Green Drink Reviews

Reishi & Shiitake: The Best Medicine for Fall and Winter

October 15th, 2009

by Edna Soua
This Fall season, we’re all probably going to be thinking about staying warm and healthy. If you think about soup on those cold days, good choice. But I suggest adding some medicinal food to yours. Don’t worry I’m only talking about mushrooms, specifically Reishi and Shiitake.

These mushrooms are best known in Asia for boosting the immune system, curing headaches, cold and flu, and increasing vitality and intelligence. The Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) is known in Chinese Medicine as ling zhi, which means “herb of spiritual potency.” But in Greek, it’s Ganos (meaning brightness), dermos (meaning skin), and lucidum (a Latin word meaning shining). You get the idea, right?

The Reishi, Powerful Compounds for Health
The Reishi mushroom is used to treat the heart, liver and lungs. Also it’s prescribed for insomnia, high blood pressure, high cholesterol, blood sugar imbalance, palpitations and forgetfulness. Many use it for coughs and wheezing from dampness affecting the lungs. Also the Reishi mushroom has potent anti-aging, anti-tumor, anti-virus, and anti-bacterial properties. Put that in your soup!

But culinarily speaking, the Reishi mushroom has a bitter and woody flavor, not being the most popular mushroom in the kitchen. It’s also available dried in Asian markets. Those Ganoderma species can also be found in different colors and forms in America, Africa, Europe and Asia. The species grows as a parasite on wide variety of trees, especially maples. The Reishi contains triterpenes, polysaccharides, peptidopolysaccharides, palmitic acid, fumaric acid, ricinoleic acid, glucosamine, resins, alkaloids, amino acids, coumarin, mannitol and purines. All amazing stuff.

The Shiitake: Healthy and Delicious
The Shiitake mushroom (Lentinus edodes) is very well known for being affective against several diseases, including cancerous cells, hepatitis B, HIV, influenza and other diseases caused by viruses. The shiitake compound called lentinan was known world wide for boosting the immune system and offering numerous other affects, like improving circulation, reducing cholesterol and promoting longevity.

The Shiitake mushroom is the most popular Japanese mushroom, with its smoky aroma and meaty texture. It’s as enjoyable as a natural medicine as it is as a food. The Shiitake is also called the Black Forest mushroom, Japanese mushroom, Oakwood mushroom or Golden Oak mushroom. The name Shiitake is derived from the Japanese Shii meaning the tree where its is found, and Take meaning mushroom. The Shiitake mushroom is a great source of protein, iron and vitamin C.

Start Cooking!
With these kinds of mushrooms that can improve health, fight infections, improve energy, and keep you young and healthy, you are ready for the fall and winter months…and plenty of good meals! Here’s something else: In researching this article, I also found an amazing spice mixture that includes both Shiitake and Reishi mushroom, among other healthy (and tasty) ingredients. It’s called SuperFood Seasoning and you can find it at PotofGoldProducts.com What a great way to add more medicinal mushrooms to your cooking.

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