What am I going on about now?
This!
Chaga mushroom. King of all the mushrooms. Maybe even king of all the land.
Chaga are a mushroom, though some consider it a fungus that grow on dying birch (versus a parasite which would grow on living organisms and proceed to kill them). As I mentioned in the video, one of the really amazing things about chaga is its age. It takes roughly 15 years of growth before the chaga even appears on the outside of the tree. This means that this mushroom, this medicine, carries a whole lot of the earth’s energy in it. The fifteen year growth period also struck me as incredibly interesting to me, as it is believed cancerous tumors develop inside us for 15-20 years before we are able to detect them. It should not come as a surprise then that chaga has been used traditionally as a treatment for cancer.
What is so magical about this medicinal mushroom? It is not that kind of magic mushroom. The magic in this mushroom comes from its’ healing properties and nutrient density.
In traditional Chinese medicine, uses for chaga are massively varied- as all great medicines should be. Primarily, chaga is a powerhouse for supporting the immune system, promoting the body’s ability to eliminate toxins, stimulating the central nervous system, balancing metabolism maintaining skin color and elasticity keeping us looking young and fresh.
Chaga has a reputation over on the East side as “The King of Herbs”, a “Gift From God” and is also referred to in Asian culture as the “Mushroom of Immortality”. I’ll say!
Many herbalists consider this to be nature’s perfect herb. Thank you, I’ll have some more.
Shall I summarize the goodness for you?
- Anti-cancer
- Anti-inflammatory
- Antioxidant
- Immunostimulating
- Anti-hyperglycemic (balanced blood sugar)
- Anti-nociceptive (pain-relieving)
- Anti-ulcer
Studies have shown chaga to be the single most concentrated food source of antioxidants known to man. Now I hear you saying it: “Meghan! How can one food, a growth off a tree at that, be able to help so many health issues?”.
That is the power of natural medicine. That is the power of using a whole food or a whole herb for healing. That is the strength of food as medicine. When we refrain from isolating any single active ingredient as is done in the refinement of pharmaceuticals, we are able to heal the whole person, restore total health from the root of the matter, and as a result, complete health is restored.
Even cooler than that, is that I now have Gingko in my front yard, and Chaga out back. I think I have caught the wild crafting bug. More will surely come this summer when we start seeking out ginseng and reishi.
Here are some more photos of mine and Josh‘s chaga hunting adventures.
Snow shoe ballet
He looks like he might soon weep with joy
Love at first site!
Showing off my knife skills.
Beaming with pride!
Celebrating the chaga find in my AWESOME TOWN snow fort with all my friends.
16 responses to “King Chaga: Ruler Of The Land”
Oooh wow. It’s really adventurous to be out picking wild fungi. I’d love to try some chaga. Do you use it in cooking?
It’s more medicinal than culinary- I grind it up and add it to food. It doesn’t have much taste- a little sweet/vanilla like. It can also be brewed as a tea.
Ok, I have to comment about how adorable your hair looks! Don’t you have curls? What products did you create to get it so smooth and shiny? As a fellow curly girl, I have to know!
Also, mushrooms are great and I love that you share so much “unconventional” wisdom with us!
Ha! The healthy hair comes from healthy living. I do have curls- oodles of them that are easily straightened out with a powerful flatiron. No products for this girl.
Very cool! Any suggestions on where to find it in town if we cant make it up to the great white north to harvest it ourselves??
Herbie’s Herbs on Queen, Thuna’s on the Danforth…. But Nicole- get yourself out there and find some!!!
Wahouuu, thanks for the infos! That looks cool!!!
It also looks like you used brand new cloves to go out there!! I can see the plastic from the tag! Hahahaha
Josh pointed that out to me too. They’re actually not new- just every time I think to cut the thing off- I am no where near scissors. Going to take care of that right now!
Wow – that was very interesting, Meghan! Thanks for sharing this!
Aw, this looked like so much fun!
So what’s the verdict on mushrooms and other immunostimulating compounds and auto-immune disorders? I’ve read that autoimmuners should be weary of extra stimulation…thoughts?
And yay for snow forts!
Hi Meghan,
Just wondering how you grind it up. I am using it for my horse that has skin cancer and i have burned up 2 blenders already. just wondering what you use.
Vitamix with the dry blade.
My tidbt, and I am not trying to be annoying. I have used and harvested chaga for a few years now.You should only pick chaga when it has reached the size of your fist or bigger. It is rarer then most realize.
All the best
larry
[…] Wild Edible Mushrooms – From Reishi to Chaga to Chanterelles and Morels, wild edible mushrooms found in Canada are wonderful and help with […]
Great blog post. I’ve been drinking this shake for the past 3 months:
-Half chaga tea+half vanilla almond milk
-raw organic cacao
-Organic Peanut butter
-Grated coconut
-One banana
-a handful of nuts
-oats
It taste like reese chocolate bar and there’s no sugar!
Rick from http://chaga.ca
Thanks for explaining basic things about Chaga and how it grows on dying tree. It was really a good read for me. I haven’t tried Chaga in my life, but I am thinking of taking it as it gives numerous health benefits.