My 5 Favourite Medicinal Mushrooms For Cancer
Medicinal mushrooms are mushrooms that are used as medicine. They have been used to treat infection for hundreds of years, mostly in Asia. Today, medicinal mushrooms are also used to treat lung diseases and cancer. For more than 30 years, medicinal mushrooms have been approved as an addition to standard cancer treatments in Japan and China. In these countries, mushrooms have been used safely for a long time, either alone or combined with radiation or chemotherapy.
In Asia, there are more than 100 types of mushrooms used to treat cancer. Some of the more common ones are Ganoderma lucidum (reishi), Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor (turkey tail), Lentinus edodes (shiitake), and Grifola frondosa (maitake).
Mushrooms are currently being examined in various research studies to discover how they influence and interact with the immune system, as well as whether they can effectively stop or slow the growth of tumors or potentially kill tumor cells. Scientists believe that specific chemical compounds present in certain medicinal mushrooms, such as polysaccharides known as beta-glucans, hold the potential to significantly strengthen the immune system, thereby enhancing the body’s ability to fight cancer more effectively.
Here Are 5 Of My Favourite Medicinal Mushrooms
Reishi
Reishi Mushroom
Reishi is a type of mushroom that grows on live trees. Scientists may call it either Ganoderma lucidum or Ganoderma sinense. In traditional Chinese medicine, this group of mushrooms is known as Ling Zhi.
Reishi has been used as medicine for a very long time in East Asia. It was thought to prolong life, prevent aging, and increase energy. In China, it is being used to strengthen the immune system of cancer patients who receive chemotherapy or radiation therapy.
Studies suggest that the use of products made from reishi as adjuvant therapy may help strengthen the immune system in patients with cancers such as lung cancer and colorectal cancer.
Studies
2. Shiitake
Shiitake Mushroom
Some of the medicinal properties of shiitake mushroom are attributed to a sugar molecule named lentinan, on which extensive research has been done. In laboratory tests, lentinan does not kill cancer cells directly, but enhances a number of aspects of the immune system, which may aid in the slowing of tumor growth. Lentinan also kills viruses and microbes directly in laboratory studies.
Shiitake mushrooms also contain ergothioneine, a powerful antioxidant that can help to reduce oxidative stress, a common side effect of cancer treatments.
Studies
3. Turkey Tail
Turkey Tail Mushroom
Turkey tail is a type of mushroom that grows on dead logs worldwide. It's named turkey tail because its rings of brown and tan look like the tail feathers of a turkey.
A preparation made from the turkey tail mushroom, known as krestin, has been used as a supportive therapy in cancer treatment in Japan for decades. This includes not only breast cancer, but lung, gastric, pancreatic and liver cancer as well.
Polysaccharide K (PSK) is the best known active compound in turkey tail mushrooms. In Japan, PSK is an approved mushroom product used to treat cancer.
PSK has been studied in patients with gastric cancer, breast cancer, colorectal cancer, and lung cancer. It has been used as adjuvant therapy in thousands of cancer patients since the mid-1970s. PSK has been safely used in people for a long time in Japan and few side effects have been reported.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) recently approved a clinical trial for a turkey tail extract, allowing patients with advanced prostate cancer to take it in combination with conventional chemotherapy. Another trial pending FDA approval will test the effects in women with breast cancer. These will help researchers gather safety data and continue their development of potentially transformative cancer therapy.
4. Poria Cocos
Poria Cocos Mushroom
Poria cocos is an edible medicinal fungus known as “Fu ling” in Chinese and has been used as a Chinese traditional medicine for more than two thousand years. In 2015, “Polysaccharidum of Poria cocos oral solution” was approved as a drug by Chinese Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) for treating multiple types of cancers, hepatitis, and other diseases alone or during chemo- or radiation therapy for cancer patients.
Considered as a promising candidate for alternative cancer therapy.
STUDIES
Molecular basis for Poria cocos mushroom polysaccharide used as an antitumor drug in China
Helps with drug resistance during chemo.
Targeting Drug Chemo-Resistance in Cancer Using Natural Products
5. Maitake
Maitake Mushroom
Maitake is one of the most valuable mushrooms. Maitake (Pron. “my-tah-key”) is indigenous to northern part of Japan. The basket-ball sized mushroom, weighing sometimes over 50 pounds, grows on the foot of old Japanese oak trees. For hundreds of years, this rare and tasty mushroom has been prized in traditional Japanese herbology. Maitake literally means “Dancing Mushroom”.
Maitake is often used to reduce the side effects of chemotherapy and make it more effective. It is most effective against breast, prostate, and liver cancer.
In addition to its antitumor effect, anti-hypertension, anti-diabetes, anti-obesity and anti-hepatitis activities have been found in Maitake. Its anti-HIV activity was also confirmed by both Japan National Institute of Health and U.S. National Cancer Institute in early 1992.
In early trials, the maitake mushroom extract killed 70% of cancer cells. Thats 10% more effective than taxol and cisplatin, two of the most popular chemotherapy drugs. Most importantly it does so without killing healthy cells.
STUDIES
All post and information provided within this site is for informational and educational purposes only, and is not to be construed as medical advice or instruction. Please consult your physician or a qualified health professional on any matters regarding your health and well being or on any opinions expressed within this website. Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
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Any statements or claims about the possible health benefits have not been evaluated by the Food & Drug Administration and are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.