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Mushrooms have been used throughout the
Orient for centuries to preserve youth, longevity and overall health.
Maitake (Grifola frondosa), pronounced as my-tah-keh, is one of the
mushrooms that have significant properties for good health.
During the last 20 years, research has
finally confirmed what practitioners of traditional Japanese and Chinese
medicine have known for centuries - that certain mushrooms are medicinal
powerhouses. Maitake mushrooms is indigenous to the north-eastern part
of Japan and is prized in traditional Japanese herbology as an adaptogen,
which, means as an aid to balance-out altered body systems to a normal
level.
Researchers have indicated that whole
Maitake has the ability to regulate blood pressure, glucose, insulin and
both serum and liver lipids, such as cholesterol, triglyceride and
phospholipids; and may even be useful for weight loss.
Aside from the adaptogenic applications, a
number of researchers and clinical experiences have identified Maitake's
potent stimulatory effect on the immune system. Today's science has made
it possible to successfully isolate the particular active constituents
for enhancing immune activity, which is the protein-bound beta-glucan.
In the last two decades or so, a lot of
attention has turned to the body's immune (defence) system as the
foundation of health. Researchers today know more about how our immune
system works, and this has led to the realization that our immune system
is the ultimate basis of how we feel and how we respond to health
challenges.
Take the case of a husband and wife living
together and who are exposed to the same viruses. One fall sick and the
other does not. The one that did not fall sick - has it to do with the
effectiveness of the immune system?
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