Mushrooms have been used as food and herbal medicines for millennia in Japan and China. Japanese royalty and Chinese emperors drank mushroom tea for vitality and longevity – and the Taoists, ever searching for the elusive elixir of eternal youth, believed the reishi mushroom was one of the ingredients.
Extensive research conducted during the last two decades confirms what traditional medicine has known for thousands of years: mushrooms promote good health and vitality and increase the body’s adaptive abilities. Mushrooms are probiotic: they help the body strengthen itself and fight off illness by restoring balance and natural resistance to disease. Many demonstrate extraordinary cancer fighting powers.

These mushrooms are renowned for supporting and enhancing human immune function. When a mushroom is used individually, it has a very specific medicinal function.

Reishi mushroom - the most common one used in the traditional Chinese medicine – has long been called the longevity mushroom because, in days gone by, it was used for prolonging people’s lives. Recent studies have shown that reishi has strong anti-inflammatory properties that may be help arthritis patients. Additionally, it appears to help in both the treatment and prevention of cardiovascular disease. More recent studies have shown that reishi exerts a powerful effect in regulating the immune system in patients suffering with autoimmune disease such as rheumatoid arthritis.

The Shiitake mushroom has strong immuno-supporting properties. In China and Japan, Shiitake is widely used in hospitals for the treatment of cancer, especially breast cancer, stomach cancer and colon cancer. Eating shiitake mushroom regularly, or taking it in extract form, can help to prevent both the development and growth of tumours. It also fights viral infection.

Maitake mushroom has similar medicinal properties to the shiitake mushroom. It complements Shiitake in the treatment of tumours and cancer, and in boosting the immune function.

The most common way of cooking these mushrooms is to boil them in chicken stock for one hour. Drink the soup and eat the chicken. The usual proportion is 20 mushrooms, half an organic chicken and 750ml water. Drinking this soup two to three times a week will give you a good strong immune system.

For people who have specific complaints such as cancer, tumours, poor immune function, post viral infection or current infection, extracts of these mushrooms need to be used because they are stronger substances. The most powerful form of the mushroom extract is the formulation called Five Mushroom Extract manufactured by Health World. It contains reishi, shiitake, maitake, hakumokufi and tochukaso mushrooms. This extract is extremely potent in its function, so it needs to be prescribed by a doctor or a naturopath. Dosage varies according to the severity of the condition.

When these mushroom extracts are combined in the medical treatment, they not only improve immune function, but also exert a remarkable anti-aging effect.

I use mushroom extracts extensively in my clinic. They give excellent results in the treatment of glandular fever, autoimmune disease, chronic fatigue syndrome and chronic infection.
This article was first published in the magazine “Nature and Health”

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