What medicinal and health benefits do edible fungi have?

What benefits do edible fungi have for medicinal and health purposes.

Edible fungi are not only delicious but also rich in nutrients, and are often called health foods. For example, shiitake mushrooms not only contain various amino acids essential to the human body, but also have the effect of lowering blood cholesterol and treating high blood pressure. It has also been found that shiitake mushrooms, button mushrooms, enoki mushrooms and lion's mane mushrooms contain substances that enhance the human body's anti-cancer ability. They offer great benefits for medicinal and health purposes.

① Anti-cancer effect: The polysaccharides in edible fungi can stimulate the formation of antibodies and improve and regulate the body's internal defense capacity. They can reduce the incidence of tumors induced by certain substances and have a synergistic effect on various chemotherapy drugs. In addition, the organic selenium rich in chestnut mushrooms can be used as a selenium-supplementing food; if eaten over the long term, it can almost prevent all cancerous changes.

② Antibacterial and antiviral effects.

③ Lowering blood pressure, lowering blood lipids, anti-thrombotic, anti-arrhythmic, cardiac strengthening, etc.

④ Stomach-strengthening and digestion-helping effects.

⑤ Relieving cough and asthma, and expelling phlegm.

⑥ Promoting bile secretion, protecting the liver, and detoxifying.

⑦ Lowering blood sugar.

⑧ Relieving constipation and promoting urination.

⑨ Immune regulation.

China is rich in edible fungi resources and is also one of the earliest countries to cultivate and use edible fungi. More than 1,100 years ago, there were already records of artificial cultivation of wood ear fungus. At least more than 800 years ago, the cultivation of shiitake mushrooms had begun in southwestern Zhejiang. Straw mushrooms were first cultivated more than 200 years ago in the Fujian and Guangdong area. These techniques have been passed down to the present day.

Edible fungi have health-care and therapeutic effects:

First, anti-tumor effects. Edible fungi generally contain polysaccharide components and have anti-tumor activity, such as silver ear fungus, shiitake mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms and poria;

Second, enhancing immunity. Edible fungi, especially the polysaccharides they contain, can enhance immune function, including enhancing nonspecific immune function;

Third, regulating blood lipids. Disorders of lipid metabolism are closely related to the occurrence of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Silver ear fungus, shiitake mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms and black wood ear fungus all have the effect of lowering cholesterol and triglycerides so as to regulate blood lipids;

Fourth, protecting the liver and detoxifying. The liver is the human body's "chemical factory," participating in protein synthesis and the metabolism and detoxification of chemical substances. Shiitake mushrooms, lion's mane mushrooms and silver ear fungus have protective effects against various types of experimental liver injury;

Fifth, lowering blood sugar. The polysaccharides contained in silver ear fungus, black wood ear fungus and lion's mane mushrooms can lower blood sugar in experimental diabetic animals; there are also some other effects, such as silver ear fungus having anti-radiation effects and the effect of increasing white blood cells; silver ear fungus, poria and black wood ear fungus have antioxidant effects, free radical-scavenging effects and anti-aging effects; lion's mane mushrooms have anti-ulcer effects, and so on.