(Non Psychoactive) Chaga Mushrooms.

I've heard that these are good for you in many ways, in particular I am interested in how they could help my friend with asthma and allergies - Is possible to smoke them? If so do you smoke dry raw mushrooms, or do you put drops of extract onto another smoking base?

I don't know about smoking them, but with the RAW mushroom you would want to make a decoction with them. That means boiling them, or simmering them, in water for about 30-40 minutes. Do this a number of times until you feel the mushroom is exhausted.

As far as asthma and allergies, I'd recommend Reishi, Schizandra and/or Cordyceps.

I'll link you to some stuff in a pm.

An authentic chaga tea receipe (evidently done this way in Asia)
2- 3pieces of cut up chaga, each piece about 1 cu in.
Simmer an hour in about a gallon of water. Strain but keep the pieces of chaga.
Drink 1-2 cups a day.
You can reuse the chaga pieces two more times...that is, for two more gallons of tea.

Lots of research into chaga's cancer and tumor fighting abilities.

Thank you that has given me plenty to read

i love chaga... & could sense its ancient noble forest spirit from the very first sip...

it is delicious - rich, dark, full-bodied, often compared to coffee, tho perhaps less bitter.

it seems highly unlikely that they could or should be smoked. the outer flesh is rock hard and the inner flesh is of a corky texture - neither seems conducive to pyrolation.

however prolonged boiling (at least 20-30 mins per cup) is recommended... there is speculation that some of the active compounds require extended heat to be drawn into the water. & as mentioned it can be re-boiled several times.

there is possibly a 'doctrine of signatures'-like connection here - the external appearance of chaga is very similar to charred, blackened, burnt wood - suggesting the intense heat necessary to render it fully potent!

i can't find a reference, but i recall reading somewhere that chaga may contain some sort of GABA-modulating compounds? intuitively this feels reasonable as i usually perceive a subtle relaxation & moodlift when drinking chaga.

i don't know about benefits for allergies or asthma, but it certainly has a reputation for being potently anti-carcinogenic/anti-mutagenic, immuno-modulatory, blood-sugar regulating & purifying, & good for the stomach too.

according to wikipedia it stimulates "the production of interferons, which helps induce DNA repair."
and indeed at times i can sense its healing on a cellular and even genetic level.

hooray for chaga! blessings and gratitude!

Do any of you grow your own?

Im having trouble finding chaga spores, i can only find pills/capsules of chaga...

^ i have the impression that they might be tricky to cultivate. i presume the spores would have to be inoculated into living birch trees. a great area of research for mycologists tho!

forget the capsules, you want big chunks of fungus that you can cut, shred, or powder...

i highly recommend this source: http://www.botanicalpres...orps.com/mushrooms_1.htm

i ordered 1 pound of chaga from BPC and was extremely satisfied with its quality

Thanks for the reply, i'll try finding a UK supplier if not i may import some from that site, maybe i should take a walk to the chinese herbal shop up the road...

Or even better take a walk in a birch forest and harvest a big chunk yourself! That's the perfect season right now to spot them as the leaves have fallen, you have plenty of birch tree in the UK make the most of it

Good luck