What is Reishi Mushroom Extract

Reishi Mushroom is one of the greatest and most revered herbs of all time.  The high quality benefits have stood the test of time, being a front-runner herbal for about four thousand years.  Throughout history there has been many different forms of preparation, ranging from ground powders to teas and broths.  In more recent years, it has been discovered and scientifically proven that reishi mushroom extract harbors the highest amount of digestible nutrients, as in this article we will explore how it is done as well as why it is superior to other forms of reishi.

There are two popular ways of preparing your mushrooms- Powdered or hot water extracted, also noted as spray-dried.  If you see powdered or ground on your mushroom label, you are getting ground mushroom and what it was growing on.  No big deal?  Well, The polysaccharides that contain the beta glucans, the immuno-modulating compounds that define a mushroom as medicinal, are found inside the cell walls, and they are completely surrounded by an indigestible fiber called “chitin”.  Chitin is what lobster and crab shells are made from and our digestive system cannot break it down.  That means that we cannot absorb any of the active compounds from un-extracted mycelium or mushroom products.  When mycelium colonizes the grain, only about half if consumed because of the metabolic waste that builds, to which the mycelium stops digesting it.  This makes most, if not all of the powdered mushroom or mycelium products less than a 1:1 ratio because almost half is the undigested rice or wood left by the mushroom.

Hot water extraction requires the dried mature mushroom or mycelium to boil for several hours, possibly for three terms.  Once the bio-available nutrients have been extracted, a low temperature vacuum condenser and air-spray dryer is utilized to turn the liquid to powder.  The chitin is left with the bones and you are now presented with the optimal bioavailability of the mushroom.  It is also extremely important that you are getting at least an 8:1 ratio.  That means that eight pounds of actual mushroom nutrient will be condensed into one pound of extract, creating the most fundamentally concentrated supplement available.  Put that in your water and extract it!  This is again a more timely and cost-imposing process, which concludes the reasoning for “getting what you pay for.”

Reishi mushroom extract is the most concentrated, and highest-grade preparation of the mushroom, providing the upmost bioavailablity for human intake.   Hopefully, now understanding the process and components of the mushroom, it is clear why reishi mushroom extract is the most effective method of medicinal supplementation.

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