A promising clinical study shows that the turkey tail mushroom (Trametes versicolor) improves the immune systems of breast cancer patients. The multiyear study, funded by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), tracked whether or not turkey tails could positively affect the immune system of patients rebound after they ended their radiation therapy.
Once upon a time there was a mushroom that was so revered and so highly thought of that it was given many names by different cultures all across the world names such as “mushroom of immortality” or “the resurrection plant” and “the 10,000 year mushroom”. In Chinese culture it was even put into a fairy tale called The White Snake in which a Reishi mushroom was needed to help save a lovers life and this mushroom had to be taken from the gods.
Mushrooms as medicine dates back to the ancient Egyptians and ancient Chinese cultures that used them to promote general health and longevity. The difference between medicinal mushrooms and the ones you order on your “cheat day” pizza are that medicinal mushrooms contain immune activating beta-glucans and other polysaccharides within their indigestible cell walls.
In Japanese, reishi translates to divine or spiritual mushroom. At a recent conference, Dr. Willard stated, “The reishi is by far my favorite of the medicinal mushrooms.” Christopher Hobbs uses reishi extract daily, writing that it is a “deep level tonic” used traditionally as a blood cleanser. And, Paul Stamets classifies it as the most broad spectrum healer of all medicinal mushrooms.
For over 2000 years Reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) have been recognized by Chinese medical professionals as a valuable remedy. Its Chinese name Lingzhi, means “spiritual potency”. Reishi mushrooms are regarded by the Chinese as the “Medicine of Kings”. Dr. Shi-Jean Lee, the most famous Chinese medical doctor of the Ming Dynasty, strongly endorsed the effectiveness of Reishi in his famous book, Ban Chao Gang Moo (“Great Pharmacopoeia”). He stated that the “long-term taking of Reishi (Lingzhi) will build a strong, healthy body and assure a long life.”(2)
According to Disease and Health , the article, Maitake Mushroom, by Ken Babal, CN, notes that, “recent research indicates that it may be the most potent of all mushroom-derived medicines in terms of its anti-tumor and immune-enhancing activity.” The article also states that, “In one animal experiment, maitake was able to shrink tumors better than other mushroom-derivatives, including the all-time best-selling cancer drug sold in Europe and Asia.”
IF YOU FIND THIS ARTICLE HELPFUL SHARE AND HELP OTHERS! Share0 Share 0 Tweet0 Pin0 Maitake Mushroom Grifola Frondosa The word maitake is literally translated from Japanese as “dancing mushroom.” According to herbal folklore, it was so named because in ancient times people who found maitake could exchange it for its weight in silver, leading […]
People started to consume mushrooms as food and medicine more than 2,000 years ago. Besides being a potent anti-inflammatory food, we know that many of the fungi we use today contained active compounds that have anti-cancer, anti-hypertensive, blood sugar-lowering, and other potentially valuable therapeutic properties.