Posts Tagged ‘women’s’
Siberian Chaga Used in Russia as Cancer Drug
If you discover a black, cancerous mass on a birch, you may be looking at a Siberian chaga mushroom. It can also, less commonly, be found growing ash, beech, elm or hornbeam.
In Europe and Asia, chaga has been used for centuries to treat cancers of the heart and liver, digestive ailments, and tuberculosis. [121]
The traditional use was to peel the black skin of the mushroom and then boil it into a tea. Being a compact and easily portable medicinal made it very valuable to healers throughout history.
Modern research on chaga has mainly focused on its potential application as an anti-cancer remedy. In Russia, this usage was already approved as early as 1955 to treat lung, stomach, breast and cervical cancers. [122]
One modern study from 1998 showed that chaga extract did in fact inhibit growth of cervical cancer cell lines under lab conditions. [123] Another study from 1995 reported that an isolate of the active compound betulin first inhibited growth of melanoma cells in a lab, and then killed them. [124, 25]
Other research papers also confirm that some of the active compounds of chaga help retard the growth of cancer cells. [125, 126]
Although traditional healers used to peel off the black outside (probably because it looked unappetizing), the skin actually contains 30% betulin, a highly prized medicinal compound, [127] while the inside is rich in fungal lanostanes. So both parts would be valuable in preparing the tea.
Even better are chaga extracts that are made with not only the whole mushroom but also the mycelium, because the mycelium contains higher levels of medicinal proteins than the fruit body of the mushroom.
Other researchers have found chaga extract to be potently anti-viral. Two studies in 1996 found it to have an inhibitory effect on both influenza [127] and HIV. [128] Perhaps it does so by helping to stimulate the body’s natural immune functions, something that was first confirmed in 2002 and then again in 2005, [25, 129] and which may also help explain the historical use of chaga mushroom as an anti-inflammatory. [130]
Furthermore, alcohol extract of chaga mushroom has been found to lower blood sugar levels. [131] Chaga also demonstrates significant antioxidant properties that help protect the genetic integrity of the cells. [132, 133]
As an interesting aside unrelated to human health, a Quebec arborist uses a chaga poultice to cure chestnut blight. The trees later even become immune to the blight and resistant to future infections. [134]
Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never use any medicinal mushroom or herb without prior approval by medical doctor.
Credit to Paul Stamets for research and source material.
Dr. Markho Rafael has worked in the natural health field since finishing Chiropractic College in 1996. He currently specializes in medicinal fungi in partnership with Cordyceps Reishi Extracts, LLC, a U.S. business offering Siberian Chaga Mushroom Extract and much more. For the scientific references to this article, go to the Chaga Extract page and click on any number indicating a reference.
Tags: AIDS, breast cancer, cancer, diabetes, disease, herbal, Herbs, hiv, medicine, Nutrition, skin cancer, Supplements, wellness, women's
Keep Toxins Away To Fight Obesity
Natural Purple Pigments In Fruits, Vegetables And Berries, like the acai berry, could assist in preventing obesity as scientists in Arkansas are reporting new evidence that natural pigments responsible for the beautiful blue,purple, and reddish color qualities of certain fruits and vegetables may help in preventing obesity.
Their animal study however, reports that eating the whole fruit containing these pigments seems to be less effective than eating an extract of the berry.
Ronald L. Prior and colleagues, who conducted the study, found that past research has shown that the pigments,called anthocyanins, prevent obesity in laboratory mice fed a high-fat diet.
The mice also were reported to show other healthy benefits from the fruit. Anthocyanins are found in acai berries blackberries, purple corn, and many other purple based foods.
The study reports that researchers discovered mice that are fed a high-fat diet for 8 weeks, drinking water, and taking purified anthocyanins from blueberries and the acai berry gained less weight and had lower body fat levels than a control group.
The study found that anthocyanins extract proved to be the only way the effects of weight prevention could be met. When the mice were fed the whole berry, they tended to gain weight.
“Whole Berries versus Berry Anthocyanins: Interactions with Dietary Fat Levels in the C57BL/6J Mouse Model of Obesity” is fully published in its entirety in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry.
Colorful pigments found in the skin of blueberries, strawberries and other fruits and vegetables may help prevent obesity, according to recent animal studies from the USDA Agricultural Research Service.
Dr. Jerimiah Crossderd has spent thirty yearslooking into antioxidants and the huge benefits the compounds offer to the human body. He has an acai fruit portal that gives daily information on one of the most antioxidant packed foods known to research. He writeson a acai fruit review site that keeps you up to date on the most reputable acai berry products.
Tags: anti-aging, diet, Elederly health, Free Radicals, Health, Health research, medical, men's, Nutrition, older women's, research, science, women's
Reishi Extract and Cancer
Reishi is frequently prescribed in Traditional Chinese Medicine as a panacea. It is widely used by both laymen and professionals in the Orient as a treatment for things as innocuous as stress or weight loss to more serious conditions such as arthritis and even cancer.
One of the strongest proponents for the use of reishi as a medicinal mushroom is Dr. Fukumi Morishige. He works with the Linus Pauling Institute of Science & Medicine on treating cancer with reishi.
Re-printed in the Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III was a speech by Dr. Morishige that included the case studies listed below.
Growing up in Japan as Dr. Morishige did, it was impossible not to have heard of reishi. But he dismissed it as a mild herbal remedy to be used with limited results for non-terminal illnesses, not as a viable option for treating terminal conditions such as cancer. His curiosity arose when two of his cancer patients showed signs of remission, which they themselves claimed were due to their use of reishi.
First was a 39-year-old woman with lung carcinoma. The hospitals she had visited all told her she was too far gone and there was nothing they could do to help her. As a serious secondary complication, she also exhibited chest cavity edema. None-the-less, by the time she had her first appointment with Dr. Morishige, the symptoms of her illness had disappeared. The woman credited her recovery to the use of reishi, which her husband had administered to her at 4 grams per day.
The second case was a young boy suffering from congenital liver cancer. At the age of 5, his attending physician determined that the condition was terminal and discontinued any further treatment. At 9 years of age, the boy’s parents brought him to see Dr. Morishige who could then find no remaining traces of the cancer. The parents explained to Dr. Morishige that they had been feeding their son reishi via a naso-gastric tube. It was at this point Dr. Morishige determined that reishi’s effect on cancer deserved further study.
Below are five cases using reishi in combination with Vitamin C (to prevent side effects):
Case 1: A patient with a 5 cm (2 in.) brain tumor who had lost consciousness was placed on 6 gm of reishi per day in June of ‘86. By September, this 70-year-old-male patient had emerged from his comatose state. The reishi was decreased to 3 gm per day. Another three months later, December of 1986, scans showed diminishing size of the tumor. After it shrunk to 1 cm (0.4 in.), the hospital released the man to return home and live with his family.
Case 2: A patient with lung cancer, a 50-year-old female, was coughing up blood. Dr. Morishige put her on a daily dose of 6 gm of reishi. In six months, the tumor vanished. The woman, among other things, had regained her ability to climb stairs without suffering shortness of breath.
Case 3: A woman with breast cancer and metastatic bone cancer suffered excruciating pain and an inability to move below the neck. Dr. Morishige started her out on 9 gm/day of reishi and then increased it to 20 gm/day. In two months, the patient was free from pain, able to walk, and was released from the hospital.
Case 4: A man with rectal cancer metastasized to the liver was placed on 6 grams per day of reishi. Six months later, CT scans revealed that the tumor had shrunk. The patient showed improved health.
Case 5: A male patient aged 60 was diagnosed as having terminal pancreatic cancer and short life expectancy. Dr. Morishige placed him on 9 gm/day of reishi plus 30 gm/day of Vitamin C. A year later, the man was free of any symptoms and back working. After leaving the hospital, he continued taking 5 gm of reishi per day.
Note: This article is provided for scientific and informational purposes only. This product has not been tested by the FDA and should not be used for self-treatment of tumors. Never use any herb for medicinal purposes without consulting a licensed medical doctor.
Reference: Morishige, Fukumi, 1987. Chinese Traditional Medicine Part III, Page 12 – 23, ISBN4-88580-053-6 C-0077
About the author: Markho Rafael has worked in natural health for over 15 years, specializing in medicinal mushrooms such as reishi and cordyceps. Click Reishi Extract / Cordyceps for additional free articles about reishi and how it works individually or in combination such as in Stamets 7. You may also request free unique copy of articles for your web-site or other publication.
Tags: breast cancer, cancer, disease, fitness, healing, herbal, Herbs, lung cancer, medicine, Nutrition, self help, Supplements, wellness, women's
Eastern Hemlock Mushroom Saturated with Antioxidants
In 1999, the tree conk Hemlock Varnish Shelf was found to possess “the strongest antioxidant activity of five species of Ganoderma [Reishi] tested.” It was found to have stronger antioxidative activity than Vitamin E. The abundance of antioxidants in Hemlock Varnish Shelf has been confirmed by several other research papers. [827, 828, 829, 830]
Growing on Eastern Hemlocks (Tsuga canadensis) throughout the Appalachian Mountains, Hemlock Varnish Shelf (Ganoderma tsugae) is the local variety of Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma spp.) in the eastern parts of the U.S.
It shares many of the therapeutic properties with the Common Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), the oldest medicinal mushroom in Chinese herbal medicine with written testaments dating back 2,000 years.
Being a common tree mushroom also in parts of Southeast Asia, Hemlock Varnish Shelf (Ganoderma tsugae) has been the object of study in plenty of Asian research.
The primary Asian source of Hemlock Varnish Shelf is commercially grown specimens from Taiwan that are exported to mainland China as medicinal mushrooms. The traditional use of Ganoderma tsugae in Chinese medicine is for the treatment of autoimmune conditions, asthma and other conditions involving inflammation.
As far as modern research goes, a 2001 study reported “improved the survival rate of lupus” [800] when patients were given Ganoderma tsugae extract in addition to the conventional treatment.
In cases of asthma or lung inflammation, there have been three studies confirming the effectiveness of Hemlock Varnish Shelf. It’s been found to “exert anti-inflammatory effects on airway responses” [801] in cases of allergic asthma and broncheoalveolar inflammation. [802, 803]
In the annals of herbal medicine, several wood conks have been used to cauterize open wounds and speed up healing, including Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis) and Tinder Fungus (Fomes fomentarius). Now, modern medicine has discovered this unique application of mushrooms, and the species of choice is neither of the two mentioned above, but Hemlock Varnish Shelf. Sold as Sacchachitin, the skin substitute made from Hemlock Varnish Shelf has been said to support “rapid wound healing.” [804] A “wound area covered by SACCHACHITIN completely healed by 21 days, while that covered with cotton gauze did not,” concluded one study. [805, 806, 807]
Cancer research has also been conducted on Hemlock Varnish Shelf with encouraging results, [808, 809, 810, 811, 812] in particular in regards to breast [816] and lung cancer. [813, 814, 815] Ganoderma tsugae extract was shown in one study to be helpful in the prevention of metastatic tumors. [817]
Same as with Common Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), the Hemlock Reishi (or Hemlock Varnish Shelf) has also been shown to be a powerful immunomodulator. [817, 818, 819, 820, 821, 822, 823] What that means is that both of these species of Reishi will help adjust the immune system up or down, whichever is needed. They can help strengthen a weak immune system in one person, [824] while helping to calm an overactive immune system in another person, perhaps someone with an autoimmune disease or an inflammatory condition such as allergy, asthma or arthritis. [825]
Finally, a paper published in 2004 reported that Hemlock Varnish Shelf also possessed anti-fibrotic as well as liver protective properties. [826]
Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never use any medicinal mushroom or herb without prior approval by medical doctor.
Dr. Markho Rafael has worked with natural health since finishing Chiropractic College in 1996. He currently specializes in medicinal mushrooms, working specifically with the extracts from Paul Stamets, which include synergistic reishi blends such as G5 (Five Ganoderma) and CordyChi Extract. For research references to this article, please go to the Ganoderma tsugae page.
Tags: antioxidants, asthma, biology, breast cancer, cancer, disease, herbal, Herbs, lung cancer, medicine, Nutrition, Supplements, wellness, women's
Many Uses of Siberian Chaga Mushroom
Siberian chaga mushroom appears as a black mass on birch trees, dead or alive. Occasionally, it may also be seen growing on hornbeam, ash, elm or beech.
In Europe and Asia, chaga has been used for centuries to treat cancers of the heart and liver, digestive ailments, and tuberculosis. [121]
Traditionally, the black “skin” of the mushroom was removed and the light inside boiled into tea. As a naturally compact remedy, it was conveniently portable to ancient healers.
Modern scientific research has focused on chaga’s anti-cancer properties. In Russia, it has been approved to treat cancers of the breasts, cervix, stomach and lungs since 1955. [122]
A 1998 study on chaga extract showed that it did inhibit growth of cervical cancer in a lab. [123] And a 1995 study reported both growth inhibition and death of melanoma cells, also in a lab (in vitro). [124, 25]
Other research papers also confirm that some of the active compounds of chaga help retard the growth of cancer cells. [125, 126]
The black color of chaga is caused by betulin, a medicinally active compound that makes up 30% of the skin. [127] The lighter inside of the mushroom is rich in fungal lanostanes. So chaga tea may be more effective if made with the whole mushroom, including the skin.
Even better are chaga extracts that are made with not only the whole mushroom but also the mycelium, because the mycelium contains higher levels of medicinal proteins than the fruit body of the mushroom.
Research on chaga has also reported potent anti-viral properties. Two studies on influenza virus [127] and HIV [128] were published with positive results in 1996. Chaga probably works on viruses indirectly by enhancing the human immune system, as indicated by two papers published in 2002 and 2005. [25, 129] Historical use of chaga as an anti-inflammatory may be attributed to that same mechanism. [130]
Furthermore, alcohol extract of chaga mushroom has been found to lower blood sugar levels. [131] Chaga also demonstrates significant antioxidant properties that help protect the genetic integrity of the cells. [132, 133]
As an interesting anecdote that does not relate to human health but demonstrates the curative power of the Chaga mushroom, Paul Stamets mentions a Quebec arborist who uses a chaga poultice to cure chestnut blight. It not only cures the infection but the tree even becomes blight resistant after treatment. [134]
And last but not least, Paul Stamets (in Mycelium Running) lists the following areas of health where chaga has shown promising results in scientific research: Uterine cancer; liver conditions; bacteria. [134]
Note: The statements on this page have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This article is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. Never use any medicinal mushroom or herb without prior approval by medical doctor.
Credit to Paul Stamets for research and source material.
Tags: breast cancer, cancer, diabetes, disease, fitness, herbal, Herbs, medicine, Nutrition, Supplements, wellness, women's
