Coriolus

A major study of medicinal mushrooms by Cancer Research UK is the most comprehensive ever undertaken and was very positive.

The popular and wide spread use of medicinal mushrooms in Asia left the researchers wondering why we are not making better use of them in the West. They note, “The huge world wide sales of such products, can testify to the beliefs of many, of their efficacy.”

The Cancer Research UK team were impressed by “the remarkable ability of many of these non toxic compatible compounds to reduce the debilitating effects of traditional chemo-therapeutic drugs.’

Mushrooms have been treasured as remedies for disease and as natural health supports for thousands of years and are an incredibly popular food in most countries. Actually, world trade in mushrooms is as big as the trade in coffee.

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funghi medicinali newsweek

MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS
Exploring their promise
By Sue Russell

Can mushrooms help fight high blood pressure, diabetes, and even cancer, HIV and AIDS? In Asia, the powerful healing properties of medicinal mushrooms have been recognized and sought out for several thousand years. In medieval Japan, the rare maitake (my-tah-key), a member of the ‘Monkey’s Bench’ family, was so highly prized it was worth its weight in silver. Now it is proving to be the most potent of the medicinal mushrooms and being studied closely by scientists in the US.

Maitake means Dancing Mushroom in Japanese. Folklore has it that the mushroom was so named because wildcrafters danced for joy when they found it. (Understandable, given that a single cluster can grow to 100 lbs.)

In folk medicine, the maitake (or Grifola frondosa) was credited with having near-miraculous healing properties. Other mushrooms such as the Reishi and the Shiitake have also been long revered and used to stimulate the immune system. The Shiitake, now a nouvelle cuisine staple, has a remedial history in China dating back to the Ming Dynasty but in traditional Chinese Medicine, the Reishi was considered the most effective medicinal mushroom.

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Nutrition and Cancer

Nutrition &Cancer, January 2009 by Ben-Zion Zaidman, Solomon P. Wasser, Roumyana D. Petrova, Jamal Mahajna, Nesly Dotan

Summary:

Prostate cancer (PCa) is the most common male malignancy in many Western countries. Primary PCa is hormone dependent and is manageable by hormonal therapy. However, it rapidly develops to hormone-refractory tumors due to the accumulation of mutations in the androgen receptor and/or the acquisition of alternative cellular pathways that support proliferation and inhibit apoptosis of prostate cancer. To date, no effective therapy is available for clinically hormone-insensitive or hormone-refractory stages of prostate cancer.ABSTRACT FROM AUTHORCopyright of Nutrition &Cancer is the property of Lawrence Erlbaum Associates and its content may not be copied or emailed to multiple sites or posted to a listserv without the copyright holder’s express written permission. However, users may print, download, or email articles for individual use. This abstract may be abridged. No warranty is given about the accuracy of the copy. Users should refer to the original published version of the material for the full abstract.

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Powerful anti-cancer phytonutrients found in medicinal mushrooms

(NaturalNews) The cure for cancer already exists. But it wasn’t created in a lab, and it wasn’t funded by pink-ribbon products or walkathons. It was created for free by Mother Nature, and it exists as a collection of literally thousands of powerful anti-cancer phytonutrients found in medicinal mushrooms.

Medicinal mushrooms contain some of the most potent medicine in the world. They are living pharmaceutical factories, but they file no patents and ask for no royalties. They just mind their own business, manufacturing healing medicines day by day, and waiting for someone wise and humble enough to come along and pick them.

Here, we’ve assembled a unique collection of supporting statements about medicinal mushrooms and cancer from some of the top authors in the industry. If you (or someone you know) suffers from any form of cancer, make sure to send them this information so they can learn what their conventional cancer doctor won’t dare tell them… that medicinal mushrooms make chemotherapy virtually obsolete!

Beating cancer with the help of medicinal mushrooms

Many of the medicinal mushrooms, including chaga mushroom, maitake mushroom, ganoderma mushroom, and cordyceps mushroom, contain cancer-preventive and cancer-fighting actions. Research has focused on the polysaccharides with beta 1,3 glucan linkages. Indole-3-carbinol is a nutrient found in large quantities in cruciferous vegetables. It is a potent antagonist of breast cancer, reducing formation of cancerous compounds from hormones and participating in blockage of cancer cell progression.
– The One Earth Herbal Sourcebook: Everything You Need to Know About Chinese, Western, and Ayurvedic Herbal Treatments by Alan Keith Tillotson, Ph.D., A.H.G., D.Ay.

Other mushroom extracts that have been shown to have clinical effectiveness against human cancers are D-fraction extracted from the Maitake mushroom, and extracts from the split gill, turkey tail and Reishi mushrooms. In 1998, Maitake Products received FDA approval for an Investigational New Drug Phase II pilot study of maitake mushroom extract in the treatment of advanced breast and prostate cancer. There is also some evidence that the consumption of mushrooms in the diet may ward off cancer.
– You Don’t Have to be Afraid of Cancer Anymore by Bill Sardi

As with many of the medicinal mushrooms, Shiitake has been shown to be of benefit as an adjuvant cancer therapy. It has been shown to improve specific immune markers (including natural killer cells, tumor necrosis factor, T-helper cells, and a variety of interleukins), and patient outcomes.
– The Health Benefits Of Medicinal Mushrooms by Mark Stengler

Reishi is one of the most versatile medicinal mushrooms. It has long been used in Asia as an energy tonic to promote longevity and overall health. Studies indicate that reishi is an antioxidant and contains polysaccharides and other compounds that may boost the immune system. Reishi is taken to counter bacteria and viruses and has shown promise as an agent to help prevent or treat cancer, chronic fatigue syndrome, and other conditions. Russian researchers at the Cancer Research Center in Moscow have had positive results using reishi extracts to boost the immunity of cancer patients.

Intervento I.S.S.

Acquisizioni in campo oncologico sull’azione terapeutica di funghi epigei. Analisi epidemiologica e fenomenologica.

Maurizio BAGNATO, Stefano RIZZO

Ispettorato Micologico Azienda Unità Sanitaria Locale Roma C

Introduzione

I funghi superiori sono stati utilizzati dal genere umano da millenni, inizialmente in ambienti rurali ed a fini d’integrazione nutrizionale, successivamente, con il migliorare delle condizioni di vita e d’alimentazione, sono entrati nelle diete perlopiù per meriti culinari (sapore ed odore), contenendo comunque anche minerali, vitamine e nutrienti quali proteine e polisaccaridi ed un basso tenore in grassi. Ma usi medicinali sono noti da migliaia d’anni soprattutto in Cina e in altri paesi dell’estremo oriente. Nella pratica medica tradizionale asiatica ma anche nella medicina moderna nei paesi come Cina, Giappone e Corea ed altri ancora, si usano i funghi nel trattamento delle più importanti malattie.

Coriolus versicolor

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