Ganoderma also known as Ling Zhi and Reishi and is one of the most prized tonics in Traditional Chinese Medicine. In China, it is considered the herb of immortality and the herb for spiritual potency. In the Western clinic, Ganoderma is chiefly used in the treatment of allergies, heart and liver disorders, chronic fatigue, rheumatoid arthritis, and to augment chemo and radiotherapy. In this webinar, Andrew Gaeddert, RH, founder of Health Concerns, will discuss dosage, preparation and why proper species identification is necessary for clinical results. We will also discuss the possible anti-aging effects of this fascinating mushroom.
QUESTIONS FROM THE WEBINAR
Do boiling temperatures destroy the beta glucans in mushrooms?
If you use the whole ganoderma, or use it in preparations, it is important to realize that there are many constituents in ganoderma including triterpenes, polysaccharides, amino acids, and many others. Yes, it is possible that boiling may destroy some of the beta glucans, but boiling is how ganoderma has been traditionally used and extracted. You don’t look at just one constituent; you look at the whole symphony of ingredients. Ganoderma works not because it has beta glucans, but because it has over one hundred triterpenes, numerous polysaccharides and amino acids and a myriad of other useful components.
Is ganoderma helpful in treating pediatric anxiety issues?
I don’t usually use ganoderma to treat children. But, for instance, if a patient had asthma, and he or she, or the practitioner, wanted to try alternative remedies first rather than strong anti-asthma medication, I would consider using CordySeng.
What is the therapeutic difference between alcohol and water extractions?
There are many preparations that we don’t know if or how they work. These include alcohol tinctures, “high-tech” mushroom ingredients and supplements, mycelium products, spore products and spore oil products. In general, it is best to use Health Concerns products or whole mushroom extracts.
What kind of extraction and preparation methods do you use for your products that contain ganoderma?
At Health Concerns, we first ensure we have the right ingredient which is the red ganoderma lucidum product. If you just use the mycelium, you don’t have all the constituents in the original mushrooms. We are one of very few companies that produce mushrooms in the United States with the correct starting material, which is the red ganoderma fruiting body. We then cook it using a simmer technique over a long period of time with the other ingredients in the formula.
What is the difference in efficacy between ganoderma spores versus the whole mushroom?
When we are talking about the immune modulating effects on lung health and chronic fatigue, it is important to use the whole mushroom like we do at Health Concerns. The ganoderma spores are just like the seeds of the mushroom, so they have a different medicinal effect than the fungus as a whole. The spores may work, but we just don’t know if they do or how.
Can you use ganoderma in tandem with other Chinese herbs?
In Japan, ganoderma is used more as food therapy, not combined with other ingredients. Today, they are used in very expensive, very pure preparations, which tend to cost typically more than $100 a bottle. Some of these products are powdered extracts of ganoderma. In some cases, they even make an alcohol extract of the ganoderma first, then spray it onto a powder and then water decoct it as well. The formulas are high quality, but are very expensive and are not approved as medicinal agents in the United States right now. In China, ganoderma is typically used as part of TCM. What I advocate is that you use ganoderma in formulas such as Power Mushrooms or CordySeng. If you want to do it yourself, grind up the whole mushroom and simmer it for 8-12 hours and then combine that with a TCM formula. My mentor Dr. Fung would use ganoderma in the clinic and he would always use it in conjunction, 12 grams a day with other ingredients such as astragalus, ginseng, schisandra or other herbs.
Is ganoderma known as turkey tail mushroom?
Turkey tail mushroom is a different mushroom, it is known as coriolus in the west. If you are interested in learning more about coriolus, we have a free webinar available on our website (“Medicinal Mushrooms”).
How does ganoderma help chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia?
If you use a whole mushroom preparation, it will include the triterpenes, polysaccharides, amino acids, and other constituents that are known to affect the immune system. During my clinical clinical experience in the 80s we found that you can use these ingredients with autoimmune conditions.
Can you take medicinal mushrooms during a course of chemotherapy?
Yes. In some cases a patient may be too sick immediately after a treatment of chemotherapy to use Power Mushrooms or another medicinal mushroom combination, but taking them the next day or within the next few days is helpful. I’ve had a number of people using Power Mushrooms or CordySeng impress their doctors by the healthy state of their immune system during cancer treatment.
How can ganoderma restore a patient suffering from burnout?
If the patient is suffering from burnout, I would recommend CordySeng because it contains cordyceps, which helps strengthen the HPA Access. It is also very good for replenishing the adrenal system. Sometimes those suffering from burnout are in high inflammatory states and have poor oxygen utilization. Ganoderma can address both these issues.
Is tincturing better than powdered ganoderma?
I would recommend using Health Concerns formulas as we use the ganoderma that has been researched thoroughly. There is very little research that shows tincturing is effective at all for ganoderma. Many of the polysaccharides found in ganoderma are not soluble in alcohol which is one of the reasons I’m against the practice. It probably isn’t harmful, but it is probably a waste of money.
Are Power Mushrooms and CordySeng safe to use during pregnancy or lactation?
We don’t recommend any Chinese herbs during pregnancy for liability reasons. During lactation, you can use ganoderma preparations, but remember that it will be passed on to the baby through breast milk so both the mother and baby must be monitored.
Is CordySeng safe for someone with atrial fibrillation and chronic kidney disease?
CordySeng is absolutely safe for someone with chronic kidney disease. You do want to make sure you are monitoring your patient and that they are taking an effective dosage. I would not use CordySeng in place of actual medications for atrial fibrillation, but would suggest it as an adjunct to any treatment of the condition.
What about autoimmune diseases such as Hashimoto’s disease?
We do use Power Mushrooms and CordySeng with certain autoimmune diseases such as rheumatoid arthritis, chronic fatigue syndrome and fibromyalgia. We may consider using a ganoderma formula for someone with Hashimoto’s but it’s not the main therapy. There are other herbs and in some cases, other Western therapies that are used for Hashimoto’s.