Reishi Mushrooms for Diabetes 

Reishi Mushrooms Offer a Variety of Benefits for Diabetes..

 Ganoderma lucidum, have been used for their purported benefits to health and longevity in Asian countries for 2,000 years. Reishi contain approximately 400 bioactive compounds -- molecules that can influence the function of your cells. This revered mushroom has also been found to have pharmacological effects, including some that may be helpful in the prevention or treatment of diabetes.

Reishi Health Benefits Reishi mushrooms are recognized as an alternative therapy for treating a variety of health conditions, including hepatitis, certain forms of cancer and diabetes, according to a report published in the December 2009 issue of the journal "Current Pharmaceutical Biotechnology." Among its other effects, reishi may enhance your immune system and reduce inflammation, both of which can help improve or prevent diabetes. Reishi may also reduce cholesterol and inhibit arterial plaque formation, which occurs more often in people with diabetes.

Blood Sugar-Lowering Effects Researchers at the Institute of Vascular Medicine, The Chinese University of Hong Kong, reported that reishi mushrooms lowered blood sugar in laboratory animals in a study published in the May 2009 issue of the journal "Phytomedicine." Doses of 0.03 grams and 0.3 grams of reishi per kilogram body weight lowered blood glucose levels in diabetic animals within one week. Reishi did not lower insulin levels or a key enzyme in cholesterol synthesis. Researchers concluded that reishi may be helpful at lowering blood sugar levels by inhibiting a key enzyme the liver uses to produce glucose.

Drug Delivery System Reishi mushrooms may serve as a delivery system for a form of orally administered insulin, according to a study published in the July 2007 issue of the "International Journal of Molecular Medicine." In order for insulin to be taken orally, it has to be able to survive the acid environment of the stomach. Scientists have devised a system that uses a genetically engineered insulin gene injected into reishi mushroom spores. The insulin-modified reishi reduced blood glucose in 80 percent of diabetic study animals.

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With thanks - Last Updated: Jan 29, 2014 | By Tracey Roizman, D.C.