Reishi Mushroom: Mushroom of Immortality

I often get asked if I supplement my diet with herbs and the answer is a definite YES! In fact, herbs make up a large portion of my diet. I’m an herbalist and enjoy cultivating my own herbs.  However,  in all the herbs I’ve came across, I have never came across an herb that can match the effects Reishi mushroom has on the body.  This mushroom is powerful and potent.  There is a reason ancient Chinese text describe this mushroom as “The Mushroom of Immortality.” If you unfamiliar with Reishi mushroom I’ve posted a few pictures below.

 

Reishi Mushroom Overview

Experience has shown thus far that Reishi works on the body by bringing it back to homeostasis by correcting the immune system.  If the Immune system is too high, it’s lowered. Likewise, if the immune system is too low, it’s raised.  Reishi is an intelligent mushroom and in a class of its own when it comes to adaptogenic herbs. While It can be compared to a quality wild cannabis oil, it also has many beneficial properties that the latter does not.  Also, due to these medicinal proprieties found in Reishi, it has the unique ability to work on the body at many different levels that most herbs can not replicate.  As a result, Chinese Traditional Medicine ranked this herb higher than the ever so prized ginseng.

Long Term Reishi Mushroom Use

There really is no downside of long term use of this mushroom.  It will lower stress, improve sleep, improve brain function, normalize the immune system, and keep sickness at bay. However, there have been cases where long term use of this mushroom can reduce libido.  This is because Reishi is a potent 5-alpha reductase inhibitor.  5-alpha reductase is a precursor to dihydrotestosterone (DHT). DHT is a powerful sex hormone in the body.  In fact, too much DHT is thought to be the reason for male pattern baldness.  As a result, if you’re experiencing male pattern baldness due to DHT, long term reishi mushroom is a great idea!

Furthermore, long term Reishi Mushroom consumption does not always guarantee a lowered libido.  Some may actually experience a boost in libido. Consequently, You must experiment, everyone is different. Remember, reishi is extremely rare, and access to this mushroom year round just isn’t natural.  Moderation is key.

Where To Find Reishi Mushroom

Reishi Mushroom is found in heavily wooded areas and thrives in damp climates.  Mountain Ranges are the best places to find Reishi growing in its natural state. However, not too many people have the privilege of finding this alien looking mushroom growing in the wild and harvesting it. Luckily, if your one of the many without access to Reishi Mushroom, you can buy organic Reishi Mushroom grown on logs below.

Dragon Herbs Duanwood Reishi — 450 mg – 100 Vegetarian Capsules

Wild Reishi Vs. Conventionally Grown Reishi

This is a topic of great debate. Unfortunately, most conventionally grown Reishi is not grown on logs.  Instead,  Reishi growers will use other grow mediums like rice in order to keep costs low.  This is bad news for the consumer. Reishi grown on anything but logs is always inferior to Reishi that is grown on logs.

In addition to not growing on logs, some growers will only use the mycelium and not the actually fruiting body of the mushroom.  Unfortunately, all the scientific studies that show the benefits of this mushroom are done on the fruiting body and not the mycelium. However, you need to experiment and draw your own conclusions!

Reishi Mushroom Health Benefits

• Analgesic
• Anti-allergic activity
• Anti-inflammatory
• Antibacterial
• Antioxidant as well as Antiviral
• Antitumor activity
• Antiviral effect
• Lowers blood pressure as well as improves glucose utilization by the liver
• Enhances bone marrow
• lower cholesterol levels
•  reduces the effects of caffeine and relaxes muscles
• Enhanced natural killer cell as well as wards if sickness
• Anti-HIV activity as well as immune modulating activity
• Improved adrenocortical function

Reishi Mushroom Active Constituents

• Beta and hetero-Beta-glucans (antitumour, immunostimulating )
• Ling Zhi-8 protein (anti-allergenic, immuno-modulating)
• Ganodermic acids – triterpenes (anti-allergenic agents, cholesterol and blood pressure reducing)

Dragon Herbs Duanwood Reishi — 450 mg – 100 Vegetarian Capsules

 

SOURCES

http://www.reishi.com/faq.htm

PICTURE SOURCES

https://http://teawitty.com/introducing-the-latest-superfood-reishi-mushroom-tea/

en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lingzhi_mushroom

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/paul-stamets/reishi-mushrooms_b_2200808.html

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