I used to avoid mushrooms at all costs, until they helped to save my life. See, my mother was deathly allergic to mushrooms. I was trained to stay away. Imagine my surprise, when in my 30’s, I was led to take medicinal mushrooms to battle cancer.
Did you know that the Reishi Mushroom has the following affects on fighting cancer and supporting the body during treatment? Check it out:
- Provide smoother recovery for post operative cancer removal
- Protect healthy cells from chemotherapy
- Prevent cancer cell growth
- Encourage natural cancer cell death
- Stop tumors and cancer from metastasis
- Build up immune strength against cancer cell growth
- Reduce side effects of chemotherapy, such as nausea, pain, hair loss, decreased blood cell count with no effect on the benefit of chemotherapy itself
- Increase the benefit of radiation and chemotherapy, while decreasing the side effects
- Enhance the immune response against advanced stage cancers
Along the way, I found out that I actually really enjoyed mushrooms. I loved them in whole form, they added flavor and meatiness to my plant based diet. I didn’t even mind the earthy flavor they added to my smoothies and tonics.
There is a world of medicinal mushrooms out there that Eastern Medicine has used for thousands of years. Medicinal fungi are nutritious, abundant in vitamins, proteins, and fatty acids. They’ve been known to lower cholesterol and prevent diabetes and even fight cancer.
The Reishi mushroom is the oldest mushroom known to be used medicinally. To be honest the idea of eating this bitter, odd looking fungi scares me just a little, but its benefits, especially those dealing with a cancer diagnosis, are quite remarkable. So, I choose to add Reishi powder to my shakes and tonics.
Referred to as “the mushroom of immortality”, Reishi it is thought to promote longevity, memory, intellectual capacity, prevention of heart disease, liver health, low blood pressure, and emotional calm.
I find my favorite source of reishi in powder form from Sun Potion, this organic reishi powder is a potent blend of black, red, purple, and white reishi. I love it in my Inner Peace Tonic, which I often drink to start my day and meditate. If I’m looking for a simple way to unwind at the end of the day, I add a tablespoon of reishi powder to a cup of warm water or cup of warm brewed Gynostemma tea. The mushroom has a very calming effect and lends itself to restful sleep and is very easy to incorporate in teas, tonics, and smoothies!
