  Medicinal mushrooms have been prescribed and used for a number of conditions for thousands of years. August 24, 2016

Mushrooms are among some of the most powerful foods to fight cancer as well as to prevent cancer.
Supermarket mushrooms, such as oyster, portabella and others, have their health benefits, but four of the more specialized and not typically commercially grown mushrooms, have much more cancer fighting properties. They are reishi, maitake, agaricus blazei murill, and turkey tail mushrooms.
These mushrooms are known for their ability to enhance the immune system. When this system is weak or has failed, the mechanism for cancer has a better opportunity to manifest.
Anti-cancer mushrooms exhibit direct antiviral and tumor shrinking abilities. In learning about the assistance given by mushrooms, it is important to note that the side effects exhibited are often mild, but it is still important to talk with your healthcare provider before use.
In some cases, formulas containing multiple strains of different mushroom extracts often exhibit synergistic, complementary and amplified effects.
Reishi Mushroom Benefits:
Perhaps one of the most well-known medicinal mushroom in Asian healing arts is Ganoderma lucidum, or better known by its common name, reishi. The mushroom’s bioactive molecules and polysaccharides have been shown to better activate natural killer (NK) cells reducing cancer metastasis. NK cells are lymphocytes that perform immunosurveillance within the body, constantly on the lookout for “immuno-alerters” signaling tumor presence.
Reishi also has been shown to assist in slowing the growth (angiogenesis) of tumors as well as triggering programmed cell death in malignant cells. Currently, there is data to support the potential use of reishi as, at the very least, an adjunct therapy for colorectal cancer, lung cancer, prostate cancer and breast cancer.
Maitake Mushroom Benefits:
Maitake, like the reishi mushroom, also contains a broad-spectrum array of bioactive molecules. In studies, maitake has shown similar results as the reishi mushroom in stimulating NK cell activity in cancer patients. The mushroom also shows promise in blocking tumor growth and activating malignant cell death through its specific immune-enhancing methods. Maitake has clinically shown promise for individuals with breast cancer, lung cancer, and myelodysplastic syndromes (MDS).
Agaricus Blazei Murill Mushroom Benefits:
This mushroom made perhaps the biggest splash when a study jointly conducted by the Medical Department of Tokyo University, The National Cancer Center Laboratory and Tokyo College of Pharmacy showed a complete recovery in 90% of guinea pigs injected with cancer cells (180 sarcoma).
The pattern of other mushrooms was seen again as agaricus blazei murill activated macrophage and interferon immune activity leading to tumor shrinkage, a halt in metastasis and reduction of future cancer occurrences. As an adjunct, agaricus blazei murill was shown to lessen the side effects in individuals undergoing chemotherapy for endometrial, cervical, and ovarian cancers.
Turkey Tail Mushroom Benefits:
In 1976, a Japanese company patented certain extracts of this mushroom under the name PSK and later PSP. They have since become recognized cancer drugs in Japan. The anti-viral properties of the turkey tail mushroom offer a unique opportunity to target oncoviruses (tumor virus) such as human papillomavirus leading to cervical cancer, hepatitis C leading to liver cancers, and others. For this mushroom, again studies are showing increased NK activity towards tumor detection and eradication. This mushroom is in the process of a $5.4 million study by the National Institutes of Health that began in late 2012.
Drug companies cannot patent mushrooms, funds typically won’t be allocated to study mushrooms, unless they come from private institutions or government grants.
A note on safety: there are many species of mushrooms that are highly poisonous to humans. It is strongly advised not to gather wild mushrooms for consumption.
http://patch.com/new-jersey/ramsey-nj/medicinal-mushrooms-can-fight-cancer-0
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