Tonight I attended a Kosher Eco-Vegan Seder. I never knew such an entity existed. It was a fabulous. The dinner was a vegan celebration of the Jewish holiday of Passover For those who don’t know, vegans do not consume animal products, no poultry or fish, and no dairy derived from an animal (such as goat cheese or milk). The meal was overseen by Rabbi Loring Frank, a vegan himself, and was attended by fascinating people. Very spiritual. Very healthy. On the long drive home from Ft. Lauderdale’s vegan restaurant, Sublime, where the event took place, I had time to contemplate becoming a vegan. If I weren’t so into moderation, I might try it. So many delicious recipes full of healthy fruits and vegetables. Many vegan recipes feature mushrooms, one of my favorite foods. This line of thought led me to remember an email I received about an amazing mushroom.

Mushrooms have gotten a lot of press over the past few years. It turns out that the humble fungus has many medicinal properties. Reishi and Shiitake mushrooms are touted as having immune-supporting and anti-cancer properties, but they are not as powerful as Chaga. Both a reader and a friend introduced me to this miraculous mushroom and if even half of its proposed benefits are real, I would agree that it should be in our drinking water!

Chaga has been around since the 16^th century. It grows wild in Siberia and northern Asia. This wild variety is the best. It is a black, irregular fungus that is found on the side of the birch tree. The scientific name for it is Inonotus obliquus. It is also known as cinder cork because it looks like a piece of burnt charcoal on the side of the tree. The Chaga mushroom is commonly made into a tea in Russia and Eastern medicine practitioners have been using it for centuries to balance a patient’s “chi” or vital energy.

How does Chaga treat diabetes, infections, hypertension, and cancer? The answer lies in its many special components. First, the mushroom is high in beta-glycans. Beta-glycans are immune modulators. They act to enhance our immune function which enables the body’s defenses to be stronger. Second, Chaga has a high SuperOxide Dismutase (SOD) content. SOD inhibits free radical oxidative reactions, which are the basis of so many diseases – from wrinkles to cancer. Chaga helps to repair micro damage to our genetic material, DNA. This is important because DNA breaks lead to cancer, but, perhaps with the right help, can be reversed and repaired before they cause disease. Chaga contains betulinic acid, derived from the birch tree. Betulinic acid is drawn into the center of tumors and causes pre-programmed cell death to occur. Chaga also is naturally colored by melanin which can be beneficial for health and has Vitamin D2 precursors in it.

I couldn’t find any Chaga toxicity issues, just some comments about the purity and strength of the mushroom harvested. It seems that only a handful of the Chaga mushrooms found in the wild are really qualified to be harvested. Like truffles. There are not many rigorous scientific studies available to prove the efficacy of Chaga, but there did not appear to be a lot of negatives to it either. The FDA has approved it as a “food” which means that it can be sold without the same degree of testing that it necessary for a medication to make it to market. The most well-known research was conducted at the University of Helsinki. I checked the National Cancer Institute and there was no mention of Chaga, nor was there anything at the National Center For Complementary and Alternative Medicine. It does have a few nicknames that must relate to prior succeses: The Mushroom of Immortality and The King of Herbs to name a few.

My friend started taking Chaga and reports more energy, sharper thinking, and better sleep. Sounds good to me. The downside to Chaga, as I see it, is that it is a multi-level marketing system (MLM). While I’m told that MLM is a way to raise capital in there difficult times, I think it does make products more expensive and less available. With automatic delivery, shipments are made on a regular basis and products go from factory to your home without sitting on a shelf in the health food store , where they might go bad. I know good products get to market through MLM, even ones I support and use, but somehow the MLM basis of Chaga leaves a bad taste in my mouth. By the way, the Chaga doesn’t. It is supposedly odorless and tasteless. Even children can benefit and you can sneak it into their sippy cups! It comes as a liquid with a dropper and you take 10-40 drops a day depending on your need - and your pocketbook. At about 60 dollars a bottle, it isn’t for everyone. Just those that take their health and longevity seriously.

As a cancer survivor who worries that her DNA may go awry again at any moment, I have nothing to lose. I’m going to order a bottle tonight and try it. Maybe I’ll go back to the vegan restaurant and see what mushrooms are on their menu!