Medicinal Mushrooms – What Are Those?

When old bread grows fungus on it, many of us have laughingly said that a bit of penicillin isn’t going to harm us; and chopping off the offending portion we have proceeded to make toast and eat it! Now we hear a lot about medicinal mushrooms and their curative properties that can assist in a lot of different ailments.
Medicinal mushrooms are those mushrooms that are used for medical practice as, or in a number of different palliatives. While in traditional forms of medicine, different varieties of mushrooms have long held pride of place, medical researchers and ethnobotanists have now an increased interest it the curative properties of mushrooms.
In fact the properties that make mushrooms inhibit growth of certain tumors and enhance immunity have fascinated researchers for the past 50 years now.
Enoki, King Oyster mushrooms, and Shiitake are just some of the varieties of mushrooms that are said to have medicinal properties. Chaga mushrooms have long been used in places such as Russia for their therapeutic properties.
In fact it is thought that as many as 200 varieties of mushrooms could have their anti tumor properties, though their direct effect on humans is not fully understood particularly with regard to toxic aspects of certain mushrooms and the dosage in which they should be administered for optimum medical use.
What specific variety will cure what specific ailment is not yet established, however medicinal mushrooms and their possible use in pharmaceuticals is significant for the following reasons:
Apart from penicillin, research with fungi of different kinds has led to the development of pharmaceuticals such as cyclosporin, griseofulvin, cephalosporin, and ergometrine.
Statins, which are a class of drugs that lower cholesterol levels in people, were developed due to research that was done in the field of fungi and mushrooms. Lovastatin, which is one kind of drug from this group of statin drugs, is something that occurs naturally in Oyster mushrooms.
It is also known that mushrooms, when exposed to sunlight are able to produce significant amounts of Vitamin D.
Some types of mushrooms could possibly a source of taxol, which is a mitotic inhibitor used in cancer chemotherapy.
Certain compounds found in medicinal mushrooms are seen to improve the immune system.
Mushrooms have also been seen to help in the production of certain human hormones.
Certain mushrooms are also seen to have anti fungal, anti bacterial and anti viral properties.

Homeopathy – How Does It Work?

The current agitation against Homeopathic Medicines in Britain does lead us to ask the question Does homeopathy work? How, if at all does it work? Protesters have called homeopathic treatments “scientifically absurd” and have asked for withdrawal of the treatments as the BBC reported.
The protestors have dismissed homeopathy as nothing more than a placebo.

So what is homeopathy?

Homeopathy is a system of treatment that supports the body’s own healing mechanism. Homeopathy bases itself on the principle of “like cures like”. A homeopathic remedy is an extremely pure, natural substance that is administered in a very diluted form.
In large quantities these substances would cause the same symptoms the patient is trying to cure. In small, pure, diluted doses, it is not only safe and free from side effects, but it will trigger the body to heal itself and that is the basis of homeopathy.
Well one may believe in homeopathy or not, but it is our considered view that it is unreasonable to demand that others stop using homeopathy. Certainly there is enough reason to believe in its efficacy; enough people have benefitted from it. Even if there is no benefit, there is no side effect either; so is there any reason to condemn homeopathy? We think not!

Herbal Meds – Don’t Mix Them With Heart Medications

There is a valuable shift in popular perception towards alternative medication with more and more physicians using them as a principal or supplementary treatment for a number of disorders and treatments.
This brings us closer to natural medication which is free from side effects.
However, the entrenchment of western medicine is not to be underestimated and as such it is important not to mix certain herbal medications with a number of main stream medications. Arshad Jahangir, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Consultant Cardiologist, Mayo Clinic Arizona has opined that poplar herbal meds such as Ginkgo and St John’s Wort and garlic do not make a safe mix with cardiovascular medications.
He expressed concern that since herbal medications are natural people often do not consider their negative repercussion when taking in conjunction with western medications and people often don’t tell their doctors when they are taking herbal supplements. It is advisable that:
Health care workers familiarize themselves with the effect of combinations of herbal and conventional medications and
Patients disclose to their physicians any and all medication they are on.