Chaga Mushroom (Inonotus obliquus)
One of the coolest things about chaga is that its the most powerful adaptogen on the face of the planet. Thats pretty awesome. Now an adaptogen is a plant or an herb that has the ability to "adapt" which means it reaches right up your ass and fixes any part of your body that is having difficulty adapting, like knee pain, or liver disease, cancer and too many other examples to give. I'm not going to say this is Wikipeda's definition, but it's MINE. It might not be the BEST definition but you get the idea. I've even had people who started taking my chaga extract to ward off the oncoming onslaught of flu, and reported that, not only they didn't get the flu when everyone else in the house did, but their chronic knee pain disappeared.
I've been studying Chaga for over two years and I get pretty excited about it. It grows on lots of varieties of trees but the best quality chaga grows on birch trees. Birch bark has a lot of pretty awesome benefits for your body in itself and so if you are looking for chaga tea you definitely want one that has some bits and pieces of birch bark in the mix.
Now look at that picture, you can probably guess that the chaga mushroom is anything but a soft squishy fungus that grows on a tree. Its hard and crusty with a dark outer part full of melanin which is good for your skin and protects you from sun exposure. The inside is a nice rusty looking orange and varies in color from rusty orange to almost a turmeric looking color.
So you've probably guessed already that there are a lot of ways to use chaga. I already mentioned tea. Other cultures all around the globe have been drinking chaga tea for THOUSANDS of years. It's not "new" so you might just want to get on board and get some tea. Its time to catch up with the times, Honey. Another good way to get chaga into your daily habit is to take an extract. The best extract to take is a double extract. I know what you're thinking, "What's a double extract?"
A double extract means that the constituents (good parts) are extracted from the mushroom in two different ways and then combined. I like to drink the tea so after I have exhausted my grounds with numerous cups of tea, I pack the grounds into a jar and pour alcohol over it. Plain unflavored alcohol like vodka. I like my vodka organic but it wouldn't HAVE to be. I let it sit in the jar (shaking it every couple of days) for at least 6 to 8 weeks but honestly the stuff in my kitchen right now has been there for 6 or 7 months. When I am ready to make the extract I will pull the chaga out and squeeze as much of the alcohol out as I can and set it aside. Then I will brew more tea. There's a pretty exact science to the recipe and Im just giving you a general idea of double extraction. So you measure closely and combine a 50/50 ratio of chaga tea to chaga infused alcohol and that is your double extract.
The chaga releases some of it wonderful constituents in the water steaming process of making tea, and other, different wonderful constituents in the alcohol sitting process. When you combine the two you are actually putting the best of both worlds into a little bottle of magic that you can then take sublingually (under your tongue) or add to any drink you want and be none to the wiser that you are even taking anything. Chaga gives you an energy that is like nothing else. Its not caffeine, and it doesn't contain caffeine either but it just gives you a nice "Im wide awake and ready to get my game on now!" kind of energy that lasts all day long with out all the ups and downs of caffeine.
So why don't you just grind it up and put in capsule form and ingest it? That would be pretty easy huh? But scroll back up, remember the part where I said this isn't a soft and squish fungus? The truth is your body just won't absorb it that way. You can't digest chaga, you have to either drink it as a tea or take the double extract. That's it, no other way to do it. However I am taking some of the used grounds today and making some nice homemade soap and THAT will definitely be pretty awesome. I don't know how much of it will be "absorbed" into the skin but it would make and excellent exfoliating soap. Last week I put a (reusable) tea bag full of chaga grounds into a jar with almond oil and I am letting that sit for a week or two. The idea is that the wonderful constituents will infuse into the oil and I will get a pretty fantastic puffy eye serum (couple of other ingredients needed) and I can't wait to try that out!
So far I have given you several ways to consume chaga and even some ideas for other uses, so lets talk about some of the actual benefits you can expect to see when you are taking chaga.
Yup, here is the main thing you need to know. Chaga is a health food which supports the entire system. The Siberians drink it daily. This is why they are long-lived. The chaga drinker lives 85 to 100 years, while the non chaga-drinking person, the Inuit, lives only about 50 years. This proves that natural phytochemicals, the ones found in chaga, do make a difference. Yet, there is more traditional use that offers evidence. Ancient Chinese regarded it as a longevity factor, which is why they deemed it the most complete of all growths. Japanese and Koreans use it regularly, and look how powerful they are today. In much of Siberia, Russia, and Eastern Europe it is an essential beverage. While the U.S. government restricts medical claims, here is what can be said: chaga has been used as an essential whole food supplement for many years by Russia’s long-lived peasants, as well as long-lived villagers of Japan and Korea. These village people consume it as a daily beverage. They prefer it over common drinks such as tea and coffee. Because of its cleansing properties, in primitive Siberia the chaga drink was known as “soup water,” although its taste is a pleasant combination of tea and coffee.
Antioxidant & Nutrient Rich
Chaga tea’s exceptionally high antioxidant levels make it a great natural
resource for helping to counter free radical damage. It is also an excellent
source for vitamin D, vitamin K, multiple B vitamins, and minerals like iron, calcium, copper and zinc. Its various other constituents include betulin and
betulinic acid, responsible for much of its positive effects, as well as flavonoids, polysaccharides and other phytonutrients. It's definitely looking pretty good but take a look at this chart and see how the chaga mushroom compares to other
foods we rank as "healthy
Fortifies Immunity
A weakened immune system may benefit greatly from drinking chaga tea. The polysaccharides in chaga, especially the beta glucans, help to stimulate the growth of leukocytes within the body, making the immune system better equipped to fend against infections. Furthermore, it also offers a number of antibacterial, antiviral, antifungal and anthelmintic (parasite-killer) properties that further assist the body in eliminating harmful pathogens.
Cancer-Countering Effects
A number of chaga tea’s effects may be beneficial for cancer patients. Not only
does the betulinic acid found in chaga help to eliminate cancer cells, but this
herbal tea can also help to overcome the unpleasant effects of chemotherapy.
Its immune-boosting effects are especially useful, as many cancer treatments
can have a negative impact on the immune system, and chaga may also alleviate digestive upset common to chemotherapy.
Supports Healthy Digestion
Drinking chaga tea is also an excellent way to naturally promote healthy digestion. With its anti-inflammatory effect, chaga may relieve digestive discomfort and promote better digestive function. It also stimulates the production of digestive
bile in the liver, aiding in the breakdown of food to make it easier for nutrients
to be absorbed. It even offers a natural source of dietary fiber, important for the smooth function of the digestive system.
Promotes Healthy Skin
As I touched on this earlier, skin health may also be improved with chaga tea. Chaga is a natural source of melanin, the pigment that darkens skin and provides protection against solar UV rays. With its anti-inflammatory effects, chaga can
help to clear skin conditions like rashes, acne and eczema more quickly. It even protects the firmness and elasticity of skin, delaying the formation of wrinkles.
Alleviates Feelings of Stress
As an adaptogen, chaga tea can help to abate stressful feelings. Adaptogens function by balancing the body’s various systems, energizing systems that are fatigued and quieting overactive systems. This is especially helpful for stressful situations, when the body releases stress hormones that lead to feelings of
anxiety and fatigue.
Aids Liver Function
Chaga tea’s ability to stimulate the production of bile in the liver is not only beneficial for digestive function, but for liver health as well. Bile helps the liver to flush out toxins filtered from the bloodstream, preventing them from accumulating in the liver and causing damage to the surrounding tissue.
Benefits Cardiovascular Health
Chaga tea can even promote healthy cardiovascular function. The betulinic acid in chaga can enter the bloodstream, where it assists in breaking down harmful LDL cholesterol, and its beta glucans can
also have a positive effect on cholesterol levels. By controlling cholesterol, chaga tea may reduce the buildup of plaque in the bloodstream and lower the risk of potentially harmful cardiovascular disease.
If you want to check out the extract or the tea on Amazon and read some of the reviews, you can see that some individuals actually posted their blood work numbers before and after starting chaga and you will see a pretty significant,
FAST jump to better numbers. Like UNDER 2 MONTHS! So you can really tell
why I consider Chaga to be my little bottle of magic!
Now here is the fun part, if any of you would like to try the Opti Mall Life brand Chaga Extract that is offered on Amazon, here is a code that will allow you to try
it out and receive FREE SHIPPING! Here is the code: 8IOKYEUQ and just to sweeten the deal, I will send anyone using that code a FREE sample of the
Chaga tea as well!
Sources: http://mushrooms4health.com/reishi-mushroom-of-immortality/
http://www.chagaknowledge.com/chagabenefits.htm
http://www.chagatea.org/chaga-tea-benefits/
