Dosage Recommendations Vary Based on the Form Used
Unlike some foods or supplements, the dose of reishi mushroom can vary substantially based on which type is used.
The highest doses are seen when someone consumes the Mushroom Edibles itself. In these cases, doses may range from 25 to 100 grams, depending on the size of the mushroom.
Commonly, a dried extract of the mushroom is used instead. In these cases, the dose is approximately 10 times less than when the mushroom itself is consumed.
For example, 50 grams of reishi mushroom itself may be comparable to approximately 5 grams of the mushroom extract. Doses of the mushroom extract vary but typically range from approximately 1.5 to 9 grams per day .
Additionally, some supplements use only certain portions of the extract. In these cases, the recommended doses may be much lower than the values reported above.
Because the suggested dose can vary widely based on which form of the mushroom is used, it is very important to know which type you are taking.
Possible Side Effects and Dangers
Despite its popularity, there are those who have questioned the safety of reishi mushroom.
Some research found that those who took reishi mushroom for 4 months were almost two times as likely to experience a side effect as those taking a placebo.
However, these effects were minor and included a slightly increased risk of upset stomach or digestive distress. No adverse effects on liver health were reported.
Other research also indicated that four weeks of taking reishi mushroom extract did not produce any detrimental effects on the liver or kidneys in healthy adults.
In contrast to these reports, significant liver problems have been reported in two case studies.
Both of the people in the case studies had previously used reishi mushroom without problems but experienced adverse effects after switching to a powdered form.
This makes it difficult to know for certain if the mushroom itself was responsible for the observed liver damage or if there were problems with the powdered extract.
It is also important to note that many studies of reishi mushroom have not reported safety data, so limited information is available overall.
Nevertheless, there are several groups of people who should probably avoid reishi.
These include those who are pregnant or breastfeeding, have a blood disorder, will be undergoing surgery or have low blood pressure.
Preliminary testing shows that a shiitake mushroom extract shows promise in curing HPV.
An early, pre-clinical trial has shown that Active Hexose Correlated Compound (AHCC), an extract from shiitake mushrooms, can kill the human papillomavirus (HPV), the most common sexually transmitted infectionTrusted Source in the U.S.
A study by Dr. Judith A. Smith, Pharm.D., an associate professor in the department of gynecologic oncology and reproductive medicine at the University of Texas MD Anderson Cancer Center in Houston, also discovered that AHCC lowered the rate of ovarian tumor growth.
The research was presented at the Society of Gynecological Oncology’s recent meeting in Tampa, Florida.
AHCC Effective in Mice
For the study, Smith treated cervical cancer cells with AHCC and incubated them for 72 hours, sampling them every 24 hours. She also gave doses of AHCC to mice that were positive and negative for HPV.
The mice with HPV were cured after receiving a daily dose of AHCC for 90 days, and the virus did not return for 30 days after treatment stopped. Smith repeated the experiment to verify her findings, examining immune markers to pinpoint how AHCC gets rid of HPV.
Human and animal studies have shown that AHCC boosts the number and activity of natural killer cells called dendritic cells and cytokines. Smith said that these cells allow the body to respond to infections and block tumor growth.
Smith’s research shows that AHCC can not only get rid of HPV—it may also help prevent HPV-related cancers. She is currently conducting another study on women with HPV to see how long the treatment should continue in order to produce effective results.
