Mushrooms help keep a healthy body and ward
of diseases. Mushrooms have high medicinal value and can help lose weight also.
Mushrooms are gaining importance as health food and source of valuable
medicines. It is estimated that there are 100,000 different kinds of mushrooms,
of which 700 can be used as food. They are nutritious and rich in minerals.
They are rich in minerals, vitamin D (ergosterol), thiamin (B1),
riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), dietary fibre as well as all the essential amino
acids and are low in fat and calories.
Approximately 200 species appear to have medicinal value, each
with its own unique chemistry.
Extensive research on medicinal mushrooms has been going on
since the past
20 years in many countries. There are many plants that act as adaptogens (also
known as biological response modifiers) to assist the body in adapting to
environmental and psychological stress. All the important systems of the body
including the nervrous, endocrine, adrenal, and immune systems benefit from
adaptogens by increasing or decreasing their function as needed.
Studies suggest that mushrooms are pro-biotic. They keep our body
healthy and ward off diseases by maintaining physiological homeostasis. The
compounds they contain have been classified as Host Defence Potentiators (HDP),
which enhances the immune system. Researches also show that there are thousands
of semi essential, non-vitamin factors in mushrooms that protect the body
against many diseases including cancer.
Medicinal mushrooms such as Reishi, Shiitake and Maitake enhances
immune function by stimulating cell-mediated immunity. Such mushrooms seem to
turn on cells in the immune system called T-cells that appear to have
significant cancer-fighting properties. Three different anticancer drugs
extracted from mushrooms have been approved by the Japanese Health and Welfare
Ministry. They are Lentinan, derived from Shiitake, Schizophyllan, derived from
Suehirotake and PSK, derived from Kawaratake. PSK sold in Europe and Japan, is
the best-selling cancer drug in the world. In Japan, only 30 percent of cancer
treatment includes radiation, chemotherapy and surgery.
Maitake
Maitake (Grifola frondosa) is a mushroom highly regarded in Japan
for its medicinal and culinary properties. The studies show that the extracts
from Maitake protect against hepatitis, tumours, and are effective in regulating
blood presure, blood sugar, cholesterol and obesity. A polysaccharide known as
beta-glucan, which activates immune cells, is believed to be largely responsible
for Maitake's anti-tumour effects. Japanese physicians are using a Maitake
extract for tumour inhibition, potentiating shark cartilage supplements,
inhibition of cancer metastasis (cancer spreading), cancer prevention, and
reversing HIV positive status to HIV negative. Cancer Treatment Centres of
America, with hospitals in Chicago, Los Angeles and Tulsa, Okla, is now
undertaking clinical double-blind placebo tests using Maitake D-fraction
combined with chemotherapy in patients with advanced colorectal cancer. Data
collected from 250 cancer patients indicate that side effects from chemotherapy,
such as nausea and hair loss, are significantly reduced by it Maitake is also
showing promising results with the HIV virus.
Reishi
Reishi (ganoderma Lucidium) meets all the qualifications of being
both a tonic and an adaptogen. A tonic strengthens and invigorates organs, and
an adaptogen helps the body adapt to stress by readjusting to altered body
conditions. In China, many pharmacological, chemical and biochemical studies
have been conducted with Reishi. Reishi appears to strengthen the immune system
and improve overall healthe. Specifically, it improves or prevents a variety of
diseases and conditions including viral hepatitis, allergies, insomnia,
neurasthenia (fatigue due to exhaustion of the nervous system) as well as some
types of cancer. Reishi has also been clinically demonstrated to alleviate high
blood pressure in humans. Reishi is rich in active organic compounds such as
polysaccharides, amino acids, proteins, triterpenes, ascorbic acid, sterols,
lipids, alkaloids, glucose, courmarine glycoside, volatile oil, riboflavin and
more. These compounds are being studies for their positive effects on the immune
system, including anti-tumor activity. Reishi is used as a daily tonic to
maintain and improve good health increasing longevity, in the treatment of
cancer and resistance to and recovery from diseases.
Shitake
The shitake mushroom (Lentinus Edodes) is closely related to
Reishi. Shitake is Japan's largest agricultural export and is now the most
popular and most cultivated exotic mushroom in teh world. In China, Shitake has
a history that dates back to the Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 A.D). The mushroom was
used not only as a food but was taken as a remedy for upper respiratory
diseases, poor blood circulation, liver trouble, exhaustion and weakness and to
boost chi, or life energy. It was also believed to prevent premature aging.
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