The Re-Emergence Of Medicinal Mushrooms For Healing

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by: Jacob Hansen
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Word Count: 446
Date: Sat, 13 Mar 2010 Time: 11:53 AM
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You may have noticed an increase in the amount of exposure that has been given to the benefits of medicinal mushrooms in recent years; whereas a few years ago there was little information available at all. Much like the use of ginseng in the Orient, the medicinal mushroom varieties that have been used for many years in China are becoming popular in America too, as more info about their medicinal properties becomes known.

The history of mushrooms demonstrates that several of the oldest recorded uses were as cures for intestinal parasites, as well as being utilized to stop bleeding and for cauterizing injuries. The mushrooms used were polypores, so named for the reason that they have pores as opposed to gills beneath the heads. No recognized species of polypore are toxic and they are typically found growing on trees, both alive and dead.

Most of the polypores are inedible, as they are very fibrous and woody. However, when used as a medicinal mushroom, in the form of poultices, extracts and teas, the uses are very beneficial.

Native American traditions speak of using the different kinds of mushrooms to combat illnesses like smallpox and others that showed up together with the arrival of Europeans. These include species like the reishi, turkey tail and chaga, in addition to the agarikon, which is at this time very uncommon and endangered. The agarikon is the earliest of the organic fungi used medicinally in historic European literature. Since 65 B.C., a Greek doctor called Dioscorides noted the variety in the Materia Medica as a natural remedy utilized to combat tuberculosis. More recently, an article was published stating that agarikon tea had been traditionally used in Polish medicine for things like and elixir for long life, for lung diseases such as asthma, rheumatoid arthritis and to prevent hemorrhage and to sanitize open sores.

Mushrooms have started to become more popular in the West, but they are almost revered in the Orient. There are a minimum of three very popular species from Asia that are mentioned in almost every article about fungi varieties. One of the first mentioned are the medicinal Shiitake mushrooms, which have been grown and used as antibiotics for over a thousand years. The cordyceps mushroom has been used to help improve physical abilities in athletes, as well as being used as an aphrodisiac. And the third medicinal mushroom to be mentioned is the reishi variety, which has been used in both Japan and China for at least two millennia. Many of the older temple engravings and wood carvings of the Orient pay homage to what is considered a cure all mushroom.

About the Author

Mushrooms have been used for centuries as a natural form of medicine, and medicinal mushrooms are experiencing a revival these days. For example, many people are interested in growing shiitake mushrooms both for their health benefits and because they're tasty. Learn more at our Medicinal Mushrooms site.

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