fans.

Is there anything else you would like to share?

Monika: I am just grateful. I really am. I do what I love and I can share it with the world.

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