Immune Enhancement: Make Red Reishi Your “Personal Trainer”
Dr. Meg Jordan
We’ve learned a great deal recently about the immune system. Just imagine a vast interconnected system of component cells that communicate with each other. Some cells are warriors; some engulfers; others nudge another cell to do its job.
In fact, scientists discovered that you actually have two immune systems–the innate one you’re born with that remains unchanged and a secondary one known as the adaptive immune system, which benefits from having “personal trainers”, or natural compounds that activate the adaptive immune cells.
Diet, exercise, and managed stress help the immune system function properly. But when it falters, (i.e., not detecting cancer cells or getting frequent colds) then
Immunity needs a boost. That is when adaptogens can come into play, botanicals that improve the body’s ability to cope with stress, disease, and immune system breakdown. Red reishi, or Ling Zhi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum), is the monarch of adaptogens.
Over 30 years of study proves that red reishi has the highest concentration of phytonutrients such as betaglucans and triterpenes or ganoderic acids. It boosts your body’s natural defense and combats infection. More importantly, because red reishi is an immune modulator, it has the ability to detect what is needed, and give it the right nudge in the right direction—an extraordinary feat no drug has duplicated.
Red reishi also benefits T-cells, cytokines, and macrophages—all important players. And red reishi can safely be taken every day without risk of toxicity or build-up. It’s your immune system’s personal trainer … don’t go a day without it.
Dr. Meg Jordan, PhD, RN, CWP, is a medical anthropologist known as the Global Medicine Hunter®. She is an integrative health specialist, international health journalist, and a professor at the California Institute of Integral Studies.
