What Is Chaga Mushroom? | Scope Of Chaga Mushroom | Benefits Of Chaga Mushroom
What Is Chaga Mushroom?
- The mysterious Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) is a non-toxic, medicinal mycelium with a propensity for birch bark.
- If you were to spot it while roaming through a birch forest in the Northern hemisphere, you’d probably assume (based on its rather unappealing appearance), that it was some kind of tree infection.
- But Chaga is a whole lot more than just an unsightly forest blemish
- The chaga mushroom is actually a treasure trove of the science-backed healing potential that’s been a prominent feature in folk medicine for thousands of years.
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Scope Of Chaga Mushroom
- Chaga’s reputation as a powerful natural remedy for everything from gastrointestinal disease to tuberculosis to cancer spans at least as far back as the 16th century when botanical artisans are said to have figured out that it could be steeped as a tea for a variety of therapeutic purposes.
- The Chaga mushroom’s antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-cancer properties have become more widely known in the last century.
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How Chaga Helps Support a Vibrant Immune System
- You probably already know that the primary means by which the human body avoids disease is through the immune system, a complex network of organs, cells, and proteins that actively wards off foreign invaders.
- Without an immune system, our bodies would quickly succumb to harmful pathogens like bacteria, viruses, parasites, and malignant fungi, leading to serious illness and eventually death.
- This is why it’s critically important to support the immune system with immunomodulatory nutrition like the kind found in Chaga.
- A natural Biological Response Modifier (BRM), Chaga mushroom is rich in a class of polysaccharides known as Beta-D-Glucans that help to balance the body’s immune system response, boosting or slowing it as needed for optimal function.
- Heart disease is another area where Chaga has shown pronounced benefits. It contains high levels of a triterpene substance known as betulinic acid and its precursor betulin, which studies show is a powerful weapon against high cholesterol.
- Researchers from Jiangnan University in China found that a culture broth containing dry matter of Chaga extract exhibited both anti-hyperglycemic and anti-lipid peroxidative effects, helping to break down damaging LDL (low-density lipoprotein) cholesterol in the bloodstream.
- Chaga’s diverse antioxidant profile is even more impressive, as it bears the highest ORAC score of any known superfood. (ORAC is a measure of antioxidant potency.)
- According to research compiled by Tufts University, Chaga has three times the antioxidant power of wolfberries (aka goji berries), which is the next strongest known food. One could argue that this makes Chaga the world’s number one source of inflammation-fighting antioxidants.
Chaga and Cancer: A Potential Natural Alternative to Drugs and Surgery?
- Where Chaga really shines though is in the area of cancer. Dozens of scientific studies (and counting!) suggest that Chaga exhibits strong apoptotic, anti-proliferative, and chemo-protective benefits.
- Its full spectrum of phytosterols, including lanosterol, inotodiol, ergosterol, and fecosterol, are among the many Chaga constituents that have been shown both in vivo (inside a living organism) and in vitro (in a laboratory model) to directly inhibit the growth and spread of cancer cells.
- In tumor-bearing mice, extracts of Chaga showed significant tumor-suppressive effects, the supplementation of which resulted in an impressive 60 percent reduction in tumor size, on average.
- The same research found that Chaga helped increase tumor agglomeration and inhibit tumor vascularization, further inhibiting the growth and spread of cancer in these mice.
- Related research demonstrated Chaga’s anti-cancer potential as it pertains to the down-regulation of certain cell pathways associated with cancer, including in colitis-induced human colorectal cancer.
- The Chaga mushroom is a treasure trove of the science-backed healing potential that’s been a prominent feature in folk medicine for thousands of years.
- Just in the last century the Chaga mushroom’s antiviral, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, cardio-protective, anti-hyperglycemic, and anti-cancer properties have become more widely known.
- Chaga possesses key nutrient compounds that give it the ability to activate an array of immune cells.
- Chaga is a powerful potentiating and immune-enhancing “superfood” with vast healing potential.
- Chaga exhibits a type of soothing effect that’s been shown to help relax blood vessels and improve blood flow.
- Dozens of scientific studies (and counting!) suggest that Chaga exhibits strong apoptotic, anti-proliferative, and chemo-protective benefits.
