Recently while out for a hike in the woods we were lucky enough to spot what many refer to as the "Mushroom of Immortality"!

The Reishi mushroom, "Ganoderma lucidum" or "Ling Zhi" in Chinese, have been used throughout history and are considered an "adaptogen" known to help with inflammation, hormonal imbalance, energy, and even damaged blood vessels.

These mushrooms are rarely found....out of 10,000 trees only 2 or 3 will have Reishi growth. They can be found in old growth Hemlock forests on fallen trees. They're also found an dead but still standing trees.

Having been used for over 4000 years it is one of the most researched mushrooms around.

With over 400 known bioactive compounds including Beta-Glucans, Polysaccharides, Triterpinoids, and Sterols, some of the researched benefits of the Reishi Mushroom include:

Detoxification
Respiratory support
Reduced inflammation
Immune system support
Antioxidant
Lower blood pressure
Neutralizes free radicals
Cancer prevention

Preclinical studies have established that the Ganoderma lucidum polysaccharide (GLPS) fractions have potent anti-tumor activity, which has been associated with the immuno-stimulating effects - You can read the abstract HERE

As you can see, today were cutting our Reishi to make a tincture. Once they have been cut and placed on trays we put them into the dehydrator for several hours until completely dried. Whatever we don't use for our tincture will be saved in jars, vacuum sealed and made into tea.

Our tincture is made by breaking the dried slices into smaller pieces, we place them into a large jar and submerge them in Vodka.

This will sit for between 4 and 8 weeks and will then be ready to be made into a dual extraction.
By bringing some water to a boil, placing the mushrooms from the tincture into the boiling water and simmering for about 2 hours and then mixing the alcohol tincture and the water extraction together we will have a nice supply of dual extracted Reishi with health benefits that have been known for thousands of years!