Learn to Love Mushrooms for Nurturing and Maintaining Immunity

Learn to Love Mushrooms for Nurturing and Maintaining Immunity

Many different mushrooms have been studied and consumed for their medicinal
properties. Of the many species of mushrooms, holistic medical practitioners most
commonly recommend these:

• Maitake. Often found at the base of oak trees and esteemed by herbalists all over the world, the maitake mushroom is best known for its ability to stimulate the production of T cells in the blood.
• Shiitake. The shiitake mushroom is the most widely recognized medicinal mushroom and is generally used as an immune system booster.
• Reishi. Used primarily as a tea or tincture because of its woody texture, this mushroom has been used by the Chinese for thousands of years as an immune system enhancer.
• Cordyceps. The extract from the cordyceps mushroom has proven itself to be effective in fighting various forms of bacteria while increasing physical stamina. The sports world took notice of the possible benefits of cordyceps mushrooms in 1993, when nine women who were taking cordyceps reportedly broke world records at the Chinese National Games.

THE MOUSE SWIM TEST: 

One way that the ability of cordyceps to increase energy was measured was through the “mouse swim test,” conducted in 1999. In this test, mice were placed in a tank of water and permitted to swim to exhaustion. The mice given cordyceps swam longer than mice that had received a placebo.
(Holliday and Cleaver 2008).

Recent research has shined a light on mushrooms and their immune-enhancing
and anticancer properties. One study of more than 350 women with breast cancer
and an equivalent number without it indicated that the women with the highest
consumption of mushrooms had a 46 percent lower risk of breast cancer, compared
to women with the lowest consumption (Hong et al. 2008). Another team of
researchers reported that dietary intake of mushrooms, in combination with green
tea, had a dramatic effect on breast cancer risk. Daily consumption of at least 10
grams of fresh mushrooms or at least 4 grams of dried mushrooms was linked to a
respective 64 and 47 percent reduction of risk, compared to a diet without
mushrooms. The women who both ate mushrooms and drank green tea daily
experienced even greater benefits (Zhang et al. 2009).