OF MEDICINE AND ITS MUSHROOMS
There are a bunch of different systems in the body which send signals. All the systems are interconnected. In Western medicine, we typically have a very targeted way of looking at signalling systems where we think about a disease having a cause or a few causes, and treat that disease type or name, without looking at the whole picture. Other medicine systems both ancient and still practiced like traditional Chinese medicine and Ayurveda from South East Asia, as well as many other both contemporary and defunct systems, instead look at the overall state or qualities of a person. And in the context of illness, these other medicine systems are much more focused on looking at the root cause – and not just on a physical body level, but also on emotional, social, and spiritual levels.
Modern science is based on coming up with a hypothesis and then testing it. Results can be quantitative (numbers) or qualitative (qualities or descriptions). Often qualitative data are converted to numbers in order to apply statistical analysis. Many wonderful things can be done to manipulate statistics to say what you want, by the way. When we are looking at big picture or interconnected systems in the body or anywhere else, it becomes more challenging to test hypotheses and generate data in this conventional way. This is an issue with applying modern scientific evaluation to more holistic medicine systems, and even Western herbalism. Modern science wants to know the exact chemical or one single change that can be measured to be able to “prove” something works or helps. But life doesn’t really work like that, and oversimplification creates narrow thinking and impairs innovation.
When thinking about medicine or our bodies, stay open, stay curious, and stay critical (and most of all beware of quacks!).
About half of all pharmaceutical medicines are originally derived from natural sources. One of the biggest issues with pharmaceuticals are the side effects: if you’ve ever read the package insert or listened to those ads for drugs (in the USA they are allowed to advertise for drugs!) you see the huge list of potential side effects. In some cases, the potential side effects are worse that the original disease. But interestingly, if you would instead take the natural medicine in more of a complete form or through an extraction method which extracts multiple components simultaneously, typically the side effects are either eliminated or greatly reduced. For instance, aspirin is salicyclic acid which was derived from the bark of the willow tree. If you take aspirin regularly for pain relief, you can have potential side effects with bleeding and gut ulcers, but this is less likely if you take willow bark. Medicines in their more holistic forms typically have multiple chemicals or compounds which work together to have an effect and also modulate one another. By extracting just one compound, the hundreds of thousands of years of evolutionary intelligence are lost. It is harder to study effects from a whole plant than a single extracted compound, so there may not be as much “science” around herbal medicines (but it’s rapidly increasing!). There are also likely more subtle and as of yet “unknown to science” healing properties of natural medicines beyond just their chemicals. For example, there are practitioners who work with the plant spirits or the essences of the plants. If anyone has ever taken Rescue Remedy and found it helped calm their nerves (my hand is up!), then that’s plant spirit medicine. I am sure you have heard that plants grow better and water molecules form beautiful patterns when kind words are spoken or good music is played to them. I hope you are at least beginning to realise there is more to this earth than what we can see, smell, feel, hear, and taste.
In Western medicine, we want to think that there’s one cause for a disease or illness, and we like to treat it with one medicine. There are pros and cons to extracting and purifying just one component of a natural medicine or synthesising it in the lab. The “pros” are: purity (of course), we can make a higher potency which may have better effects, and if it is completely synthetic, we don’t need to over-harvest from nature. However, the big “con” is that there is more medicine in a natural medicine than just the individual chemical constituents and some of the benefits may be lost in during purification or lab synthesis. Oh, and you can’t patent a plant or mushroom *wink
If you become unwell, please see your health care practitioner. But especially for chronic conditions, investigate what else may be helpful beyond Western medicine. Even if you are completely well, I encourage you to learn more about other forms of medicines, especially those from your own culture. As a European, I am learning more about Western herbalism.
MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
There are many many foods or natural medicines out there from all over the world which are recognised as having health benefits. And they really do! In this article I am focusing on medicinal mushrooms which I feel to be a great support for resilience in the face of this time of coronavirus and the stress of quarantine and distancing.
(I won’t be discussing magic mushrooms because I don’t know much about them. Some folks believe that our early hominid ancestors ate them and this is what spawned our consciousness.)
But medicinal mushrooms. Medicinal mushrooms include reishi, chaga, lion’s mane, turkey tail, shiitake, cordyceps, maitake. There are many health-promoting effects of these mushrooms, and they each act a bit differently. Many of them are anti-inflammatory, modulate the immune system, can help the nervous system adapt, and are antioxidant. They can also be beneficial for the management/treatment of some cancers (but can be contra-indicated in other cancers so it’s not a blanket recommendation)**. Typically, these mushrooms are dried and can be ground up and added as powder to drinks or soups or encapsulated, extracted with alcohol (tincture), or basically simmered for a long period of time (decoction) and drunk as a tea.
**Always talk to a practitioner before adding in any other medicines for cancer or autoimmune disease**
From the Western science perspective, the medicinal benefits of these mushrooms come from several components. Remember how I said Western medicine likes to study components separately because it is harder to do statistics (and also get funding and papers published) when interconnected systems are involved? OK, so here are some of the beneficial properties of medicinal mushrooms:
· Betaglucan in the cell wall promotes a healthy gut microbiome and regulates immunity
· Melanin is an antioxidant
· Polysaccharides are anti-inflammatory, anticancer, regulate blood glucose, antiviral
· Specific triterpenes/terpenes/terpenoids to each mushroom like inotodiol in chaga, ganoderic acids in reishi, which have anticancer and anti-inflammatory effects
· Alkaloids which can be anticancer
· Phenols are anti-inflammatory
A search on the journal database Pubmed will yield more.
Below is some more specific information about some of the most common and studied medicinal mushrooms. Many of them are from Asia and have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine, and others have been used by the indigenous peoples of Europe or North America for health-promoting effects and longevity. These other medicine systems look at the effects of mushrooms more holistically and energetically than contemporary Western medicine. Many books and resources are available on traditional Chinese medicine if you would like to learn more.
Here’s a source for the latest research on mushrooms.
For more on health effects, see Memorial Sloane Kettering Cancer Center’s website.
Mushrooms have been used medicinally for many thousands of years, and these mushrooms (and probably a bunch more) are generally safe as supplements in low doses. Higher doses should only be used as directed by health practitioners. As supplements, you could choose a single mushroom or a blend. Only buy medicinal mushrooms from reputable brands, as many mushrooms may look similar to an untrained eye, and issues with switching with inferior products is a concern for many types of medicines. Many of these mushrooms can be cultivated, even as a DIY at home. Some mushrooms like turkey tail can be wild foraged, but obviously there are a lot of poisonous mushrooms, so only forage with an experienced guide, and be aware of issues with the overharvesting of herbal medicines.
In general, I would suggest:
Chaga for general health
Cordyceps for a feeling of a lack of vitality
Lion’s mane for nervous system support and mental clarity
Maitake for extra support
Reishi for calming and respiratory support
Shiitake for high blood pressure
Turkey tail for extra support
As far as how much to take, you can have about 1-3 cups per day, with each cup containing about 1 teaspoon of the dried mushroom. If you’re using the whole dried mushroom and not powder, look up how long you need to decoct (simmer) it for to be able to extract all the beneficial compounds. For chaga, boiling can actually destroy some of the beneficial compounds so keep the water a bit cooler (around 80C or 160F). Many herbal medicines taken at low doses usually take a few weeks to take effect.
I take this Mushroom Heaven powdered mushroom blend each day- about ¾ of a teaspoon mixed in my morning coffee + coconut oil. It has reishi, chaga, lion’s mane and cordyceps. I like how it balances the stimulation from the coffee: I feel focused rather than alert. It also helps me stay in flow and not overreacting.
Almost empty so it’s time to order more!
SUMMARY
The medicine provided by your general practitioner is not the only option to manage health, longevity, and illness. Herbal medicines can be a massive support, especially at this time of both viral infection and mental and emotional health challenges affecting so many people across the world. In this last article we discussed 30 ways of providing specific immune support. Adding to that list, #31, is medicinal mushrooms, and my hot tip is that especially reishi is a great ally at this time.