Aside from being diligent about commonsense practices like handwashing, is there anything you can do to remain healthy during flu season, especially as the threat of COVID-19 looms?

Your best bet is to keep your immune system in tip-top shape.

What is AHCC Mushroom Extract?

AHCC stands for active hexose correlated compound. It’s an extract of hybridized shiitake mushroom mycelia (root system).

What is ​AHCC Used For?

AHCC’s oligosaccharides are linked to immunomodulatory effects.

Does AHCC Have a Scientific Basis?

It has been studied by various institutions, including Harvard Medical School and Yale University School of Medicine, over 20 years.

Has AHCC Been Tested on People?

In both human and animal studies, AHCC has been shown to activate and enhance immune cells in the body.

How Does AHCC Help Immunity?

It has been shown to aid white blood cells called NK (natural killer) cells and NKT (natural killer T) cells.

What are "Natural Killer" Cells?

These white blood cells are part of the body’s innate defense mechanism, and immediately attacks against viral threats.

Enhanced cell response has been linked to the ability to clear infections more quickly.

Is AHCC Effective Against the Coronavirus?

While it has not yet been evaluated for covid, AHCC has shown to have protective effects against infectious diseases, including H1N1 influenza, H5N1 avian (bird) flu, and West Nile virus.

Testing AHCC Against Infectious Diseases

• Swine Flu (Influenza A virus subtype H1N1)

  In one study, mice supplemented with AHCC showed increased survival against H1N1. The mice were able to maintain body weight as opposed to controls, which indicates less severe infections. AHCC enhanced NK cell activity in the lungs and shortened recovery time.

• West Nile Virus

  In a 2009 study, mice were infected with what should have been a lethal dose of West Nile virus. One group received AHCC at various intervals before and after being infected. The survival rate of mice treated with AHCC was more than twice that of the controls. AHCC also increased the number of antibodies to that virus in the blood.

• Bird Flu (Influenza A virus subtype H5N1)

  In another study, mice were infected with the flu virus after receiving the H5N1 vaccine. Eighty percent of the vaccinated mice survived; 100 percent of the mice that also received AHCC lived.

  In another study, mice were infected with 100 times the 50 percent lethal dose of the avian flu. All the control mice that did not receive AHCC died within 12 days. Thirty percent of the group given AHCC before infection were alive at 28 days.

• Seasonal Flu

  In one human study, people received the seasonal flu vaccine. Some of the group also received 3 grams of AHCC daily for several weeks. Blood samples showed that those who received AHCC in addition to the vaccine showed significantly improved numbers of NK cells and T cells. The increase in cells was most notable in people over 60.

When I first started gardening after I bought my first house, I noticed a white residue in some wood chips I had put down in some of my flower beds. Little did I know, that white residue is just what my garden needed! It was a magical little thing called mycelium.

What is Mycelium?

Mycelium is a white, spiderweb-like structure, a network of cells that is the vegetative part of the fungus that lives within and throughout almost all landmasses on earth. The neurological network of nature. According to the book Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World, by mushroom expert Paul Stamets, “More than 8 miles of cells can be found in one cubic inch of soil.”

Mycelium represents rebirth, rejuvenation, and regeneration. Fungi generate soil, that gives life. The task that we face today is to understand the language of nature. Paul Stamets

All ecosystems and agriculture depend on mycelium to support the health and resilience of vegetation. It is more similar to the animal kingdom than the plant kingdom, as it does not produce its own food and depends on plants for nutrients.

Environmental Benefits of Mycelium

The benefits of mycelium are countless! It helps to keep a solid structure in soil, reducing erosion. It helps create new, fertile, and nutrient-dense soil. It removes industrial toxins from the soil, which includes pesticides, chlorine, dioxin (a highly toxic environmental pollutant) as well as PCB’s (highly toxic industrial compounds). It even helps trees become more drought-resistant and cleanses groundwater of contaminants and pollutants!

In the garden, mycelium helps to increase nutrients available to plants, improve water efficiency, reduce erosion by acting as a cellular net, and promote root growth by adding oxygen to the soil and releasing nitrogen, phosphate, and other micronutrients. It also helps to protect plants against pathogens by competing with pathogenic fungi and bacteria and encouraging beneficial bacteria growth.

90% of plants have a mutually beneficial relationship with fungi/mycelium. Mycelium is like an underground communication system linking roots of plants to share nutrients, water information, boosting immune function, and even sabotaging unwelcome plants by spreading toxic chemicals. Ren Sen Zeng of South China Agricultural University in Guangzhou conducted a study that found that when plants are attached to harmful fungi, they release a chemical signal into the mycelia that warn their neighbors.

The Three Main Types of Fungi / Mycelium

• Mycorrhizae

  Most cultivated plants grow best with this as mycelium receives nutrients from living plants in a mutually beneficial relationship. The fungus attaches to the root of the plant, which photosynthesize the sun's energy, turns it into sugar, and provides carbohydrates for the mycelium.

  Common Species

  • Chanterelle
  • boletes
  • morel

• Saprophytic

  This type makes up the majority of edible and medicinal fungi. Saprophytic fungi absorb nutrients from dead organic matter. Typically it grows out of fallen logs and piles of leaves, breaking down matter and turning it into nutrient-rich soil. Without this process, forest floors would become an accumulated pile of fallen debris over time.

  Common Species

  • shiitake
  • turkey tail
  • oyster
  • reishi
  • lions mane

• Parasitic

  These feed off of a living organism. Although they are harmful to their host, they are indirectly beneficial to other species & the ecosystem by creating dead organic matter that is required for others to survive. Parasitic fungi are the main cause of tree die-off, killing older trees and, in doing so, provide benefits to a forest's success by making way for new growth.

  Common Species

  • cordyceps
  • aspen bracket

How to Help Mycelium Grow in Your Garden

• Buy a plug spawn cultivation for logs or stumps. Spawn is any substance that has been inoculated with mycelium. This is best for hardwoods such as alder, oak, or maple. Avoid softwoods like fir and cedar.
• Build a bed by layering wet cardboard, spawn, chips, and spawn about 3 inches deep. Repeat until the bed is 8-10 inches deep and cover with a layer of leaves or straw. Water generously. Check each week for growth. Once growth forms, water once a week until fruiting occurs, usually 4-6 months, generally in the summer or late fall. Cover with chicken wire to keep pets and chickens/turkeys out. The garden giant mushroom is a good variety for this.
• Woodchips & straw work as a great substrate for growing mycelium. Get spawn and break it up, spreading sparingly throughout the wood chips or straw and then water. You should see a fully producing mycelium bed in 9-12 months. Winter is the best time to start this and it works well between vegetable rows and around fruit trees.
• Transplant native spawn from a local forest. Research the best steps for this, being careful not to disrupt the ecosystem or bring back anything poisonous.

This article is part of a series that celebrates pioneers who've shaped the natural wellness field for decades. through dedication, hard work, and passion, they've made invaluable contributions to our understanding of how to optimize human health.

Who is Paul Stamets?

For the past 40 years, mycologist, entrepreneur, and author Paul Stamets, DSc (Hon.) has devoted himself to understanding mushrooms and learning all he can about their potential to provide solutions, both for human health and the health of the planet. In 2015, he won an award from the Mycological Society of America for expanding the field of mycology more than any mycologist in history.

MDLinx describes him the following way in an article called “5 TED Talks Every Doctor Should Watch”: “Forget about the Dos Equis guy. Paul Stamets is the most interesting man in the world.”

MDLinx may be on to something. Stamets, founder of Fungi Perfecti and Host Defense Mushrooms, is at the forefront of research that may contribute to bolstering human immunity; using mushroom mycelium, the root-like structures growing below ground, as a filtration tool to clean water; enhancing soil with fungi; and using fungi to develop new biofuels. He’s also worked with the National Institutes of Health (NIH) to test extracts of rare mushrooms from old growth forests.

Saving the Honey Bee with Mushroom Mycelium​

Stamets’ observations of bees foraging on mycelium led him to believe that mushrooms might be able to help save honeybees, whose global populations have been decreasing significantly since 2006 due to Colony Collapse Disorder (CCD). In 2014, his Host Defense team collaborated with Washington State University researchers, and his hunch turned out to be correct. Compared to control colonies fed a sugar syrup, bee colonies fed reishi mycelium extracts experienced a 79-fold reduction in deformed wing virus. The findings were published in Nature’s Scientific Reports in 2018.

TFL Interview with Paul Stamets

We caught up with Stamets to learn what he’s been up to.

tasteforlife:

You’ve written six books, among them Growing Gourmet & Medicinal Mushrooms and Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World. Are you working on a new book?

Paul Stamets:

I am supposed to be but keep getting distracted by research projects!

tfl:

Who are your greatest partners in what you’re trying to achieve with your work?

ps:

Medical researchers interested in bolstering immunity, integrative doctors, zoonotic disease experts, entomologists, carbon sequestration experts, bioremediators, foresters, microbiome specialists, and nanoparticle computer scientists interested in communication systems with nature via mycelial networks.  

tfl:

Humans have been reaping benefits from mushrooms for a long time. What have been the biggest obstacles preventing us from discovering the vital roles mushrooms can play in our health?

ps:

Mycophobia, the irrational fear of all fungi. I understand it is natural to fear that which is powerful, but temporary.

Mushrooms can feed you, heal you, kill you, or send you on a spiritual journey. Yet they come up and many disappear in a few days, not to reappear for years. We lack a familiarity with them compared to plants and animals that may be in our visual landscape every day.

Even so, most physicians are poorly informed about mushrooms. They are primarily taught about fungal diseases, not fungal benefits. So, they are at a disadvantage.

This is why I populate, with my team, a website to educate doctors and researchers about the benefits of mushrooms. Just pure science. See www.MushroomReferences.com. Once you become more knowledgeable, you can make educated decisions rather than impulsive ones not based on science. 

tfl:    

In your 40 years of working with mushrooms, how have you seen mushroom awareness in this country evolve?

ps:    

There is a tidal change happening now about the benefits and power of mushrooms. My work is finally considered by top researchers as being not only credible, but paradigm shifting.

tfl:    

How many mushroom species have you discovered?

ps:    

Officially four species but many more not published. 

tfl:    

What gets you out of bed in the morning and keeps you fired up about your work?

ps:    

The question: What new fungal knowledge will I receive today?

I am inspired each day to realize that fungi represent a vast reservoir of undiscovered knowledge and with each awakening, there is the possibility of paradigm-changing solutions that could be revealed. 

On a Pacific island southwest of Japan, a rare mushroom with a particular affinity for female health can be found growing on mulberry trees. The mushroom, known as meshima, means “women’s island” and is named after the island on which it grows.

Meshima mushroom (Phellinus linteus) has long been recognized as a medicinal mushroom in Asian medicine. Chinese emperors and Japanese royalty drank a tea of meshima for vitality and long life. In Japan, China, and Korea, it is highly ranked for various conditions, including arthritis, gastrointestinal disorders, liver damage, lymphatic diseases, menstrual disorders and various cancers.

In recent times, scientific research has focused on how meshima supports immunity. Studies show it increases activity of immune cells, such as B cells and T lymphocytes, as well as cytotoxic activity of natural killer cells. Many of meshima’s immunologic actions show specific promise for maintaining healthy breast cells.

Meshima for Breast Health

Meshima has been attracting attention as being particularly protective of breast tissue. Researchers from Indiana University found that an extract of the mushroom suppresses the growth and invasive behavior of breast cancer cells.

One of the reasons for the high mortality of breast cancer is the invasive behavior of cancer cells, which results in metastasis (spreading). In the study, reported in the British Journal of Cancer, Daniel Silva, PhD, and colleagues demonstrated that meshima extract (PL-fraction) inhibits proliferation as well as colony formation of highly invasive breast cancer cells. The study suggests a potential therapeutic effect of meshima extract against invasive breast cancer.

Meshima has been well-studied by Korean researchers and is becoming increasingly popular as an adjuvant cancer treatment along with chemotherapies. One study found that meshima increased effectiveness against tumor growth and metastasis in mice when combined with the anticancer drug Adriamycin.

Research shows that meshima has strong antitumor properties. In one study, a hot-water extract had the strongest antitumor activity in a group of medicinal mushrooms that included enoki, kawaratake (Coriolus), a relative of reishi (Ganoderma applanatum) and shiitake. The effect was measured in a mouse model of a connective tissue tumor.

Clinical evidence of meshima’s antitumor effects is documented in the medical literature with many positive patient case studies describing tumor regression.

Traditional Chinese Medicine

As a result of thousands of years of human observation, Chinese medicine asserts that health can be maintained by sustaining the right balance in the body (known as yin and yang) and that disease can be overcome by restoring this balance through nutrition, herbs, physical activity and mental peace. In other words, disease is the tip of the iceberg, the result of the underlying imbalance of the body, which must be restored.

In traditional Chinese medicine, meshima is classified as a chi tonic. Chi tonics are used to strengthen the body’s resistance to outside forces. In addition, meshima is considered an adaptogen, a substance that helps the body adapt to stressful conditions by restoring altered body conditions back to normal.

Meshima is highly regarded in herbal medicine in terms of multiple benefits and absence of side effects. Its immune-modulating, anti-metastatic properties demonstrate great potential as a natural compound for supporting healthy breast tissue.

Choosing a Mushroom Supplement

Mushroom supplements are available as whole mushroom powders or extracts.

Mushroom extracts (liquids, tablets and capsules) are more concentrated than crude mushroom powders. True mushroom extracts are made from the fruiting body (the actual mushroom) rather than mushroom mycelia (the root-like structure). Generally, mushroom fruiting bodies are more complex than mycelia with more medicinal properties. Historically, this is the part that has been used as medicine.