Reishi is considered to be both an immune tonic and an immunomodulator. Immune tonic means that it strengthens natural immunity and is something you can take long term, and it won't cause an over activeness or hyper activeness in our immune system because of its qualities as an immunomodulator, which is something that helps our immune system meet whatever is coming its way.

For example, if you have an autoimmune condition, reishi can help your immune system modulate itself so that yes, you're increasing your innate immunity to outside pathogens, but you're not jacking up your immune system so much so that it's triggering this autoimmune condition. These actions, especially combined, are so special in these times, given the rise of auto-immune conditions and hyperactive immune systems because of the never ending exposure to toxins in our environment, products, foods, and water.

Reishi is also an adaptogen; in my opinion as an herbalist, this is one of the most incredible actions that something can have on the body. Adaptogens help the body deal with the physiology of stress. We all know how damaging stress is on our physical bodies, but in these times, it’s extremely hard to avoid daily stressors. Adaptogens are able to increase the threshold of resistance to damage through supporting the adrenal glands, and are capable of restoring normal tone and function to the HPA (hypothalamic/pituitary/adrenal) axis. Nourishing the adrenal glands is crucial for balancing out the production of stress hormones and improving the unwanted physical and mental effects of stress. This restorative quality is a unique feature of herbal medicine unlike any in the pharmaceutical index.

An ally for chronic pain; A clinical trial found that Reishi mushrooms helped to ease pain in people with rheumatoid arthritis over a period of 24 weeks!

When taken during pregnancy and nursing, some herbalists have said that Reishi can influence a calm baby. How cool is that?!

Because the immune system is intimately tied into every aspect of health, this mushroom can be useful for a wide variety of ailments such as allergies, colds and flu, eczema and psoriasis. Reishi mushrooms also have a history of use in conditions such as cancer, hepatic ailments, hypertension, heart disease, head injuries and degenerative diseases.

Reishi contains anti-viral and antibacterial properties, and has been studied in it’s effects against serious infections such as HSV 1 &2, HIV, HBV, and even bacteria like Staphylococcus, streptococcus and Bacillus.

It can help in cases of long covid syndrome, where people are experiencing debilitating lasting effects after their recovery from covid-19.

Due to it’s ability to calm the nervous system, reishi is an excellent tonic for managing stress, anxiety, depression, insomnia, fatigue, and overall mood. Although it calms the nervous system, it also provides the body with a feeling of alertness and natural, sustaining energy when it’s needed.

Reishi contains anti-histamine activity, making it useful for not only seasonal allergies, but also possibly benefitting conditions such as histamine intolerance, food sensitivities, and MCAS (Mast Cell Activation Syndrome).

Reishi is found to have potent hepa-protective (or liver protecting) qualities.

“There is now a wealth of impressive data that demonstrates Reishi’s life extending properties, but also its significant ability to stimulate brain neurons, search for and destroy cancer cells and prevent the development of new fat cells in obese individuals. As an example of growing science supporting Reishi, researchers using laboratory mice have detailed life span extension of 9% to more than 20% —the equivalent of 7 to nearly 16 years in human terms.

As if these targeted benefits were not sufficient, Reishi’s numerous compounds show a therapeutic effect on asthma, allergies, autoimmune diseases, Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases, diabetes, liver disease, and more.”

Reishi can actually improve coronary artery flow, it lowers cholesterol, it can help our lungs actually have more oxygen capacity. A common complaint among many is shortness of breath. In Chinese medicine, the lungs are very associated with grief. We often think of the heart as associated with grief in the Western world, but from a Chinese medicine perspective, grief is housed in the lungs. It also helps to settle the heart, and from this perspective, we can see how this mushroom really has a multidimensional approach to our physical, emotional, and energetic well being.

Reishi has cancer-inhibiting properties, and is an ally while going through chemotherapy and radiation. Researchers from the Amala Cancer Research Centre at Thrissur in Kerala and the Bhabha Atomic Research Centre at Mumbaisay say they found the mushroom extract could prevent cellular damage induced by radiation in cancer therapy, nuclear accidents and even in nuclear warfare. "The mushroom has profound antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, tumour and cancer preventive and to top it all radioprotective properties," says K K Janardanan, one of the researchers. The presence of aqueous extract of G lucidum along with dna during irradiation with gamma rays reduced radiation induced lesions in dna by 89.53 per cent and prevented damage to certain cell organelles by 98 per cent.The findings appeared in Current Science (Vol 91, No 3, August 10, 2006).

So… is there anything that Reishi CAN’T do?!