Reishi, black reishi, yung gee and linghzi mushroom - which in the East means "spiritual power" - is in the scientific name the Ganoderma lucidum, a mushroom of the Ganodermataceae family known in Italy often only with the name of ganoderma or reishi.
There are two species: the "red" reishi, larger in size and with a chapel that fades from the white of the border, to yellow, to the red rust of the center, and the "black" reishi, of which we will deal in more detail in this article .
Origins and history of the reishi
The reishi is a mushroom known in the East since ancient times and is called "the mushroom of immortality" thanks to its infinite properties and the many benefits it brings to health.
Widespread and with spontaneous growth in China, it has become very fashionable and its cultivation has also developed in America and throughout the Far East, especially in Japan .
Its cultivation requires substrates of oak and chestnut that start decomposing and from here inoculating spores of reishi the fructification of the fungus is obtained.
The forms of reishi on the market
This mushroom not only has a food purpose but is considered a real "natural medicine" in the same way as medicinal medicinal herbs.
Foods that have a power similar to drugs are called "nutraceuticals " because they are able to help human health and restore well-being.
In Italy it is sold as a food supplement and we can buy it in capsules or single-dose tablets prepared with dried powder, standardized and titrated in active ingredients of reishi. In specialized shops, in herbalist's shops and pharmacies we can also find the powder for the extemporaneous preparation of herbal tea or the dried laminae .
The flavor is not as pleasant as it is for many of the plants that help the liver and are bitter in taste .
Remember to choose high quality products and read the labels carefully to recognize the best products that are best suited to your needs.
Coffee based on ganoderma lucidum: discover the properties
Assumption of the reishi
The reishi supplement is recommended in the morning to start the day with a multifunctional adaptogen, an empty stomach or perhaps with the addition of vitamin C to help absorb the active ingredients and give better absorption, with plenty of natural water at temperature environment that does not alter properties but rather facilitates renal filtration.
Under normal conditions, the first improvements should be felt within 2 weeks of starting.
Components of the reishi
Its composition in active ingredients exceeds 150 substances and therefore we report below an example list of the groups of active substances of the reishi mushroom:
- glucan polysaccharides that have antitumor and immunostimulatory activity;
- oleic and ganoderic acids of the terpene family known as sterols capable of reducing allergic reactions;
- specific proteins with anti-allergic peptides and hypocholesterolemic and hypotensive capacity;
- essential minerals such as sulfur, calcium, iron, phosphorus and germanium. The latter is indicated against lung tumors and leukemias, against arthritis and osteoporosis and is finally allied to the liver and eyes.
Properties and benefits of reishi
The properties of reishi thus become very ductile and can be used in different situations:
- analgesic activity;
- anti-allergic activity;
- anti inflammatory;
- immunostimulant with anti-viral and anti-bacterial action;
- anti-tumor also thanks above all to a high antioxidant activity;
- cardiotonic capacity with regulation of arterial pressure and cardiac arrhythmia;
- hypotensive, antidepressant and relaxing action;
- lowering and regulation of cholesterol and blood sugar.
Food consumption of reishi
This mushroom can however be integrated into the diet by consuming it as a food, usually purchased as any fresh mushroom .
It is therefore necessary to keep it in a cool place, clean it of any residues of earth and foreign materials, dry it and keep it in this form until it is ready for cooking. The most common use is to boil it for the preparation of soups .
Even an infusion of the fungus can be another way of consumption, as a drink to sip during the day .
Reishi herbal tea
Ingredients:
> 2 or 3 sheets;
> 200 ml of boiling water.
Preparation : as for the preparation of a classic herbal tea, it will be necessary to take the dried reishi laminae and put them for at least 20 minutes in infusion in water previously brought to the boil. Once we have waited the infusion time the active ingredients will have been extracted and we will be able to drink the herbal tea sweetening it to taste with natural sweeteners.
Use : one or two cups a day can be indicated for the many functions and properties we have known about the "mushroom of immortality".
