Unlike some of the prettier superfoods and super berries out there Chaga is an unattractive fungus grown on the side of Birch trees mainly in countries with colder climates in the Northern Hemisphere which actually looks like burnt charcoal. But, don’t let its appearance put you off as if you can get your mind past these odd looking mushrooms you will discover the wealth of nutritional benefits they contain.
Chaga is classed as an Adaptogen – you have heard me talking about these a lot as they are the star players in my BLENDS which I love for how they help our bodies adjust to stress, rebalance and return to homeostasis.
Chaga scores high in ORAC value (ORAC is short for Oxygen Radical Absorption Capacity, a way of measuring how rich a particular food is in antioxidants and how absorbable they are). We need a lot of antioxidants in our diet to fight free radical damage which are toxins that cause cell damage, the main offending causes are: poor diet, alcohol, cigarette smoke, environmental pollution, chemicals in products and the silent killer….stress!
Cell damage accelerates ageing and is the cause of many illnesses and disease and sadly we are eating worse, drinking more and seem to be getting more stressed. So by starting from within and protecting your cells this expands outwards in all other areas of your health.
I personally love medicinal mushrooms for a variety of reasons and especially enjoy chaga for an energy boost in my morning smoothies or mid afternoon healthy hot chocolate drink which is a favourite at my raw chocolate masterclasses.
Chaga has many properties that are beneficial when ingested. They may help to lower cholesterol and blood pressure whilst providing an abundance of support to the immune system. The strength of these magic mushrooms can also help to lower chronic inflammation and stabilise the blood sugar (this in turn helps to reduce snacking and sugar cravings).
Medicinal mushrooms such as chaga can also be used to prevent or fight cancer (not to be used in place of any medication or treatments and ONLY to be used under a health care supervisor for anyone with cancer). Chaga has been said to shrink tumours without harming healthy cells
Superfoods and adaptogens are a great support to our systems, for more information about how they can benefit you please get in touch and book yourself a free 15 min consultation HERE
The information provided in this blog is for information only and is not intended to diagnose, treat or cure any issues, please consult a health care professional for any issues that need addressing