Reishi's therapeutic uses
Reishi, also known as Ganoderma lucidum, is a tree fungus with a long-standing reputation in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine, often hailed for its potential therapeutic properties. Commonly referred to as the "mushroom of immortality," reishi is used as an adaptogen, which is thought to help the body manage stress. Its proposed health benefits include support for the immune system, potential cancer prevention and treatment, relief from autoimmune diseases, and assistance with conditions like high blood pressure, diabetes, insomnia, and viral infections.
Despite its historical use and popularity, scientific evidence supporting reishi's efficacy is limited, with few robust clinical studies confirming its benefits. Preliminary research suggests some immunomodulatory and antiviral properties, yet results have been mixed, especially regarding its role in cancer treatment. Safety is generally considered acceptable, although it can impair blood clotting, making caution necessary for people on blood-thinning medications or those with bleeding disorders. As reishi is available in various forms like pills, extracts, and teas, individuals interested in its use should consider consulting healthcare professionals, particularly if they have underlying health conditions or are on medications.
Reishi's therapeutic uses
DEFINITION: Natural plant product used to treat specific health conditions.
PRINCIPAL PROPOSED USE: Adaptogen (improve resistance to stress)
OTHER PROPOSED USES: Altitude sickness, autoimmune diseases, cancer prevention, cancer treatment, diabetes, enhancing mental function, high blood pressure, immune support, insomnia, multiple sclerosis, ulcers, viral infections, coronavirus infection
Overview
The tree fungus known as reishi has a long history of use in China and Japan as a semimagical healing herb. It is more revered than ginseng and, up until the advent of the twenty-first century, was more rare. Many stories tell of people with severe illnesses journeying immense distances to find it. Today, reishi is artificially cultivated and widely available in stores that sell herbal products. It is sometimes called the mushroom of immortality.
Therapeutic Dosages
The usual dosage of reishi is 2 to 6 grams (g) per day of raw fungus or an equivalent dosage of concentrated extract taken with meals. In traditional Chinese medicine, reishi is often combined with related fungi, such as shiitake, hoelen, or polyporus. It is often taken continually for its presumed overall health benefits. Reishi is available in pills, extracts, powders, and teas.
Therapeutic Uses
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)—like its fungi cousins, maitake hen-of-the-wood (Grifola frondosa), turkey tail (Coriolus versicolor), and shiitake (Lentinula edodes)—is marketed as a kind of cure-all said to strengthen immunity, help prevent or treat cancer. It is also said to be useful for autoimmune diseases, such as myasthenia gravis and multiple sclerosis, as well as viral infections, high blood pressure, diabetes, altitude sickness, lower urinary tract symptoms, ulcers, and insomnia. Some claim it enhances mental function.
Scientific Evidence
While there has been a great deal of basic scientific research into the chemical constituents of reishi, reliable double-blind, placebo-controlled studies are lacking. Test-tube studies indicate that reishi has immunomodulatory effects. This means that reishi may affect the immune system but not necessarily that it strengthens it. (Alternative medicine proponents often blur the difference between these two ideas.) However, one small double-blind, placebo-controlled human trial failed to find any significant immunomodulatory effects.
Other weak evidence hints that reishi may have chemopreventive properties, suggesting it may help prevent cancer. However, a great many substances fight cancer in the test tube, while few help people with the disease. Further research found that using reishi during chemotherapy or radiation treatment aided in tumor regression and overall patient outcome. However, when used alone, it showed no benefits in shrinking tumor size or limiting further growth.
Other highly preliminary evidence suggests that reishi may have antiviral and possibly antibacterial effects. However, it is a long way from studies of this type to meaningful clinical uses. The mushroom's ganoderic acids, ganodermanondiol, and lucidumol contents offered hope of its use in treating or preventing coronaviruses. However, studies evaluating reishi's ability to inhibit human coronavirus infection failed to provide convincing evidence of its utility.
Contemporary herbalists regard reishi as an adaptogen, a substance believed to be capable of helping the body resist stress of all kinds. However, there is no meaningful evidence to support this claim.
One questionable double-blind study performed in China reportedly found reishi helpful for neurasthenia. The term is seldom used in modern medicine; it generally indicates fatigue due to psychological causes.
Safety Issues
Because it is used as a food in Asia, reishi is generally regarded as safe. One small study evaluating the safety of reishi when taken at a dose of 2 g daily for ten days failed to find any evidence of ill effects. However, another study found indications that reishi impairs blood clotting. For this reason, prudence suggests that individuals with bleeding problems should avoid reishi; the herb should also be avoided in the periods just before and after surgery or labor and delivery.
Furthermore, individuals taking medications that impair blood clotting, such as aspirin, warfarin (Coumadin), heparin, clopidogrel (Plavix), pentoxifylline (Trental), or ticlopidine (Ticlid), should use reishi only under a doctor’s supervision. The safety of reishi in young children, pregnant or nursing women, and those with severe liver or kidney disease has not been established. Though it may treat insomnia in some people, it has caused it in others.
Important Interactions
Persons who are taking blood-thinning medications, such as aspirin, warfarin (Coumadin), heparin, clopidogrel (Plavix), pentoxifylline (Trental), or ticlopidine (Ticlid), should use reishi only under a doctor’s supervision. Individuals taking immunosuppressants should also avoid reishi. Reishi mushroom spore powder may raise the level of CA72-4 in the blood, which is an important indicator for individuals with certain cancers. This reading may alter the care plan, so disclosing the use of reishi is important.
Bibliography
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