Are Medicinal Mushrooms Magic?

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Are Medicinal Mushrooms Magic? JoAnn Guest Jul 28, 2003 15:52 PDT

Are Medicinal Mushrooms Magic?

 

By Terry Willard Ph.D.

 

From the vision-producing mushrooms the shamans used in their incitation

rites to the mushroom hunter of northern Europe, mushrooms have always

held a great fascination for man. Many a fairy tale has included members

of the Fungi kingdom as part of the backdrop. Yes, mushrooms are members

of the Fungi kingdom. People often shudder when they hear the word

‘fungi’. It brings up images of some life forms taking over a university

student’s refrigerator, athletes foot, dirty showers or maybe a yeast

infection.

 

There are more than 100,000 different species of fungi, some beneficial

to man, some not. Some are edible, some poisonous, some produce visions

and some have strong medicinal properties.

 

In the Western world, medicinal mushrooms have not played as much a

central role as they have in Asian culture. We can find references in

Western culture for medicinal mushrooms as far back as 455 B.C. with

Hippocrates’ use of them.

 

Fungi are also mentioned in the works of Pliny ( 23-78 AD), Dioscorides

(55 AD) and Galen (130 - 200 AD), showing that the ancients were quite

familiar with their uses.

 

{1} Even in present day, after the discovery in 1928 of penicillin (a

fungus), we find them playing a prominent role, making up a whole class

of antibiotic medicines.

 

But for the richness of folklore on medicinal mushrooms, we have to

delve into Asian culture, where there is more than 3,000 years of

recorded fungi use, continuously maintaining a prominent spot in their

medical systems.

 

It shouldn’t be surprising that some mushrooms have strong medicinal

properties when you consider their basic role is that of transmuting

waste material into good, nutritious material.

 

It is surprising that they are considered panacea, making medicinal

mushrooms almost seem magical. Claims from being tonic and energy

enhancing, with beneficial effects on the immune, respiratory,

circulatory, endocrine, nervous, digestive and skeletal/muscular

systems, make one wonder if they are a little over-stated.

 

The fact that they are used to reduce tumors, blood cholesterol, blood

pressure, bronchial inflamation, nervous tension, viral infection,

insomnia, duodenal ulcers, allergies, diabetes, hepatitis, progressive

muscular dystrophy and high-altitude sickness makes us wonder how they

work.

 

They are also being used to reduce symptoms of AIDS, Chronic Fatigue

Syndrome, Fibromyalgia, Asthma, Cancer and the side effects of

chemo-therapy.

 

At the same time these wondrous medicinal mushrooms are being used to

enhance over- all energy, athletic feats, intellectual challenges,

environmental stresses and are considered longevity herbs. {2,3}

 

What make them tick? Besides the myths of their transmuting our toxic

waste material and negative emotions into healthy ones, we can gain some

insight by looking at their biochemistry.

 

There are three basic groups of chemicals that seem to be responsible

for a large amount of the medicinal effects of these mushrooms.

 

They are branched polysaccharide-protein complexes, triterpenes and

nitrogen-containing compounds, like adenosine. Polysaccharides have been

extensively studied in the last several years for their immune

regulating abilities.

 

Many well-known medicinal herbs such as Echinacea, and Astragalus have

polysaccharides as a major part of the immune-enhancing actions.

 

It now appears that the polysaccharide-protein complexes are even more

important than the individual polysaccharides. Most of the medicinal

mushrooms are very rich in these complexes, resulting in many of the

immune responses credited to their action. Triterpenes are an

interesting group of compounds that have a steroidal nature, being

similar to our own hormonal system.

 

Working as hormonal communicators, these biochemicals have a profound

effect on subtle actions in our body. The amino acids are known to be

building blocks of our basic cellular material of RNA, also being very

important in our energy system, with adenosine being the core of cAMP

and ATP

 

From these fundamental biochemical roles we can understand why medicinal

mushroom can have such a wide range of therapeutic action. To

demonstrate some of these actions, I am going to briefly discuss five of

my favorite medicinal mushrooms: Reishi, Maitake, Shiitake, Cordyceps

and Poria Cocas.{4,5}

 

By far my favorite of the medicinal mushroom is Reishi (Ganoderma

lucidum, and related species) because it has all of the above

biochemical groups and it holds the prominent position in Asian

medicinal folklore. Reishi has a large range of therapeutic uses,

growing around the world. My favorite description of Reishi is the

Chinese by-line, " . . . to protect an academic from their own mind. "

 

Reishi will calm the nervous system, reduce insomnia, lessen paranoia

and readjust what the Chinese call disturbed Shen Qi (spiritual mind).

One of my patients suggested that by taking Reishi, it was like getting

an additional half hour of meditation a day. Meditation in a bottle; is

North America ready for that or what?

 

Reishi is revered for its effect on the heart and respiratory tract

because it relieves tightness in the chest.

 

Reishi also affects the circulatory system by lowering blood pressure,

blood cholesterol, while balancing LDL/HDL ratios and reducing other

blood lipids. Reishi is also specific for asthma, allergies, bronchitis

along with many other respiratory problems. This herb is considered a

longevity tonic because of its antioxidant effect.{5}

 

Reishi’s antimicrobial action works against bacteria, fungi and viruses.

Several countries use this mushroom to treat cancer, AIDS, fibromyalgia

and chronic fatigue syndrome.

 

Reishi calms the autonomic nervous system. It also reduces spasticity,

ulcers, colitis and detoxifies the liver. Reishi’s anti-allergenic

effect works for air bound and food bound allergens.

 

Instead of taking Reishi completely alone for long periods of time, take

Reishi with other supplements. Vitamin C and ginger are particularly

good companions for it. A useful formula for the above is: Reishi solid

extract 1:15, Echinacea root, Ginger root, and Barberry root. This is

one of the most prominent formulas we use in our clinics.

 

Maitake (Grifola frondosa), also known as the dancing mushroom, is a

prized medicinal mushroom from Japan. Its strongest effects are on the

immune system.

 

Some studies suggest it has even stronger immune action than Reishi,

while other studies dispute that data. It does definitely have an

advantage in the fact that it is a great edible mushroom, while Reishi

is not. A special preparation called the D-fraction is a

polysaccharide-protein complex that seems to be responsible for much of

its immune modulating effect.

 

Maitake has been successfully employed in AIDS patients, reducing

symptoms and slowing down its progression.

As an anti-cancer agent it has reduced tumors as well as the side

effects of chemotherapy.

It has also been shown to reduce blood pressure, help recovery from

hepatitis B, and reduce blood sugar in diabetics.

As a weight management herb, it has slow, but consistent results to aid

in weight loss. As with some of the other fungi,

Maitake can aid in reducing uterine fibroids. However I have found that

Cordyceps is better in our clinical experience. {6,7}

 

Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) is beneficial in reducing dermatitis, liver

cirrhosis, vascular sclerosis, high blood pressure, high blood

cholesterol.

 

It has been used for preventing toxicity from acid foods, inhibit

growths of sarcoma 180 (97.5%) and Ehrich carcinoma (80%), and used

successfully for Chronic Fatigue Syndrome.

LEM (Lentinis edodes mycelium) is often the form used in medicine these

days. This delicious mushroom can be found as a popular addition to both

Japanese and Chinese cuisine. {1}

 

Cordyceps Sinensis (Dong chong xia cao) is also known as the Caterpillar

fungus. It has been getting quite a lot of attention due to it ability

to enhance athletic performance, being heavily consumed by Asian

athletes in the last few Olympics.

 

Besides its strong tonic effect, it can be used to increase oxygen

uptake in the lungs, while reducing bronchial inflammation and working

as an expectorant.

 

It is well known to relieve exhaustion, night sweats, sexual impotency

and as a sedative. It benefits the kidneys, lungs and gonadal function,

increasing sperm count.

 

It is specific for reducing uterine fibroids.

 

Cordyceps stimulates immune function (due to CS-1) by activating

T-cells and B-cells, while increasing interleukin-1 and Gama-interferon.

 

It is still one of the most expensive of Chinese herbs. {1,3}

 

Poria cocas (Fu ling) is one of the most used fungi in the Orient, being

incorporated into many formulas. It has been shown to have a relaxing

effect on the nervous system and smooth muscles. Poria cocas will also

lower blood glucose, reduce diarrhea and edema, working as a good

diuretic.

Its tonic effect aids in digestion and absorption of food, while having

a quieting effect on the spirit, strengthening the heart and reducing

insomnia and forgetfulness. {5,8}

 

I often combine all of the above medicinal mushrooms together in a

formula to get the full effect of medicinal mushroom power.

 

We use this formula in the clinic for a variety of things including a

calming tonic that enhances the immune system, while reducing some of

North America worse health issues.

 

As you can see with the huge amount of both folklore and scientific

information, these medicinal mushrooms can play an important role in

almost anyone’s health program. Even though it is true that several

mushrooms should not be consumed by people with Candida Yeast

infections, all of these mushrooms are not only safe in these patients,

they can often reduce the symptoms and underlaying causes of this

problem.

 

There are many myths around these mushrooms, but my favorite is the one

I learned from one of my teachers, an Amazon Shaman.

 

In trying to understand more about the personality of a medicinal

mushroom, I asked him to explain it to me. I wanted to know more about

his use of Reishi (G.lucidum) that grew in his area. He stated that the

part we use is its fruit. The actual plant lives underground, often

covering several acres and even up to a couple miles under the Amazon

jungle. He explained that these fungi are very old Beings, living in

earth (Gaia) energy for 1,000s of years. This has created a calming,

wise energy to these mushrooms — an energy that we might consider a wise

sage of possessing. By using its fruit as medicines, we take on some of

the calming wise energy, helping to ground us. A thing that many in

western society could use.

 

http://www.willner.com/References/webref25.htm

 

References:

 

1. Hobbs, C; Medicinal Mushrooms; Bontanica Press, Santa Cruz CA; 1995

p7-19.

 

2. Benjamin D; Mushrooms poisons and panaceas; W.H. Freeman & Co; New

York, 1995.

 

3. Ying J, Mao H; Icons of Medicinal Funfi From China; Bejing; 1987.

 

4. Chihara G, et al Antitumor polysaccharide derives chemically from

natural glucan; Nature 225;943-944 1970.

 

5. Willard T.; Reishi Mushroom; Herb of spiritual Potency and Medical

Wonder; Sylvan Press Issaquah Was; 1990.

 

6. Townsend Letter for Doctors, May 1994, pp. 432-434;

 

7. Explore! For the Professional, Vol. 4, No. 5, 1993, pp. 17-19.

 

8. Willard T.; Textbook of Advance Herbology; Wild Rose College; Calgary

AB Canada; 1991.

 

 

 

 

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