Maitake mushrooms

The maitake mushroom, Grifola frondosa, is a mushroom that grows in Japan, Europe and North America and is well known and appreciated for its medicinal properties. In Japanese, maitake means dancing mushroom because, according to a legend, people danced when they could find this mushroom, according to another tradition the name would come from the shape of the mushroom that is like a cloud of butterflies. The maitake mushroom mainly plays two roles, first it is able to strengthen the immune system and then it can control the body weight and improve metabolism. In fact, the mushroom produces proteins and fibers, which bring a sense of satiety and contrast nervous hunger. In addition to this, fibers improve bowel function and help to keep blood glucose under control. In fact, the intake of maitake would be able to improve the glucose use and insulin sensitivity by the cells and this is a very useful property in case of type 2 diabetes. This result is reported in the study published on the Journal of Pharmacy and Pharmacology in 2007. The maitake mushroom also reduces the absorption and accumulation of fat in the liver and for these characteristics it is one of the most effective medicinal mushrooms able to reduce body weight in overweight. But, as anticipated, the maitake mushroom also acts as an immunostimulant. In fact, a 2002 study published on the Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, performed by a group of researchers at Kobe Pharmaceutical University, Japan, showed that a substance derived from the maitake mushroom can boost the immune system by stimulating white blood cells important in the fight against tumors. Another study published in 2008 on the same magazine reported the role of maitake as an activator of NK, namely natural killer, cells, thereby inhibiting tumor metastases. Finally, this mushroom also helps to assimilate calcium, which is useful in preventing and fighting osteoporosis. You can find the maitake mushrooms in dried form, in this case they can be added, after soaking, to soups, rice or side dishes, alternatively you can take this mushroom in the form of supplement, in this case you can take 3 capsules per day for one month.