Can Mushrooms Cure AIDS?

Inonotus obliquus, commonly known as chaga mushroom. Image Credit / Wikipedia
Inonotus obliquus, commonly known as chaga mushroom. Image Credit / Wikipedia

By: Amanda Froelich,

True Activist.

It is common to see a selection of Reishi mushroom extract in a health food store or overhear the mention of mushrooms at a contemporary party, but now scientists are validating that the use of Siberian Chaga Mushrooms could actually be used as a treatment to cure AIDS, according to Russian scientists.

The fungus growing on birch trees in Siberia has been studied at the Vector Institute, near Novosibirsk, and the antiretroviral medicinal effect shows it to be a promising subject for future research. So far three different types of mushrooms are being studied, but the Chaga strain shows the most promise.

With low toxicity, these mushrooms could also be effective against influenza, smallpox, and HIV according to The Siberian Times.

These medicinal plants have many benefits and have long since been revered by many cultures; the Japanese referred to the hard-as-wood mushroom as “The Diamond of the Forest” and the Chinese as “King of the Plants”. Known to be the most nutritionally dense of all tree growths, the Chaga mushroom especially is a very potent source of many vitamins, minerals, and is thought to increase longevity. Concerning the prevention of AIDS in the lab, however, it’s the component Betulinic Acid – which has antiretrovial and anti-inflammatory properties – seen as what makes it so powerful.

Because of the fungi’s potency in disease-halting minerals and anti-oxidants, popular belief also promotes that Chaga mushrooms also contain anti-cancer properties. Indeed, Chaga mushrooms were referenced as a treatment for Cancer in Alexander Solzhhenitsyn’s Cancer Ward in 1967. It’s not the first time highly alkalizing, nutrient-dense foods (apricot pits, for example) have shown to have incredible success in supplementing more life force energy to a body and aiding in revitalization.

However, skeptics at the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Centre in New York said that no clinical trials have been carried out to establish whether Chaga is a safe or effective method of disease prevention. Regardless, the Vector Institute – also known as the State Research Centre of Virology – is just one of the two official repositories of the now eradicated smallpox virus and continues to research.

With the balance nature provides in the abundant range of plant foods, the biggest misconception with Western medical thinking has to be that there is a ‘magic pill, root or ingredient’ that is a cure-all. While Chaga mushroom has many medicinal properties, it is the intelligent action of prevention and implementation of a healthy lifestyle that has been shown to be the most beneficial in counteracting disease and reducing incidence of Diabetes, Heart Disease, and Cancer. Supplementation of medicinal plants and the adoption of healthy lifestyle habits will certainly continue to support a future where AID’s is eradicated and heavily-sifted through science strives to validate the value of all nature has to offer.

Sources:

Siberian Times

Chaga Mushroom Benefits

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