The Re-Emergence Of Medicinal Mushrooms For Healing
In the last ten years or so there have been numerous articles written about the medicinal mushroom varieties and the healing properties that they possess. Not that many years ago there were only a few mushroom products available, yet today there are literally dozens. If you consider that the reishi mushroom has a history of use in the Orient that spans thousands of years and is revered as much as ginseng, then it is no wonder why it is finally becoming more popular in other cultures as well.
The history of mushrooms reveals that some of the oldest noted uses were as cures for intestinal parasites, and also being used to stop blood loss and for cauterizing wounds. The species used were polypores, so named because they have pores as opposed to gills below the heads. No recognized species of polypore are toxic and they are normally found growing on trees, both alive and dead.
With a few exceptions, polypores are considered inedible because they are very fibrous and woody. But as a natural remedy this medicinal mushroom can be used as a health product in the form of poultices, extracts and teas.
Native American traditions tell of using the different kinds of mushrooms to battle diseases like smallpox and others that appeared together with the arrival of Europeans. These comprise species like the chaga, reishi and turkey tail, together with the agarikon, which is at this time very uncommon and endangered. The agarikon is the oldest of the organic mushrooms used as medicine in historic European writings. Way back in 65 B.C., a Greek doctor called Dioscorides made a note of the species in the Materia Medica as a natural treatment used to battle tuberculosis. More recently, an article was published stating that agarikon tea had been traditionally used in Polish medicine for such things as and elixir for long life, for lung diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and to help to avoid bleeding and to sanitize open sores.
There are three main species of mushrooms from Asia that are mentioned in almost all of the Chinese writings on mushrooms that you could read. The first one is the shiitake mushroom. It is one of the most widely researched of mushrooms and has been used for about a thousand years as an immune system booster. The next medicinal mushroom is the cordyceps and it is used as an aphrodisiac, as well as to aid in the physical prowess of athletes. Finally there is the reishi, which is known for bestowing immortality in China and Japan.
Medicinal mushrooms are experiencing renewed popularity for their ability to help with numerous health conditions. If you don’t know the difference between reishi mushrooms and maitake mushrooms, and what each of them can do for you, visit the Medicinal Mushrooms site to find out!
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