Mushrooms have long been hailed as having amazing immune enhancing properties by the Chinese who have been using mushrooms to treat various immune deficiency disorders for thousands of years.
Immune deficiency disorders range from ailments as harmless as the common cold through to rheumatoid arthritis and cancer.
As medical researchers are constantly looking to improve cancer treatments, they are looking to nature for answers and a cure.
There have been many advances in recent years and certain mushrooms have been found to have surprising medicinal properties. That is, surprising to us in the West. Perhaps less surprising for the Chinese who have been making these claims for centuries.
One such advance was the result of a study conducted in China by the University of Western Australia and the Zhejiang University.
They found that the combination of eating mushrooms and drinking green tea reduced the risk of breast cancer. This is great news for those for whom breast cancer may be genetic and passed through the generations. Prevention is always better than cure.
Shiitake Mushroom – anti tumor
Meanwhile the most commonly known and recommended medicinal mushroom is the Shiitake mushroom. This is an edible mushroom with a meaty flavour, which has been likened to beef and as such often replaces the meat in a Chinese meal.
The shiitake mushroom is thought to have anti-tumor properties due the polysaccharide lentinan. Clinical trials are currently underway at the City of Hope National Medical Center to determine any specific anti-cancer effects.
Maitake Mushroom – blood pressure
Let’s not forget the heavy weight champion of mushrooms, weighing in at a whopping 20kilograms the Maitake mushroom. As one of the most commonly used edible mushrooms in Japan it’s hardly surprising this mushroom is also known as the ‘king of all mushrooms’.
A great all rounder, research shows that the Maitake mushroom can regulate blood pressure, insulin, glucose, and cholesterol levels and may even be useful in weight loss. Good news for those who love to eat mushrooms every mealtime!
Coriolus Versicolor – cancer treatment
Lesser known, but my no means the least effective is coriolus versicolor.
Many studies have been carried out in recent years on the immune boosting effects of coriolus versicolor with promising results.
One study 2008 Vaccine found that Coriolus versicolor enhanced our
immune response and was found to be superior to other compounds that were tested including yeast beta glucan and the Maitake mushroom.
Another study 2008 BMC Cancer showed positive results in the treatment of esophageal, colorectal, breast, lung and gastric cancers. But the best news of all is for colon cancer suffers.
Colon Cancer treatment
Colon cancer is one cancer whereby traditional treatments aren’t as effective as they might be with other cancers.
Even in advanced colon cancer cases, patient’s white blood cells showed an increase in supply after being treated with coriolus. It is believed that this supplement contains the right cocktail of compounds required to help the body locate toxins and destroy pathogens.
The result of this mind-boggling research is that Coriolus has since been used as maintenance therapy following cancer surgery.
All the above is great news for cancer sufferers, mushroom lovers and
those who are looking for natural ways to boost their immune system.
Caution
As with all things, the findings noted are preliminary and while the results are very promising they support traditional cancer treatments rather than replacing them at this current time.
