Ganoderma Treatment

Ganoderma lucidum is also known as the reishi mushroom. These mushrooms have medicinal properties and are used in the treatment of cancer. Ganoderma lucidum is a red mushroom that can be found growing on oak trees in Russia, Japan, China and the United States. Reishi mushrooms used for medical purposes are cultivated rather than collected from the wild.

Cancer Treatment

Ganoderma lucidum is used to treat cancer because of its ability to enhance the immune system. It helps bolster standard cancer treatments such as radiation therapy and chemotherapy. It also helps lessen the severity of side effects from these treatments.

According to the University of Pennsylvania's OncoLink website, ganoderma lucidum has been shown to slow the growth of prostate cancer cells and may possibly be useful for treating or preventing breast cancer.

Other Uses

Ganoderma lucidum may also be beneficial for treating hepatitis B and may even prevent those patients from developing liver cancer. In addition, this mushroom may help lower blood pressure, enhance heart health, treat asthma and be helpful for autoimmune disorders and HIV.

How It Is Used

Ganoderma lucidum is very bitter and tough, and therefore inedible. Ganoderma lucidum is ingested by drinking the tea or tincture made by boiling the mushroom. This tea is also bitter. Reishi mushrooms are also available commercially in dried-powder form, capsules, syrup, tincture or tea. Drugs.com reports the standard dose is 0.5 g to 1.0 g daily for healthy people, 2 g to 5 g daily for those with chronic illnesses, and 15 g of extract daily for serious conditions. Common names for ganoderma lucidum include ling chi, lin zi, ling zhi and the mushroom of immortality. According to the Sloan Kettering Cancer Center, the active ingredients are thought to be beta-glucan polysaccharides and triterpenes. These biological substances have anti-allergenic properties and inhibit the spread of tumors.

Side Effects

Minor side effects have been associated with reishi mushrooms. These include abnormal sweating, thirst, sleepiness, rash, bloating and frequent urination. The real danger lies with people who hunt for these mushrooms in the wild and pick poisonous mushrooms by mistake. To be safe you should buy ganoderma lucidum from a trustworthy commercial source.