Lingzhi Mushroom or Reishi Mushroom is the most scientifically researched of any herb ever. On top of that, it’s one of the most revered, if not the most revered, herb of all of ancient China. It’s also one of my favorite herbs and an herb that I’ve worked with quite a bit over the last eight or so years. It is one herb that I’ve gotten a lot of really solid feedback about and I’ve heard just a lot of great success stories.
When it comes to the immune system and a lot of the other systems in the body, what makes reishi so powerful and so amazing is that it is whats considered to be dual directional. And they’ve basically figured out that reishi has 600-900 different chemicals. From that, they’ve understood, at least scientifically, that reishi modulates about 300 or so different processes in the body. Which, that’s a lot…there’s a lot going on there, especially just for the one herb.
But specifically what makes it so amazing is that, in the context of the immune system, it’s not an immune stimulant like a lot of herbs, and it’s not an immune depressant like a lot of herbs and substances as well. What makes it unique and special is that it’s an immune regulator, or an immune modulator. So when we have a weakened immune condition, depressed immune condition, it can then bring that up and strengthen that part of our immune system. And if we have a part of our immune system which is excessive or if we have allergies or autoimmune things, it can sort of calm that down and help to bring that back to balance. And that’s really the overarching thing, is reishi helps to just balance the immune system. And over time, make the immune system stronger, more efficient, and more effective.
To the ancient Chinese, Lingzhi Mushroom literally means spirit plant. The Chinese character for lingzhi mushroom is actually composed of three characters. One for shaman, one for praying for, and one for rain. So just from those little examples right there, we can see just how spiritual and just revered this herb was. And reishi has also been called the 10,000 year mushroom and the mushroom of immortality, because it is said to help promote longevity. And actually, the word reishi, which is the name that we know it by here in the west, actually comes from the Japanese, so the Japanese word for reishi is actually reishi. And the Latin name is actually ganoderma lucidum, which basically means ganoderma essentially means shiny skin, and lucidum means brilliant. And if you’ve ever seen a reishi mushroom, you pretty much know what that means.
So reishi has been essentially regarded as the king of herbal medicines. With many herbalists actually ranking it above ginseng. And personally, that’s, I fit into that category as well. And there was a professor called Hiroshi Hakino from the University of Tahoku in Japan, and he was essentially a premier authority on herbs and plants and medicinal substances. And he basically called reishi one of the most important elixirs in the Orient. So from those examples, we can get a pretty good idea about how revered the Lingzhi Mushroom.