Mushrooms: From Myths to Facts

When we think of mushrooms, we don't always think of good things. Since we are very young, at school we are taught to stay away from these organisms, since parasites and other organisms that help them to continue living often live on them. Remember that they feed on decaying organic matter, so some bacteria can help.

However, could they improve our health? That's a big question, with a logical answer from many: "of course not, they live with bacteria, so how could they do any good to our bodies?

The truth is that fungi have many medicinal properties¹ and, after being washed and well prepared, can provide us with key compounds that are found almost nowhere else, such as Betaglucan. The potential of these organisms on our health goes far beyond simple or aesthetic changes, it is about the enhancement of fundamental elements of our body that would help us fight diseases as complicated and dangerous as cancer.

Although its benefits are multiple, we will tell you about the most effective and forceful. In addition, so that you can finish abandoning all those myths that were told to you since you were very small, we will include the opinion and the scientific studies behind each one of these positive effects.

1. Analgesia

There are many types of mushrooms in the world, but one of the safest and greatest for our health is Ganoderma lucidum, an ancient organism used for centuries in Traditional Chinese Medicine for different effects, especially analgesia.

Several studies confirm that mushrooms have many properties for our health, however, most of their effect is based on Betaglucans and a single reaction: antioxidation. That's right, oxidative stress has gained renown in recent decades because it has been linked to many diseases and their origin. For example, in the case of diabetes, oxidative stress is the cause of all the complications of hyperglycemia.

For this reason, we can think that antioxidants are excellent for our health, the problem is that not all act on the same reactions. In the case of fungi, such as Ganoderma, it seems that their antioxidants are excellent for analgesia.

In a study of patients with rheumatoid arthritis² It was shown that the extract of this fungus could significantly improve perceived pain, through the modulation of certain factors important for the pain cascade such as Interleukin-18. These are incredible findings that certify the potential of this organism to suppress pain.

2. Antitumoral Effect

You'd be surprised how many years mushrooms have been used in various cancer-related studies. In fact, the current eagerness to investigate these organisms is because in recent decades they have been used in the chemotherapeutic application of some anti-tumor drugs.

There are many fungi and several properties are linked to this effect on tumors. However, it is necessary to emphasize that the best part of this effect is obtained through the extract of the fungi and not from its direct ingestion, since in this way the best compounds are concentrated within each organism.

Some fungi, such as Auricularia auricula-judae³, have been shown to have marked activity against tumors, especially sarcomas (one of the most dangerous classes of cancer), where it has the ability to inhibit the growth process and progression of the tumor. Without a doubt, a genius effect.

Even so, the best exponent of this group may be Ganoderma lucidum itself, which has been traditionally used for many serious diseases in the course and evolution of medicine.

This fungus has proven to have positive properties against cancer⁴, especially thanks to its antiviral, antibacterial, antioxidant and hepatoprotective capacity, but above all because of its immunoregulatory capacity. Remember that cancer uses our defense cells and suppresses them, so improving the way our white blood cells act can be very helpful.

3. Adaptation and Regeneration

Mushrooms have helped us evolve. If you don't believe us, do you remember where penicillin was born? Exactly, from a fungus. That's why we shouldn't be surprised that it has such a positive effect on our health.

The largest studies, like one conducted at Khon Kaen University in Thailand⁵, have involved many species of fungi just to determine their best components and their radical effect on our health.

In this study, the scientists concluded that mushrooms have an incredible potential that goes beyond being a nutritional source for our body, but that they can act as alternative medicine and improve our body's adaptation to the environment.

On the other hand, several studies have pointed out that fungi can improve the state of the bones⁶, favoring the regeneration of damage, especially when it comes to bone loss due to disease. These are amazing effects.

We need to dispel every one of those myths about fungi. Beyond being hallucinogenic, they have excellent properties that can improve our health and prevent diseases as dangerous as cancer.

However, the only way to really take advantage of these effects is through the extract, which contains the best of the mushrooms, Betaglucan, in a single pill. In this way we could eliminate other unwanted adverse effects. For this reason, we encourage you to consume Beta-glucan Ball today, a safe and effective alternative to combat many diseases and boost your health.

References

1. María Elena Valverde, Talía Hernández-Pérez, and Octavio Paredes-López. (2015). Edible Mushrooms: Improving Human Health and Promoting Quality Life. International Journal of Microbiology. 2015: 376387. doi: 1155/2015/376387
2. Li EK, Tam LS, Wong CK, Li WC, Lam CW, Wachtel-Galor S, Benzie IF, Bao YX, Leung PC, Tomlinson B. (2007). Safety and efficacy of Ganoderma lucidum (lingzhi) and San Miao San supplementation in patients with rheumatoid arthritis: a double-blind, randomized, placebo-controlled pilot trial. Arthritis Rheum. 57: 1143-50. DOI:1002/art.22994
3. Reza MA, Jo WS, Park SC. (2012). Comparative antitumor activity of jelly ear culinary-medicinal mushroom, Auricularia auricula-judae (Bull.) J. Schrot. (higher basidiomycetes) extracts against tumor cells in vitro. In J Med Mushrooms. 14: 403-9. DOI:1615/intjmedmushr.v14.i4.80
4. Kladar NV, Gavaric S, Bozin N. (2016). Ganoderma: insights into anticancer effects. Eur J Cancer Prev. 25: 462-71. DOI:1097/CEJ.0000000000000204
5. Nipaporn Armassa et al. (2005). Nutritional and Medicinal Potential of Twenty-Three Wild Mushrooms from Northeast Thailand. International Jorunal of Medicinal Mushrooms. V7: 374-75. DOI: 1615/IntJMedMushrooms.v7.i3.280
6. Erjavec I, Brkljacic J, Vukicevic S, Jakopovic B, Jakopovich I. (2016). Mushroom Extracts Decrease Bone Resorption and Improve Bone Formation. Int J Med Mushrooms. 18: 559-69. DOI: 1615/intjmedmushrooms.v18.i7.10