Healing Properties of Mushrooms

If you believe the ancient Chinese medical sciences, specifically those dating back to 2000 years, they specify certain species of mushroom that possess healing properties. These species are also believed to promote physical and mental health and longevity. In ancient times, these rare herbs were available only to the ruling clan of ancient China, but not anymore! There are different varieties of mushrooms such as Reishi, Cordycepts or Shitake, which were available to the highest clan of the society, and were treated as "The Emperor's Secret". In fact, royal families could only afford them due to their scarcity and cost. They believed that mushrooms promote health, vigor, longevity, and immortality. Scientists of today's generation seem to agree with those of ancient times. In recent findings, it is confirmed that mushroom nutrition prevents you from many health diseases such as tumors, cancer, fatigue, viral infection, and Hepatitis B. Other than this, there exist numerous traditional varieties of mushroom that are significantly helpful in boosting immunity, and prevent you from various diseases such as common cold, influenza, inflammation, arthritis, allergy, chronic Bronchitis, and herpes. If you want to improve your overall health and wellbeing, or boost your ability or fight various types of chronic disease including cancer, you must include mushrooms in your daily diet to get essential health benefits. You can use mushrooms in soups, sandwiches and salads to enjoy their health benefits. Mushrooms contain various minerals such as Copper, which has proven ability to fight various health disorders. The Potassium present in mushrooms helps in preventing various cardiac problems including heat strokes. In fact mushrooms contain more potassium than bananas. Apart from adding flavor, taste and variety in your food, mushrooms provide you an essential cover against several diseases. Therefore, it is definitely a good idea to include mushrooms in your diet.

MEDICINAL QUALITIES OF SHIITAKE

The person most responsible for stimulating the current medicinal interest in shiitake was Japan's Kisaku Mori, Ph.D. In 1936, Dr. Mori established the Institute of Mushroom Research in Tokyo. Until his death in 1977, Dr. Mori worked with scientists from around the world to document the medicinal effects of shiitake. Using analytical techniques, Mori found shiitake high in many enzymes and vitamins that were not usually found in plants. His findings, published in Mushrooms as Health Foods, were extensive. Working for years with human subjects, he discovered that shiitake is effective in treating a long list of ailments including high cholesterol, gallstones, hyperacidity, stomach ulcers, diabetes, vitamin deficiency, anemia, and even the common cold. Mori's work gained notoriety, particularly in Japanese medicinal circles, and, beginning in the 1960s, scientists launched an extensive search to uncover the secret of shiitake's legendary healing powers. Their studies - over one hundred in all - have focused on shiitake's ability to rapidly lower serum cholesterol, as well as this mushroom's potent antitumor, antiviral, and antibiotic properties. High levels of cholesterol in the blood has been linked to serious diseases such as arteriosclerosis and strokes, so investigators were excited in 1966 when they isolated a substance from shiitake that dramatically lowered blood cholesterol. This substance, now called eritadenine, was given to rats on a high-cholesterol diet. In just a few days, as reported in The Journal of Nutrition, the blood cholesterol level of the rats dropped 25 to 45 percent. Eritadenine has been associated with the water-soluble fiber of shiitake, but its action is even stronger when the whole mushroom is consumed. Studies with humans have shown that only three ounces of shiitake (5-6 mushrooms) a day can lower cholesterol by twelve percent in a week. "Many of the human diseases currently increasing throughout the world have no specific cures," notes mycologist John Donoghue, co-author of Shiitake Growers Handbook. "Immune system failure or dysfunction is a common element in cancer, viruses, and immune-deficiency diseases," says Donoghue. He and other scientists around the world contend that there is increasing evidence that the health-promoting compounds found in medicinal and edible fungi, including shiitake, stimulate the immune system. Scientists now believe that a polysaccharide called lentinan and virus-like particles found in shiitake trigger the increased production of various serum factors associated with immunity and inflammation. These so-called lymphokines, such as interferon and interleukin, stimulate the defense system, spurring the proliferation of phagocytes, including macrophages and other immune fighters that attack cancer cells, bacteria, and viruses. The most dramatic experiment demonstrating shiitake's antitumor effect was performed on animals. At the National Cancer Research Center in Tokyo, mice suffering from sarcoma, a type of virally-induced cancer, were treated with small doses of shiitake extract over short periods of time. In 1970, the results, published in the journal Cancer Research, showed that six out of ten mice had complete tumor regression. At slightly higher concentrations, shiitake was 100 percent effective - all mice showed tumor regression. In a 1996 study at Drew University, a protein-bound polysaccharide extracted from shiitake was found to have strong anti-tumor properties. In the study ten cancer patients were treated with the compound and all showed significant improvement. Similar studies have shown that shiitake extract helps prevent transplanted tumors from taking hold, and "excellent results" were obtained by Japanese scientists in a four-year follow-up study of patients with advanced and recurrent stomach and colon cancer. Shiitake extract is even being tested for use with modern chemotherapy drugs to lessen their toxic effects on healthy tissue and the immune system. The most recent development in shiitake medical research involves the use of shiitake extract to inhibit the reproduction of human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) in tissue culture. Researchers working at Japan's Yamaguchi University School of Medicine have reported that shiitake extract has a "protective effect" that inhibits the usual cell-destroying effects of the HIV virus. Researchers have noted that substances such as shiitake, which both enhance the immune response and have anti-viral effects, should be further evaluated for the treatment of AIDS. In addition to fighting cancer, inhibiting the growth of viruses, and lowering cholesterol, shiitake have potent antibiotic effects against other organisms. A substance called cortinelin, a broad-spectrum antibacterial agent, which has been isolated from shiitake, kills a wide range of pathogenic bacteria. A sulfide compound extracted from shiitake has been found to have an effect against the fungus that causes ringworm and other skin diseases.

Healing Mushrooms and Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms are probably the least understood of the healing and medicinal herbs. While herbal studies of ginseng, black cosh, echinacea and green tea number in the thousands, research papers about medicinal uses of mushrooms number under a thousand. Research into medicinal properties of mushrooms has only picked up since the 80s. A difficulty with mushrooms is their innate ability to absorb elements and chemical found in their direct environment. Shiitake mushrooms grown in a greenhouse in Canada, will have significantly different chemical properties from those grown outdoors in California, because temperature, growing medium and climate play their part in the level of medicinal properties of a particular species of mushroom. Research has resulted in diverging results, even using exactly the same strains of a particular mushroom. Over the last 40 years, there has been evidence that certain mushrooms contain protein, trace minerals, polysaccharides, amino-acids and fiber that are essential for overall heath. Compounds found in mushrooms are now believed to boost the immune system, while others may inhibit tumor growth. Some mushrooms may also be adaptogens. Adaptogens increase resistance to environmental stress factors like stress, and fatigue. The adaptogens in mushrooms are often their antioxidant properties, which by helping to reduce cellular damage and removal toxins assist the body in cope with the day-to-day stress induced by our environment. Mushrooms associated medicinal properties include: Reishi Maitaki Chaga Shiitake Cordyceps Lion’s Mane Turkey Tail Agaricus Of these mushrooms, the most studied by far is the Reishi, often called the mushroom of immortality in the Orient.

Paul Stamets and the Healing Power of Mushrooms

Paul Stamets uses a love of mushrooms to drive home the notion that small, individual actions have earthshaking potential. Our hero: Paul Stamets, 55 Where he lives: Kamilche Point, Washington How he helps: Protects the mushroom “My parents told me to stay away from mushrooms, that their spores would blind me,” says Paul Stamets good-naturedly. Nevertheless, Stamets has devoted his life to the humble fungi, studying mycology and in 1980 founding the company Fungi Perfecti, which sells mushroom cultivation kits. Why mushrooms? According to Stamets, many of the estimated 150,000 species of mushrooms have environment-healing properties. For example, the oyster mushroom can break down oil from spills. The King Stropharia mushroom filters bacteria like E. coli before they get into the water supply. And the turkey tail mushroom may help strengthen the immune systems of women with breast cancer, according to government-funded research aided by Stamets and his team. “One of my core beliefs,” Stamets says, “is that humans and habitats have immune systems, and the mushroom’s network of cells is a bridge between the two.” A mushroom’s cells also encourage new growth in old-growth forests. “The mushroom creates soil and fosters other life in the soil. Without healthy soil,” he warns, “we don’t have life.” To demonstrate this, Stamets has invented the Life Box, a cardboard carton embedded with tree seeds and fungi. “Each box can become a forest,” he says. “Get the box, tear it up, plant it, and little trees come up.” (Stamets adds, “My grandson felt like a parent. He asked me why all cardboard boxes aren’t Life Boxes.”) It’s Stamets’s way of driving home the notion that small, individual actions have earthshaking potential.

The Healing Power of Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms are valuable health food – low in calories, high in vegetable proteins, chitin, iron, zinc, fiber, essential amino acids, vitamins & minerals. Mushrooms also have a long history of use in Traditional Chinese Medicine. Their legendary effects on promoting good health and vitality and increasing your body’s adaptive abilities have been supported by recent studies. These studies suggest that Mushrooms are probiotic – they help our body strengthen itself and fight off illness by maintaining physiological homeostasis – restoring our bodies balance and natural resistance to disease. Agaricus Mushroom Agaricus is the most widely consumed mushroom in many countries, where it is regarded as a health food, due to its medicinal properties. Agaricus is traditionally known as “God’s Mushroom” because of its near miraculous curative benefits to a wide range of disorders. People have used it to overcome numerous diseases and disorders relating to the immune system, cardiovascular system, digestion, and for weight management, diabetes, chronic and acute allergies, cataracts, hearing difficulties, stress syndrome, chronic fatigue, diarrhea, constipation, and disorders of the liver. Cordyceps Mushroom Cordyceps can be a powerful stimulant for macrophage activity, strengthening your immune system’s ability to fight against bacterial and viral infection. Human clinical studies indicate that Cordyceps can be effective for treatment of high cholesterol, poor libido/impotence, arrhythmia, lung cancer, and chronic kidney failure. It is also reported that Cordyceps causes smooth muscle relaxation. This can make it especially helpful for treating chronic coughs, asthma, and other bronchial conditions. Maitake Mushroom Maitake is also known by the name Dancing Mushroom, famous for its taste and health benefits. In Japan, Maitake Mushroom is called “King of Mushroom”. The fruiting body and the mycelium of Maitake are used medicinally. In China and Japan, Maitake Mushrooms have been consumed for 3000 years. Years ago in Japan, the Maitake had monetary value and was worth its weight in silver. Historically, Maitake has been used as a tonic and adaptogen. It was used as a food to help promote wellness and vitality. Traditionally, consumption of the mushroom was thought to prevent high blood pressure and cancer – two applications that have been the focal point of modern research. Clinical research with Maitake Mushroom has increased dramatically in the past several years. Laboratory studies have shown that Maitake Mushroom extract can inhibit the growth of tumors and stimulate the immune system of cancerous mice. Reishi Mushroom Reishi has been called an “immune potentiator.” Recent studies have indicated that Reishi can have a number of other effects: Analgesic, Anti-inflammatory, Antioxidant, Antiviral through inducing interferon production, Lowers blood pressure, Cardiotonic action through lowering serum cholesterol, Expectorant & Antitussive, Liver (Hepatitis)-protecting and detoxifying, protection against ionizing radiation, Antibacterial, and Anti-HIV activity. Reishi contains calcium, iron and phosphorus as well as vitamins C, D, and B – including pantothenic acid, which is essential to nerve function and the adrenal glands. Shiitake Mushroom Shiitake (for centuries called “Elixir of Life” ) has been licensed as a anti-cancer drug by the Japanese FDA. Lentinan has shown some effect on bowel cancer, liver cancer, stomach cancer, ovarian cancer and lung cancer. Lentinan stimulates the production of T lymphocytes and natural killer cells and can potentiate the effect of AZT in the anti-viral treatment of A.I.D.S. Shiitake is rich in several anti-oxidants (Selenium, Uric acid & Vitamin A, E, & C) as well as Vitamin D. Shiitake mushrooms may also lower blood pressure in those with hypertension, lower serum cholesterol levels, increase libido, stimulate the production of Interferon which has anti-viral effects, and has proven effective against Hepatitis in some cases. Yun Zhi Mushroom Yun Zhi, or the Cloud Mushroom, has been used to dispel dampness, reduce phlegm, treat pulmonary infections, to strengthen the tendons and bones, for vital energy, and to support liver health.

The Healing Power of Mushrooms

Shiitakes, matsutakes, maitakes, and other friendly fungi could fight cancer, cholesterol, and HIV Dawn in Telluride, Colorado, is chilly, even in the dog days of August. But the cold doesn't matter. I'm up to go mushroom hunting, and my excitement is more than the morning can cool. It's my first time heading into the woods to gather wild mushrooms, especially ones I plan to eat. But I'm not here to set off on a vision quest or become a kidney transplant candidate. It's the 18th annual Telluride Mushroom Festival, and guiding my initiation into the world of mycology are a couple hundred biologists, nature photographers, and amateur mushroom fans from around the country. They've come for the weekend to see old friends, swap mushroom news, and enjoy Rocky Mountain earth flavors packaged in the bright orange folds of chanterelles and the musky aroma of matsutakes. The festival is more than foraging through mountain meadows for fungal delights. It hosts a series of workshops on the interplay between mushrooms and human beings. One of the most popular is on medicinal mushrooms, the bridge between natural healing and gourmet cooking. “The line between gourmet and medicinal mushrooms has blurred,” says Paul Stamets, author of several books on mushroom cultivation and one of the pillars of the festival. “All gourmet mushrooms have medicinal benefits.” In Asian cuisine, mushrooms are prized as much for their medicinal benefits as for their taste or texture. This contrasts with the American or Western approach to food; only recently has science confirmed that eating vegetables indeed prevents disease. The fact is that many wild mushrooms from around the world, including North America, contain potent compounds for treating cancer, diabetes, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and even HIV. Likewise, the biological niche occupied by mushrooms puts them in competition with bacteria, resulting in strong antibiotic defenses that have yet to be fully understood. According to Stamets, pharmaceutical companies have largely ignored these compounds, perceiving mushrooms as foods, and have left the research to scientists in Asia and Europe. The result is a paucity of American studies but an abundance of reports from scientific communities overseas. The potency of these chemicals cannot be ignored. In the November 1996 issue of Nutritional Review, Dr. Raymond Chang of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York wrote: “It is estimated that approximately 50 percent of the annual 5 million metric tons of cultivated edible mushrooms contain functional nutraceutical or medicinal properties.” Perhaps the most studied mushroom is the maitake, or hen of the woods, which resembles a ball of deep shag carpeting. Compounds in maitake called beta-glucans were shown in a 1989 Japanese study to stimulate immune systems in animals to kill cancer cells, stop tumor growth, and accelerate production of natural killer cells. When cancer cells were grown in vitro, the maitake beta-glucans didn't work, but rather were most effective as a catalyst for getting the immune system into high gear. Another 1989 study found that maitake mushrooms, fed to hypertensive rats for eight weeks, reduced high blood pressure. A 1994 study reported success feeding powdered maitake mushrooms to diabetic mice to reduce their blood glucose levels. In 1993, Japanese researchers reported that beta-glucan extracted from maitakes inhibited HIV and restrained breast cancer; they suggested that maitake extracts be used with other AIDS drugs. Broad-capped shiitake mushrooms, another variety familiar to chefs and medical researchers alike, were first recognized as a potential weapon against HIV in Japan in the mid-'80s but did not gain recognition here for almost 10 years. One compound, lentinan, a kind of beta-glucan extracted from shiitakes, has been used by Japanese oncologists for over 20 years to stem the growth of malignant tumors. This same compound got star billing at the Sixth International Conference on AIDS in 1990, when published reports showed lentinan's ability to increase immune system cells. Since then, lentinan has been approved in Japan as a cancer treatment and is being studied in the United States for HIV treatment. Reishi mushrooms, known as Ganoderma lucidum or varnished wood conch, are best reserved for making tea, according to the experts, but are no less potent a medicine than the other two. They're often used in a traditional Chinese medicinal preparation called ling zhi—also the name researchers gave to a protein extracted from the mushroom in a 1995 study documenting its ability to keep the immune system from attacking transplanted tissues. Another 1995 study demonstrated how Ganoderma extracts protected the liver and actively scavenged for free radicals. In 1997 the International Journal of Cancer published a study on the anti-tumor and immune-modulating effects of Ganoderma lucidum. As with the maitake research, extracts of the mushroom stimulated the system to produce a host of defenses and induced apoptosis, or “cell suicide,” among cancer cells. These three mushrooms represent just a sampling of the wide variety of medicinal mushrooms out there. Oyster mushrooms, matsutake, wood ear—varieties you’ll see in upscale grocery stores and on restaurant menus—are also in labs proving their potential for healing. But this is all old hat for the mycophiles—mushroom lovers—at the Telluride Mushroom Festival. They know mushrooms are powerful gifts of nature and are busy picking them by the bushel to send to the festival kitchen, which produces a spectacular array of dishes: roasted matsutakes, hedgehog mushroom stew, penne with shrimp russulas, and, of course, the talk of the festival, Rita’s Famous Chanterelle Strudel. At festival’s end, chatter about medicinals and immunomodulation subsides in favor of a glass of wine and a sampling of the mushroom spread and crostini. “There are a lot more people this year,” says one veteran reveler. “I guess more people are getting turned on to mushrooms.” From Shambhala Sun (Jan. 1999). Subscriptions: $24/yr. (6 issues) from 1345 Spruce St., Boulder, CO 80302-4886.

The nutritional benefits of mushrooms

An analysis of previously uncharted chemical contents, mostly carbohydrates, in U.S.-consumed mushrooms shows that these fruity edible bodies of fungi could be tailored into dietary plans to help fill various nutritional needs. Using modern analytic tools, scientists at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign found that the six mushroom varieties tested -- in raw and cooked forms and at various harvest times and maturity levels -- are rich in total dietary fibers, including those associated with cholesterol-lowering (chitin) and healthy hearts (beta-glutan). The findings appear online in advance of regular publication by the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. The same researchers last year reported in the same journal the carbohydrate profile of selected plum and prune products. The findings will become part of the U.S. Department of Agriculture's National Nutrient Database. "What we've reported in these papers are the complete carbohydrate profiles of these two lines of popular foods," said George C. Fahey Jr., a professor of nutritional sciences in the department of animal sciences at Illinois. "These profiles include the digestible carbohydrates, the starches and the fermentable fibers that reach the large bowel. This work was important to the two commodity organizations that funded this research, because they had little information on these components." It was already known that mushrooms offer high-quality protein, vitamins, unsaturated fatty acids and fiber, but a precise carbohydrate breakdown had been elusive. The mushrooms studied were white button, crimini and portabella, all of which represent different maturity levels of Agaricus bisporus, and maitake (Grifola frondosa), shiitake (Lentinus edodes) and enoki (Flammulina velutipes). The latter two mushrooms were analyzed only in their consumed cooked form. "The maitakes and shiitakes tended to be very similar in their nutrient concentrations, and quite a bit different than the others," said Cheryl L. Dikeman, a doctoral student in Fahey's lab and lead author on both papers. "Portabellas were off on their own in terms of their contents of oligosaccharides, beta-glucans and chitin." Chitin concentrations were 8 percent in raw, mature portabellas and 6 percent in raw, immature ones. When cooked, chitin content fell to 2.7 percent in both forms, but their levels of total dietary fibers went up significantly. Also showing the same pattern were raw enokis, which had a 7.7 percent chitin content; cooking also lowered it to 2.7 percent but total dietary fibers jumped from 29.3 percent in raw to 41.6 percent in cooked. Raw, mature white buttons and cooked, mature shiitakes boasted chitin levels of 3 percent and 3.6 percent, respectively. Raw, mature portabellas also had the highest level of beta-glucan (0.2 percent), while most of the other mushrooms had 0.1 percent. Enokis and maitakes had none. Relatively small amounts are required to provide cardiovascular benefits, Fahey said. Cooking tended to increase starch, total dietary fibers and fat contents and to decrease chitin concentrations in all of the mushrooms. "Some nutrients went up after cooking, while some went down," Dikeman said. "Part of that you'd expect to happen as water is cooked out." Also measured were oligosaccharide levels. These sugar molecules are only partially digestible, but the undigested components are considered prebiotics in that they elicit growth of healthful bacteria in the colon. Raw, immature portabellas had a total oligosaccharide concentration of 5,272 micrograms per gram (ug/g). Also found to have more than 1,000 ug/g were raw, mature portabellas and cooked, immature crimini. None were detected in enokis, maitakes or shiitakes. Most of the total oligosaccharides were in the form of glucooligosaccharides, but fructooligosaccharides (FOS) accounted for the total concentrations in cooked, immature white buttons. FOS did not appear in other samples. In other findings: White buttons had the highest levels of ash; starch was highest in maitakes and shiitakes; and crude protein and acid-hydrolyzed fats were highest in crimini, white buttons and maitakes. For plums and prunes, which are known to be good sources of dietary fiber, the researchers analyzed individual carbohydrate components that are in the various forms used by consumers: powders, juices, purees and fruits. They also looked at the waste byproducts, including dried plum pits. All of the prune/plum products were found to have high total concentrations of oligosaccharides and free sugars. High in total dietary fibers as a percentage of total dry-matter were generally the various powder and fruit products. The research primarily involved the use of high-performance liquid chromatography, which was adapted by Laura L. Bauer, a research specialist in animal sciences and a co-author on both papers, to quantify chitin concentrations in each mushroom. A spectrophotometer was used to analyze beta-glucan levels and sort out uronic acids that are associated with total dietary fibers. The information obtained in the two studies, Fahey said, will allow people to choose the mushrooms and forms of plums and prunes that provide the dietary punch they may be needing. It also should allow food scientists to search for optimum preparation strategies for using the various products. ------------------ The Mushroom Council of Dublin, Calif., funded the mushroom study and provided the samples. The plum/prune study was done with samples and funding provided by the California Dried Plum Board. Elizabeth A. Flickinger, a former postdoctoral researcher in Fahey's lab, also was a co-author on the plum/prune study.