Medicinal Mushrooms: Ancient Remedies for Modern Ailments is dedicated to bringing information about the healing powers of medicinal mushrooms to Western readers. Some of the mushrooms described in this book have been used as medicines for two thousand years or more. Others were discovered in recent decades. All have medicinal properties that can improve your health and well-being.
For the general reader, this book presents the fascinating history of eight medicinal mushrooms: reishi, Cordyceps sinensis, Agaricus blazei, maitake, Phellinus linteus, Trametes versicolor, Hericium erinaceus, and shiitake. This book explains how ancient people used these medicinal mushrooms and the promise they bring for healing and preventing illness in the modern world. For the general reader, we have strived to put a human face on a subject that is too often dry and clinical. In these pages you will find behind-the-scenes stories about the mycologists and scientists who are bringing medicinal mushrooms into the world at large. Where we describe the action of medicinal mushrooms on the body, we have done our best to do so in terms that the layman can understand.
For the reader who is already a student of medicinal mushrooms, this book presents the latest scientific and clinical research. It describes the most up-to-date experiments and conjectures how different medicinal mushrooms may be used to treat and prevent illness.
Many claims are made for medicinal mushrooms. Sometimes out of sheer enthusiasm and sometimes for commercial motives, authors make exaggerated claims. A few of these claims border on the outlandish. For example, the label on a medicinal mushroom product we have (it comes from China) claims the following: “Effective on cancer, AIDS, hepatitis, headaches, colds, and impotence.” Claims like these raise false hopes. Worse, they give people cause to be cynical about medicinal mushrooms and herbal remedies in general.
For this book, we chose to exercise skepticism. We were careful to examine sources of information to make sure that they were reliable. Except for historical purposes, we have endeavored to cite only studies and experiments that were undertaken in the past five or six years. We want to present the most current information about medicinal mushrooms. In the back of this book, you will find references listed under chapter headings, in case you are interested in looking further into a study we cite.
No medicinal mushroom is a cure-all. No mushroom can sweep away disease in everyone who takes it. No mushroom can make the body unassailable to disease. What mushrooms can do is bolster the immune system. They can give a powerful boost to the functions of the body that are already in place for preventing and fighting disease. In this book, we take the balanced view. We are firm believers in the medicinal properties of mushrooms, but we believe that only a balanced view can sway the skeptics, convince the doubters, and promote medicinal mushrooms as a means of healing the body and preventing disease.
Chapter One looks at mushrooms in Eastern and Western culture, how they have been revered and reviled, and the role of fungi in nature. Fungi live on the most trying layer of the ecosystem, where they are constantly under attack from disease-causing pathogens. Some scientists believe that the ability of fungi to battle pathogens is what makes them beneficial to the human immune system. Because the use of mushrooms in traditional Chinese medicine is mentioned throughout this book, Chapter One also takes a quick look at traditional Chinese medicine.
As you will discover, mushrooms can make you healthy in many different ways, but they do so chiefly by awakening the immune system and making it more alert. Throughout this book, we refer to different parts of the immune system—cytokines, T cells, the lymphatic system, macrophages, and so on. Unless you are a student of biology or medicinal mushrooms, the terminology of the immune system is sure to baffle or confuse you. For that reason, Chapter Two explains the general workings of the immune system and how medicinal mushrooms awaken and restore it. We felt it was necessary to explain the immune system in some depth. Without knowing how the immune system works, it is hard to grasp how medicinal mushrooms improve your health.
Chapter Three is the first of eight chapters about medicinal mushrooms. Each chapter presents the latest scientific studies conducted on a specific medicinal mushroom. Each chapter describes a mushroom’s character, the history of its use as a medicine, its healing properties, and its folklore. In the “Producer’s List” near the end of this book, you will find the names, addresses, and phone numbers of companies that sell the medicinal mushroom you have been reading about.
Chapter Three is about reishi, the “mushroom of immortality,” its use by ancient Taoist priests, and its antitumor and antioxidant effects. Chapter Four describes Cordyceps sinensis, the anti-aging and stamina-building mushroom that generated so many headlines in 1993 when the coach of the Chinese women’s track team credited it for helping his runners break three world records in a single week. Chapter Five concerns Agaricus blazei, the unusual mushroom from Brazil that many believe has the strongest antitumor activity.
In Chapter Six, you will read about maitake, a delicious culinary mushroom that lowers cholesterol and helps against diabetes, among other things. Chapter Seven looks at Phellinus linteus, a mushroom that has long been cherished in Korea as an aid against stomach ailments and arthritis. Chapter Eight examines Trametes versicolor, the mushroom from which Krestin, one of the world’s foremost anticancer drugs, is derived. Chapter Nine delves into Hericium erinaceus, a mushroom that may hold promise as a cure for Alzheimer’s disease. The last of the mushroom chapters, Chapter Ten, describes shiitake, the delicious culinary mushroom that many believe can help prevent AIDS.
In Chapter Eleven, “Real Stories and Healing Experiences,” we allow people who have been touched by medicinal mushrooms to speak. They tell how various mushrooms healed them or changed their outlook on life. Chapter Twelve takes you behind the scenes, where you discover how medicinal mushrooms are cultivated, learn how to shop for medicinal mushroom products, and glimpse some of the people who make the products.
Throughout this book, we present scientific studies on medicinal mushrooms, their immune-modulating properties, and their curative properties. Most of these studies were done in the East, in China, Korea, and Japan. The West has been slow to catch up to the benefits of medicinal mushrooms. Many of the studies that are now being conducted in the West were inspired by studies made in the East.
We believe that the referenced studies conducted in China, Korea, and Japan are valid. They follow the highest standards of scientific protocol. The methods used in the East may vary from those in the West, but the scientists uphold rigorous standards and undertake their studies in the spirit of honest inquiry. They follow sophisticated scientific protocols. The studies we present in this book have been subjected to peer review by panels of international scientists. Some in the West have been quick to criticize scientific data from the East, but we believe that this kind of criticism is unwarranted.
Finding and working with a healthcare professional who understands alternative medicines is essential if you intend to use unfamiliar treatments. Be sure to let your physician know if you are using an alternative medicine. Your physician can advise you according to your needs and also help monitor the effects of the medicine on your health. Moreover, keeping informed about the latest findings in the health field is essential for your good health. Books like the one you are reading can help lead the way to greater health and vitality.
Scientific research into medicinal mushrooms is still in its infancy. From a medical standpoint, we have only now begun to understand all the benefits of medicinal mushrooms. As more research is conducted, the studies recounted in this book will fade into footnotes. Advances in medical technology will permit research into medicinal mushrooms to go much deeper than it has now. We still have much to learn.