< previous page | page_154 | next page >
Page 154
| Medicinal Mushrooms |
| Medicinal mushrooms with immunomodulating activities have been traditionally used as tonics in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM). They are how used in cancer treatments to counteract the toxic effects of radiation and chemotherapy. Mushrooms used in cancer therapies are generally processed into liquid or powder in order to obtain the necessary potency. It takes about 15 pounds of reishi mushrooms to produce I pound of the powdered concentrate. Medicinal mushrooms make a significant contribution to the healing process by enhancing and stimulating the body's own immune system. This is a very important factor in diseases like cancer and HIV, which have components unique to each individual. In my protocols for people with cancer, I always include one or more medicinal mushroom extract products. Descriptions of some of the more frequently used mushrooms follow. |
| Maitake (Grifola frondosus) |
| Maitake, literally "dancing mushroom," is indigenous to the northern part of Japan and, although it has been available by cultivation since the mid-1980s, it remains one of the most valuable and expensive mushrooms. Studies have shown it possesses antitumor, anti-HIV, antihypertension, antidiabetes, antiobesity, and antihepatitis activities. Of all the standardized fractions, the maitake D-fraction is one of the most potent for enhancement of the immune system. Studies have also shown that, of all the medicinal mushrooms, it promotes the highest degree of cancer inhibition in oral administration. |
| Initial research on the anticancer and antitumor actions is being done primarily in Japan, in independent and university laboratories. Some extensive clinical trials are being conducted at various cancer treatment institutes in the United States. |
| Maitake D-fraction has been shown to complement conventional chemotherapeutic agents. Not only does it seem to improve their positive benefits, it also aids in the amelioration of many of their side effects. Dr. Hiroaki Nanba compared the D-fraction with mitomycin-C (MMC), one of the strongest and most widely used chemotherapeutic drugs used to treat stomach cancer in Japan. With just a small dose, the maitake extract produced approximately 80 percent tumor shrinkage in mice compared to 30 percent with MMC. When D-fraction was combined with MMC in half-doses, tumor |
< previous page | page_154 | next page >

If you like this book, buy it!