The Chaga Mushroom
Chaga is valuable
mushroom for health I wanted to introduce some of the ways in which it can be
identified and used to help keep yourself in optimum health.
Where
Chaga Grows
North
Americans for centuries have highly prized chaga for its great medicinal and
curative powers. Those of us who know its value seek it out when traveling in
the northern forest.
Chaga is a
parasitic carpophore that enters a wound on a mature tree, usually birch. The
chaga grows under the bark and erupts into a grotesque black charcoal-like conk
on the tree trunk The Chaga conk grows with the birch tree for five to seven
years during which time it absorbs nutrients and phytochemicals from the wood.
When the chaga conk flower ripens it falls to the forest floor. Usually the
host tree then dies, completing a 20 year cycle.
It is
estimated that only about 0.025% of trees, only a few of every ten thousand,
will grow a chaga conk. This makes the chaga mushroom somewhat rare even in its
prime northern range.
Identifying
Chaga Mushrooms
The Chaga
mushroom is a fungi that grows on the wounds of birches. Both paper birch and
yellow birch seems to be its favorite.
The outside
of this easy to identify mushroom somewhat resembles the charred remains of
burnt wood, being black and crumbly.
Of irregular
shape, the inside of a chaga is the color of rusted iron or yellowish with
white or cream colored veins. It is corky of texture and tends to become
lighter in color closest to the tree.
Chaga is
known as a polypore fungus, which means it has pores instead of gills. The
chaga mushroom does not hold a great deal of water as does other types of
mushrooms. As the chaga conk grows its outside dries out, turns black, and
cracks
The chaga
mushroom is commonly known as the true “tinder fungus” for its use in building
fires. In fact, chaga is the true tinder fungus, as opposed to the false tinder
fungus which is shelf-like in shape and does not crumble.
Wilderness
Medicinal Mushroom
Fire making
aside, the chaga mushroom is also well known for its huge load of immune
stimulating phytochemicals and betulin that can be consumed as a tea. Some of
these compounds are derived from the birch tree and bark it consumes and
concentrates in its flesh.
The chaga
fungus has some of the highest amounts of anti-oxidants of any substance
consumed by man. Siberian folk medicine and modern uses of a tea made from
Chaga fungus include:
- boosting the immune system
- treating stomach diseases
- Intestinal worms
- Liver and heart ailments
- Cancers including those of the breast, liver, uterine, and gastric
- Hypertension
- Diabetes
- anti-tumor activity
- The active compound inotodiol which works against influenza A and B viruses and cancer cells.
- Activity against HIV-1
- As an anti-inflammatory
Some experts
claim the Chaga is the best anti-cancer mushroom of all.
Properties
and Ingredients of Chaga include:
- Polysaccharides that enhance the immune system; treat cancer, live, HIV virus and other bacterial and viral infections.
- Betulinic acid to counter viral infections and tumors
- Triterpenes to lower cholesterol, improve circulation, detoxify the liver, treat hepatitis, bronchitis, asthma, and coughs.
- Germanium (a free-radical scavenger) to cleanse the blood, normalize blood pressure, and prevent tumors.
- Other nucleosides, phytonutrients, minerals, and amino acids including saponin, magnesium, chromium, iron, kalium, beta-glucan, inotodiol, isoprenoid, and others.
Some
northern peoples are said to drink Chaga tea on a regular basis as Westerners
do coffee and suffer very low cancer rates because of it. Chaga is a bit on the
bitter side, rather like coffee, and cork-like in texture.
With an item
from nature’s free pharmacy that is this valuable to my health I make sure my
chaga stocks are always full and take an extra hit when the opportunity
presents itself. I don’t mind chewing on a bit of cork-like chaga conk since it
is giving me a great boost of immune stimulating phytochemicals.
Russian
Chaga Tea
This is
perhaps the most written about method of making tea from chaga mushrooms:
- Shred the inner part of the Chaga mushroom.
- Soften in cold water for four hours.
- Filter with a coffee filter and save the liquid and the softened Chaga separately.
- Pour water heated to a temperature of about 50C (122F) over the softened chaga in a ratio of 5-parts water to 1-part fungus.
- Let stand at room temperature for 48-hours.
- Filter the new mixture and add this water to that prepared in step 3.
- Use this batch within four days, drinking 3-glasses at eight hour intervals each day. After four days make a new batch of chaga tea.
. Chaga
Liqueur
- Put 3 tablespoons of milled chaga into .5 liter vodka.
- Let sit for two weeks in a cool dark place.
- Filter.
Chaga
liqueur dosage is 3-tablespoons three to six times per day.
Lazy
Man’s Chaga Tea
Why go
through all the bother of breaking off the hard black coating from the chaga
mushrooms. Simply throw that in the pot too!
- Harvest chaga and allow to dry.
- Bring two gallons of water to a boil and drop in several handfuls of unprocessed chaga, black parts and all.
- Let steep for 48-hours.
- Strain into bottles and store in refrigerator.
Chaga
Warning
As with
anything so good for your health, there is a great deal of hype about chaga.
Exaggerated claims and expensive products manufactured from chaga are put out
with the hope of luring your hard earned dollars in exhange for questionable
products. For all you know, those chaga products hawked on the internet and
elsewhere may be of dubious quality at best.
This site is
not intended, in any way shape or form to constitute, nor should it be
considered, medical advice. The information contained on this website, does not
serve or purport to serve as a substitution for the medical advice of a
qualified practitioner, clinician, or qualified health care provider. The
information in and through this website is general in nature. the information
on this website can be improved or updated without notice. I am under no obligation
to update this website, so information in the website may be out of date. I do
not warranty the accuracy or completeness on this website. Use of the
information on this website is entirely at your own risk. Please do further
research for yourself.
