Chaga Mushroom; An Immune Enhancing Superfood!

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Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliques), often referred to as the "king of medicinal mushrooms", looks like a dark black woody mass rather than a mushroom and, in fact, you probably wouldn't even recognize it as a mycelium species when walking through the forest. However, this unusual looking variety is one of the most powerful adaptogens and superfoods on the planet, exhibiting immune supporting complex polysaccharides that are considerably more potent than most any other medicinal mushroom.

In addition to sterols, polyphenols and polysaccharides, the mushroom also contains a host of other super healthy antioxidant constituents including melanin and superoxide dismutase as well as triterpenes, like betulin, inotodiol and lupeol. Furthermore, it is also gaining recognition around the world for its ability to help inhibit tumor growth via certain anti-mutagenic compounds like betulinic acid which it concentrates in high amounts from birch bark.

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What is Chaga and Where Does it grow?

The Inonotus obliquus species is classified as a "white-rot fungus", like other medicinal mushrooms such as maitake, coriolus and reishi. This means that it feeds off of the lignins in the tree host but does not necessarily damage the primary cellulose or integral composition of the tree. There are debatable theories, however, about its natural life cycle and whether it is protecting the health of the tree as a endophytic mushroom or whether it will eventually act as a parasite over a period of time and hinder the host's growth. "Some wood conks once seen as parasites on trees may in fact be symbiotic endophytes." Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets

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 The tree of choice for Inonotus obliquus is the white and yellow birch tree, although it may also grow on other hardwoods like alder, elm and beech trees. The mushroom used exclusively for medicinal use, usually comes from the birch tree only. Higher quality mushroom harvests are usually Wild Crafted from birch trees growing in Eastern Europe and Northern Russia, especially Siberia.

It is a polypore mushroom (with pores instead of gills) that grows in cold, Northern climates and produces a thick black mass on the side of tree trunks, often referred to as a "conk." They usually grow up to 10cm thick and 1.5 meters in length or much longer depending on the age. While the exterior of the mushroom looks like burnt black charcoal, when split open it has a deep clay orange, cork-like center. The mushroom has actually been used as a long burning firewood source as well as clothing dye in many parts of the world.

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This black tree fungus has long been respected in Northern Europe, Canada, China, Finland and Russia for its immune boosting qualities. Chaga mushroom tea has played a significant role in Russian herbalism and Siberian folk medicine for hundreds, if not thousands of years, particularly for its ability to help humans adapt to cold harsh climates. Acknowledged by the Chinese Monk Shen Nong in the book "The Shen Nong Ben Cao .ling" written in 100 B.C., it was described as "the king of herbs" and "a precious gift of nature."

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In Traditional Chinese Medicine it was used as a special mushroom for balancing "Chi", preserving youth and maintaining a strong immune response. Today it is also considered a Chi, kidney and Shen tonic in Asian culture. The fungi became popular here in the West in 1968 when the Russian novelist Aleksandr Solzhenitsyn published the book, "The Cancer Ward", in which he speaks about "the tea from the birch tree mushroom", its healing components and potential benefits to cancer patients.

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Chaga Mushroom’s Health Benefits

This arctic miracle mushroom is known to possess the following properties – and there may well be many more:

1.  Anti-Tumoral  - One of the greatest health threats we humans face is human malicious tumors. Sadly, such tumors cause more than 7 million deaths every year. Our current and most common strategies for treatment of human malicious tumors involve the combination of surgery and chemotherapy. One can have many opinions about these methods, but there are some aspects which are undeniable:

Surgery is not only expensive; it is also frequently followed by metastases to other parts of patient’s body – requiring the extreme stress of repeated surgical procedures.

Chemotherapy often proves to be more harmful than it is useful. The side-effects often encountered after chemotherapy are frightening: anemia, appetite change, bleeding problems, constipation, diarrhea, fatigue, hair loss, memory changes, mouth and throat changes, nausea and vomiting, nerve changes, pain, sexual and fertility changes, skin and nail changes, swelling, and urination changes. Add to that the fact that records show that chemotherapy only slightly improves survival rates (40% for testicular cancer, 1-13% for most other types of cancers) – and the treatment is extremely expensive.

Chaga contains a great number of metabolites which have been shown to selectively induce apoptosis (cell death) in tumor cells, with no damage to host (healthy) cells. The mushroom also stimulates immune system effectiveness by boosting production of lymphocytes (a form of white blood cell occurring in the lymphatic system

The mushroom draws upon and concentrates nutrients out of the birch tree lignings and bark, converting them into a form that is easily digested by humans. One of these nutrients is a triterpene called betulin, which it absorbs specifically from the bark and further converts to betulinic acid. This is one of the active compounds and tumor inhibiting components that is inherent to the chaga mushroom species. Along with coriolus (turkey tail mushroom), it is viewed by many mycologists and health experts as one of the strongest antitumor mushrooms available.

Betulinic acid induces apoptosis (PCD) through its direct effects on the mitochondria and once inside the cancer cells is believed to influence cell death within the tumor itself. Other research coming from Poland suggests that the betulinic acid is also activated by and drawn to the lower pH of the tumorous tissues. According to Christopher Hobbs, extracts of chaga were approved as an anticancer drug, called Befungin, in Russia as early as 1955 and has been reported successful in treating breast, lung, cervical and stomach cancers (Hobbs 1995).

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Mushroom mycologist Paul Stamets writes that the betulin concentrations in chaga have shown promise in treating malignant melanoma, completely inhibiting tumors implanted in mice, causing apoptosis of cancerous cells.

Chaga is known to help detoxify the liver and protect against the potentially damaging effects of radiation or chemo chemicals. Also, the high amount of antioxidants, including melanin (which binds to radioactive isotopes), are particularly helpful for rejuvenating healthy immune responses.

1. Anti-Viral - Viruses are a class of human pathogens which cause common ailments such as influenza, chicken pox and cold sores. Viruses are also to blame in diseases such as Ebola, AIDS, avian influenza, severe acute respiratory syndrome, H1N1 influenza and hepatitis, to name just a few.

There is evidence to demonstrate the chaga mushroom’s capacity for treating virus-induced diseases. The interesting facts below are just two examples what science has discovered, and what we can expect to see in future.

Chaga has showed effective inhabitation of protease (an enzyme that breaks down proteins and peptides) of HIV-1 virus.

Chaga exhibits 100% inhibition of both the human and horse varieties of type A and B influenza.

1. Anti-Oxidant  - There is an exceptional amount of immune boosting antioxidants found in chaga such as beta glucans and betulinic acid, in addition to various other triterpenes and sterols as well as melanin and superoxide dismutase (SOD) Oxidative stress occurs when your body burns calories and converts them into usable energy. Without this process, your body would not have the energy it needs to function. “Burn” is the key word here. Imagine that there is small fire inside your every cell, burning calories and creating energy and waste. The burning waste is called free radicals; it is these substances, which actually causes oxidative stress. The bigger the fire, the greater the oxidative stress. Antioxidants are substances that protect your body from free radicals. The antioxidants are the free radicals’ nemesis.

 

Oxidative stress is linked to many diseases, from Parkinson’s disease to Alzheimer’s and heart failure. Our modern society is often very stressful, causing the body’s “fire” to burn too intensely and for too long. The result is a large and continuous overload of free radicals. If the body doesn’t have enough antioxidants to counteract the flood of free radicals, we end up with ailments such as chronic fatigue, chronic flu and chronic pains.

 

Medicinal mushrooms in general are good sources of antioxidants, but the chaga mushroom tops them all. It has been shown that chaga mushrooms are:

 

One of the richest sources of SOD (superoxide dismutase) – the strongest known antioxidant in the human body

Known to protect the mitochondria (the cells’ “power plants” – this is where those “fires” are located) and the DNA of human lymphocytes

Effective scavengers of the harmful free radicals DPPH and SOA (SOA is believed to be me the most harmful of them all)

ORAC is an abbreviation for Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity and was developed by the National Institutes of Health in Baltimore. ORAC units measure the antioxidant capacity of foods. The higher, the better. It is widely believed that high antioxidant foods help greatly to lower the risks of cancer, degeneration, and disease.

The following list consists of high ORAC value food and spices. Consider making an effort to obtain and consume more of them in your normal diet. Ones health is paramount to survival!

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ORAC Value Top 20 list

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Chaga reaches 3,997,900 / 100 grams  on the ORAC scale!

It contains the highest amounts of antioxidants known to date.

 

1. Chaga Contains Beta Glucan and  Polysaccharides

In addition to a full spectrum of phytonutrients, chaga mushroom also contains 29 long-chain polysaccharides, protein-bound xylogalactoglucans and beta glucan derivatives. The beta glucans in chaga, especially 1-3 beta-glucans, help to activate our immune cells or macrophage defense systems, working on both the surface immune system as well as stimulating stem cells deep within the bone marrow reserve. This further "supercharges" and activates various other immune cells such as natural killer cells (NK cells) and T cells.

1. Studies on other beneficial sterols and Triterpenes

The triterpenoid element found in the mushroom called inotodiol, which is derived from lanostane compounds, show promising effects as anticancer agents in a study conducted in 2010. "The results suggest that I. obliquus and its compounds in these subfractions isolated from I. obliquus could be used as natural anticancer ingredients in the food and/or pharmaceutical industry."

In a 2013 study entitled "Anti-inflammatory and anticancer activities of extracts and compounds from the mushroom Inonotus obliquus", it states that "Compound ergosterol, ergosterol peroxide and trametenolic acid showed anti-inflammatory activities and obvious cytotoxicity on human prostatic carcinoma cell PC3 and breast carcinoma MDA-MB-231 cell. The results obtained in this work might contribute to understanding the biological activity of mushroom I. obliquus for food and drug application."

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1. Chaga is Great for the Skin

Melanin is a phenolic pigment and potent antioxidant found in the surface layer of the mushroom and is the chief ingredient responsible for its distinctive coloration. Chaga is one of the highest sources of melanin known in any food or herb. It has been demonstrated that chaga's melanin has a strong genoprotective (DNA/gene protective) effect on the body. This is the same compound that makes up the main pigment in human skin, the retina of the eye and the pigment-bearing neurons within the brain stem.

the body's load of nutrient-demanding processes involved in melanogenesis (formation of melanin)."

Melanin supplementation via chaga consumption can enhance, beautify and protect the skin from sun damage and is additionally beneficial for the eyes and hair. The melanin found in the mushroom may help those with white blotches that sometimes appear on the skin as we age. This may indicate a disrupted melanin distribution possibly caused by factors such as stress, viral issues, genetics and/or nutritional deficiencies. Moreover, consuming beta glucan-rich polysaccharides are known to help nourish, hydrate and heal the skin tissue.

 

1. Immune System Adaptogen

It is always best to keep the immune system strong, so it can function optimally. We are all bombarded with immune stress ;in our daily lives from environmental pollution and toxins that effect our health in ways we may not realize. Chaga is an immune modulator and "double-directional" adaptogen that powerfully balances immune response and helps the body maintain optimal homeostasis. It is on our top superfoods list as the #1 super mushroom for autoimmune disorders, a seemingly common health issue in our modern times.

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1. Acts as an Anti-Inflammatory Many of chaga's unique complexes such as betulinic acid, lupeol, trametenolic acid, inotodiol, ergosterol and others act directly to reduce inflammation in the body. Decreasing chronic inflammation helps reduce risk of heart attacks, strokes, high blood pressure, rheumatoid arthritis as well as degenerative diseases. The mushroom extracts have also proven helpful for gastrointestinal disorders and irritable bowel syndrome (IBS).

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