health is one reason among many to eat mushrooms regularly, and science has been
figuring out just what it is that mushrooms do to keep the heart and blood vessels healthy.
Some easy-to-obtain heart healthy mushrooms include delicious edibles like shiitake,
maitake, oyster, and button mushrooms. Other medicinals like reishi and turkey tails are
also great for the heart but not so chewable!
Here are some amazing ways that mushrooms help keep our cardiovascular system in tip-
top shape.
Reishi is another traditional liver tonic. As with turkey tails, you’d be hard pressed to eat
reishi mushrooms…it would be like chewing on a piece of wood! This mushroom has been
revered in Asia for many centuries and was called the “Mushroom of Immortality” and the
“10,000-year Mushroom,” reflecting its use for longevity. Rare in the wild, reishi was
reserved for royalty until someone figured out how to cultivate it. Now it’s widely available.
You can use it the same way as turkey tails, in a combined decoction and alcohol extract to
capture a variety of the beneficial mushroom components. You’re unlikely to find this one
growing in your backyard, but reishi’s popularity means that it’s easy to find in health food
stores and online.
Like turkey tails, reishi helps the liver neutralize toxic chemicals, protecting the liver itself and
the rest of the body. In addition, reishi contains a variety of antioxidants that reduce “rust” in
the liver. Certain enzymes in the liver, like “AST” and “ALT,” become elevated upon damage
to liver cells. Studies show that reishi and other mushrooms decrease the level of these
enzymes, reflecting reduced damage in the liver.
Reishi also helps the liver with its job in cholesterol regulation. Though cholesterol gets a bad
rap, it has many important roles in the body.
Cortesía de Mushroom of medicine
Basmati.
Gracias.
