12 Reasons Why Chaga Mushrooms May Be the New Black Gold
So what is Chaga?
Chaga mushrooms, named Inonotus obliquus, grow in colder climates along the Northern Hemisphere. This includes Northern Europe, Russia, Korea, Canada, Alaska, and the Northern United States.
Like Cordyceps, Chaga is a parasitic fungus. However, instead of growing out from the larvae of moths, Chaga settles on Birch forest trees.
Starting on the bark, it slowly grows deep into the wood of the tree’s trunk. It takes about 5 years for the mushroom's black fruiting body mass to appear.
It has a unique look in that the outside oddly shaped and dark like charcoal. But when cut open, you'll find an orange-brown color.
As you go deeper into the mushroom and toward the tree, the lighter the orange-brown gets.
Nearly 20 years after first infecting tree bark, the Chaga mushroom will kill the entire tree. As unfortunate for the tree as this is, Chaga has some interesting properties to write home about.
Potential Benefits of Chaga Mushrooms
There is evidence that Chaga has been used for thousands of years in Chinese medicine. They considered it beneficial for whole-body vitality and a strong immune system.
As for significant human studies, many are still being pursued. But there are plenty of promising conclusions made thus far.
Current research infers that Chaga can be..
An inflammation fighting anti-oxidant
It contains powerful antioxidants such as polyphenols and triterpenoids. Its oxygen radical absorbance capacity (ORAC) value is between 52,000 and 146,000µmol/100g. For reference, Cacao has a value of 80,933µmol/100g.
Pain Reliever
Its anti inflammatory affects see to it that Chaga can be an analgesic for conditions such as rheumatoid arthritis.
An intestinal microflora balancer
Chaga contains melano-glucan complexes that reduce certain microbes.. the ones that grow in inflammation-producing environments.
A promoter of wound healing
This includes skin, mucous membranes and even stomach ulcers.
A cholesterol reducer
Polysaccharides in Chaga reduce the amount of fats in the blood, which in turn can improve cholesterol and blood vessel conditions.
A blood sugar reducer
The terpenoids and sterols in Chaga have been found to have hypoglycemic effects.
An immune system stimulant
The polyscharride beta-glucan causes your body to react like there may be an internal intruder, without there actually being one. This mechanism can strengthen your body’s immune response, sort of like a workout for your immune system.
An intoxication treatment
Studies claim it helps relieve intoxication by household chemicals. This is interesting considering it looks like charcoal, which is used for the same purpose.
A supplemental cancer treatment aid
Like Turkey Tail mushrooms, it’s used alongside conventional cancer treatment to fight cancer cells.
A skin and hair supplement
It contains Vitamin D2 and melanin, which may also make it good for use as a sunscreen. Melanin itself is also a potent antioxidant, and one Chaga study concluded that it may protect against premature cell death and UV damage.
Mood booster
It has adaptogenic properties, like many other medicinal mushrooms. Adaptogens are said to help lower stress and maintain balance under both physical and mental stressors.
Endurance booster
In one animal study with mice given polysaccharides extracted from Chaga, researchers concluded that the mice not only could swim longer, but that they also had less lactic acid production during exercise.
Is Chaga Considered a “SuperFood?”
Chaga is rich in several key vitamins and minerals:
Vitamin B
Vitamin D
Calcium
Potassium
Manganese
Magnesium
Iron
Copper
Zinc
Add these in with its enzymes, phenols, pantothenic acid, sterols, and many other unique chemicals that are hard to pronounce, and it’s easy to see why Chaga deserves a closer look.
Though it probably won’t be blessing your dinner plate anytime soon, it certainly has the nutrients necessary to qualify it as a superfood. This is why powdered Chaga mushroom supplements and extracts are becoming increasingly more common.
How to Take Chaga Mushrooms
There are many ways to take Chaga, including making tea, buying capsules, or using powder. Choosing which way depends mostly on personal preference.
For those interested primarily in its health benefits, a powdered Chaga supplement has the best balance of benefits, cost, and amount of servings. This also gives you the most versatility, as you can brew a tea directly from powdered Chaga.
We prefer to buy all single-ingredient, organic mushroom powders and mix them together in a blender (at our own chosen ratios).
By doing so, we save money and are able to customize our daily powder supplements without added fillers, stabilizers, anti-caking agents, colors, flavors, or sweeteners.
What to Watch Out For
Depending on which company you purchase from, you'll want to make sure that your Chaga powder comes strictly from the fruiting body mass of the mushroom. This is where all the most health benefits lie.
Unfortunately, many companies tout mushroom benefits while filling their products with mostly mycelium (everything below the fruiting body) and grain-filled compost.
That means a lot of money from you, with little to no actual health benefits.
So make sure you take a look at the ingredients to see whether its all fruiting body mass, or both mycelia and fruiting body, or only mycelia. To be honest, avoiding mycelia all together is a good rule of thumb.
Some mushroom powder brands also stuff in ingredients meant to make consumption easier or better tasting. But in doing so, they add unwanted filler.. sometimes even carcinogens! Things like yellows, reds, blues, aspartame, etc. These may then cost more to buy.
How We Take Our Chaga
Chaga Powder Floating in a Blate Pape
We originally created Blate Papes to avoid fillers and the high costs of health supplements. That’s why it's how we take all of our mushroom powders, herbs and fitness supplements.
Our papes are very thin edible films made from just potato starch. They come in the shape of a cone or square to be easily filled, dipped in water, and swallowed.
Opposed to capsules, these hold up to 20x more and glide down your throat much more smoothly. But our hands down favorite part is how easy it makes taking single-ingredient powders without any unwanted extras.
How Much Chaga Should You Take?
A good starting point is about a gram of dry powder a day. But it’s important to follow the recommended dosages on each supplement’s package, as they may have different extraction methods.
Precautions to Consider
There aren’t any human clinical trials that have been documented to date. So side effects aren’t commonly known. Some people have reported stomach discomfort and diarrhea.
But as it’s been used for thousands of years, it is likely safe to consume in sparing quantity.
Be wary if you’re taking any current medications, are allergic to molds or mushrooms, are pregnant or breast-feeding, are diabetic, or have a bleeding disorder.
Speaking with your doctor before starting any Chaga supplementation regimen is highly recommended.
Sources:
Chaga Mushroom
Chaga and Other Fungal Resources
Chaga, the Clinker Fungus: This Mushroom Looks Scary But Can Benefit Health
Continuous intake of the Chaga mushroom (Inonotus obliquus) aqueous extract suppresses cancer progression and maintains body temperature in mice
Effect of Inonotus Obliquus Polysaccharides on physical fatigue in mice
Chaga Mushroom: The Immune-Boosting Superfood by Dr. Edward Group
