Mankind has been searching for over 50,000 years to find or concoct the ultimate cure all panacea, since the dawn of time shamans and healers alike have come to find Cordycep sinensis to be a substance so effective and revered that it was exclusively reserved for use by the Royal bloodline in China in ancient times. Scientific analysis has shown the remarkable properties of cordyceps sinensis are more than just flippery and superstituion, this is becuase cordyceps sinensis has become a new generation of medicinal mushroom being researched and used by pharmaceutical companies for medicine and extracts whilst the more informed individual is now seeking alternative treatments for HIV, cancer or AID’s and has come to use cordyceps sinenis for boosting their immune system and health.

Cordyceps is considered a “food” by the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and is classified as “generally recognized as safe” (GRAS). A growing number of researchers now consider it to be a “superfood” that can be included in almost every diet. So why are these rediscovered mushrooms now regarded as superfoods?

Most diseases thrive in an oxygen deficient environment which usually coincides with a person’s body being in a degenerative state whilst conventional therapies have tried to address diseases with a variety of drugs. Cordyceps sinensis is able to address a wide range of diseases and ailments with its unique combination of Cordysepic acid. adenosine, polysaccharides and its extremely high count of beta glucans. The long sugar chains of polysaccharides are rich with oxygen sections, when metabolised by the body day release the oxygen which is absorbed at the cellular level promoting an oxygen rich environment which is not conducive to do development of cancer, HIV, heart disease along with diabetes and other afflictions major or minor. Even silent or stealth infections such as lymes disease or hepatitis C. are affected by cordyceps sinensis

The key is how to deliver oxygen to the body on a cellular level. This host of pharmaceutical mushrooms includes such well-known products as Reishi, Maitake and Agaricus which are rich in beta-glucans, known sources for oxygen. This list continues to grow, with clinical studies now including more than 70 different mushroom species. The most interesting one to emerge is Cordyceps sinensis, which grows at about 16,000 feet (4,877 metres) in Tibet. Cordyceps sinensis increases ATP (adenosine triphosphate) levels in the body by almost 28 per cent. ATP is also used by the body to complete the sophisticated processes which need enzymes to regulate and maintain the body, by increasing the levels of Adenosine Triphosphate in the body these enzyme processes are helped along with a feeling of extra strength and all symptoms of tiredness and fatigue are reduced or gone.

cordyceps is effective at treating cancer because it contains high concentrations of beta glucans and polysaccharides, the cancerous cells are destroyed when the body metabolises the sugars and releases its oxygen molecules on the cellular level. Interestingly cordycepin interrupts the DNA repair cycle and is probably responsible for its antiviral capabilities (HIV treatment). Currently there is much debate on whether to use the free body or standardised extract or mycelium broth to achieve the full beneficial effects. It has been speculated that all of the mushroom including mycelium in the gound, fruit body and flower are needed to catalyse each other for more potent effectsand some forms of reproduction. Broth. In cultivated mushroom products, the mycelium can be grown either by fermentation, in a tank full of liquid “broth”, or on a solid substrate of some material that is found in the natural growth condition. For the production of many mushroom-derived drugs and health supplements, the compounds are extracted not from the mycelium but from the broth in which the mycelium is grown.

Some additional health benefits of Cordyceps are outlined below.

Enhances physical stamina
this is the most prominent effects of cordyceps sinensis and could be the byproduct of increased ATP levels (adenosine Triphosphate) in the body. Studies have shown ATP increases of 28% – 55% in the body, this is especially important and beneficial for athletes because of its ability to reduce recovery time and provide sports enhancement benefits because of its ability to make the body utilise oxygen more efficiently. This would account for the overall enhancement of the user physically and the extra endurance and stamina that is felt when using cordyceps sinensis
Clinical research has shown that cordyceps use increased cellular bio-energy ATP (adenosine triphosphate)by as much as 55 per cent. Increased synthesis of ATP and faster energy recovery have been reported. It would seem that Cordyceps improves the internal balance mechanism, thus making the utilisation of oxygen more efficient. These properties may account for the overall physical enhancement, the extra endurance and the anti-fatigue effects that are seen in humans using Cordyceps.

Improves respiratory function
tuberculosis along with chronic bronchitis and asthma as exemplified cordyceps sinensis ability to treat and improve respiratory functions resulting in cellular oxygen absorption increasing by 40%.

Increases oxygen absorption
marked improvements in the ability to assimilate oxygen were seen in a double blind test study on 30 volunteers who were elderly or in retirement, cellular oxygen absorption improved by up to 40% in additional, obstructive pulmonary disease afflicted patients had relief and marked improvements also..

Improves heart function
cordyceps sinensis has demonstrated its benefits by treating chronic heart failure and cardiac arrhythmia (heart rhythm disturbances)

Helps maintain healthy cholesterol levels
Four studies have demonstrated that Cordyceps Sinensis helped to lower total cholesterol by 10-21 per cent and triglycerides (neutral fats) by 9-26 per cent, and at the same time helped to increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol by 27-30 per cent.

Improves liver functions
Cordyceps sinensis has been shown to improve liver functions as well as help with cirrhosis, sub-chronic and chronic hepatitis and related liver diseases which are more prevalent than most people think. The liver is the living filter of the body, cleaning the blood and all other fluids of impurities. There is no way for you to survive, much less feel healthy, without a functioning liver. Clinical trials with Cordyceps supplement involving 33 patients with hepatitis B and eight patients with cirrhosis of the liver showed a 71.9 per cent improvement on the thymol turbidity test and a 78.6 per cent improvement on the SGPT test. These are enzyme tests showing changes in liver functions.

Improves kidney disease
chronic kidney disease patients showed an impressive 51% improvement in their health after taking dietary supplements of cordyceps sinensis.

Reduces tumour size
Several clinical studies with cancer patients have been conducted in China and Japan, using a therapeutic dose of 6.0 grams of cordyceps per day. In one study with 50 lung cancer patients who were administered cordyceps in conjunction with
chemotherapy, tumours reduced in size in 46 per cent of patients. A study involving cancer patients with various types of tumours found that Cordyceps Sinensis extract (6.0 grams/day for over two months) improved subjective symptoms in the majority of patients. White blood cell counts were maintained and tumour size was significantly reduced in about half of the patients.

Researchers in Japan reported that Cordyceps enhances the general reactivity of the immune system in individuals with cancer. To discover this, they subcutaneously injected mice with cancerous (lymphoma) cells and then orally administered Cordyceps. This led to a reduction of tumour size and prolonged life. Cordyceps also improved the antibody responses in these studies.

Enhances immunity and T-cell production
A byproduct of increased NK cell activity is T-cell production, this results in expanding muscle mass for the user. Studies have shown cordyceps sinensis is able to increase natural killer cell activity in leukaemia patients by 400% whilst normal patients improved their NK activity by 74%. Similar benefits were found in studies on patients with large melanoma tumours.
In a Chinese study, published in the Chinese Journal of Integrated Traditional and Western Medicine, natural Cordyceps enhanced the NK cell activity of normal patients by 74 per cent and increased the NK activity of leukaemia patients by 400 per cent. Similar improvements of NK cell activities were found in large melanoma tumours.

Assists symptoms of ageing
Clinical research in controlled studies has revealed that elderly patients suffering from fatigue and senility related symptoms reported relief in these areas after using Cordyceps for 30 days. Their fatigue was reduced by 92 per cent, their feeling of cold by 89 per cent and their dizziness by 83 per cent. Patients with respiratory/breathing problems felt physically stronger and some individuals were able to jog up to 600 feet (183 metres).

Protects against free radical damage
empirical studies state that cordyceps sinensis provides free radical protection because of its powerful antioxidant properties

Helps discomfort from tired legs
cordyceps sinensis is able to reduce or prevent the contraction of blood vessels, this resolves in improved blood flow to the legs, this is achieved by relaxing the smooth muscles of blood vessels, allowing them to expand. Secondary effects are enhanced functioning of the heart and lungs.

Improves sexual function
Three separate Chinese double-blind, placebo controlled studies with over 200 men with “reduced libido and other sexual problems” showed remarkably similar results. On average, 64 per cent of the Cordyceps-users reported significant improvement at the conclusion of the experimental period compared with 24 per cent of the placebo group. In another double-blind, placebo-controlled study conducted with 21 elderly women with similar complaints, 90 per cent reported improvements of their condition following the use of Cordyceps, compared with none in the control group

Cordyceps has been shown to improve libido and quality of life in men and women, fight infertility and increase sperm count and survival. Clinical studies involving 189 male and female patients with decreased libido and desire showed improvement of symptoms in 66 per cent of cases. A double-blind study conducted by the Institute of Materia Medica in Beijing showed an 86 per cent improvement in female libido and desire. The most dramatic physical proof came from a fertility study involving 22 males which showed that, after eight weeks of taking a Cordyceps supplement, their sperm count increased by 33 per cent, their incidence of sperm malformations decreased by 29 per cent and their sperm survival rate increased by 79 per cent.

Reverses HIV
in late 2004 study free fouls on HIV patients in Ghana were given a formula with cordyceps sinensis as the primary ingredient. When results came back the most amazing thing happened. All 3000 patients had no trace of HIV in their blood.

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