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Chaga Mushrooms' Immune & Anticancer Potential
Plus: the answer to yesterday's brainteaser
The 10almonds Team
September 18, 2023
Today’s almonds have been activated by:
Answer to yesterday’s brain-teaser:
We asked you…
If 1+9+8=1, then 2+8+9=?
We received many answers, of which the overwhelming majority chose “2”, with a wide and varied assortment of justifications for such.
One justification did stand out, though: several people argued that eight and nine haven’t changed values, so if 1+9+8=18=1 then 2+8+9=19=2.
But, that (very understandable approach!) is trying to solve it with algebra, and algebra doesn’t use digits to stand for different digits; there would have to be at least one letter (or other non-digit character to stand in for such) in there somewhere.
Simply put, in algebra one cannot have “18=1”, for example (it can have 18a=1, sure, where a=1/18, or even 18=1a, where a=18, but 18=1, no, that contradicts itself), so algebra wasn’t the way.
As an interesting topical aside, the above approach was essentially doing algebra like a physicist. Something didn’t add up, so you added a theoretical dark number (like dark matter etc) to make it add up.
The answer we were looking for, however, was 10!
One + Nine + Eight = ONE
Two + Eight + Nine = TEN
But! Whatever answer you came to, by whatever means, the important part is that your brain was sufficiently stimulated along the way. It’s about the process, not the intended answer!
⏰ IN A RUSH?
Today’s 30-Second Summary
If you don’t have time to read the whole email today, here are some key takeaways:
Chaga mushrooms have enjoyed a long use as a folk remedy in Northern Europe and Siberia, mostly to boost immunity, mostly in the form of a herbal tea.
There’s plenty of science to show that chaga indeed boosts the immune system, fights inflammation, fights cancer, and even combats diabetes… all in mice.
There have also been studies on cancerous human cells in petri dishes, but nothing in actual living humans, yet.
Chaga does also contain a protein that can prevent blood clotting, so that can be good or bad depending on who’s taking it and when and why.
The lack of human studies means we can’t really know much about its safety, or even know what an appropriate dose might be, at this time.
We considered skipping doing a research review on chaga, due to the lack of human studies, but it’s a popular supplement, so we thought we might as well put this information out there, rather than leave people wondering.
For many, the mouse studies and petri dish studies may be sufficient that you want to try it
For many, the lack of human trials and safety profile may be sufficient to put you off
Losing weight (healthily!) can be a challenge. Keeping that weight off can be even harder.
Today’s sponsor, the Mayo Clinic Diet, is a medically-backed, globally-trusted method that focuses on changing your daily routine by adding and breaking habits that make a difference to your weight.
Read on to learn about these things and more…
👀 WATCH AND LEARN
Exercises for strength and mobility
Full body integrated movements are key to improving overall mobility and movement quality. These exercises are examples of movements that'll make you stronger, more coordinated, and more in control:
Exercise menu:
💊 MAIN FEATURE
What Do Chaga Mushrooms Do?
Chaga mushrooms, which also go by other delightful names including “sterile conk trunk rot” and “black mass”, are a type of fungus that grow on birch trees in cold climates such as Alaska, Northern Canada, Northern Europe, and Siberia.
They’ve enjoyed a long use as a folk remedy in Northern Europe and Siberia, mostly to boost immunity, mostly in the form of a herbal tea.
Let’s see what the science says…
Does it boost the immune system?
It definitely does if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any studies on humans yet. But for example:
(cytokines are special proteins that regulate the immune system, and Chaga tells them to tell the body to produce more white blood cells)
Wait, does that mean it increases inflammation?
Definitely not if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any studies on humans yet. But for example:
Anti-inflammatory things often fight cancer. Does chaga?
Definitely if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any studies in human cancer patients yet. But for example:
While in vivo human studies are conspicuous by their absence, there have been in vitro human studies, i.e., studies performed on cancerous human cell samples in petri dishes. They are promising:
I heard it fights diabetes; does it?
You’ll never see this coming, but: definitely if you’re a mouse! We couldn’t find any human studies yet. But for example:
Is it safe?
Honestly, there simply have been no human safety studies to know for sure, or even to establish an appropriate dosage.
Its only-partly-understood effects on blood sugar levels and the immune system may make it more complicated for people with diabetes and/or autoimmune disorders, and such people should definitely seek medical advice before taking chaga.
Additionally, chaga contains a protein that can prevent blood clotting. That might be great by default if you are at risk of blood clots, but not so great if you are already on blood-thinning medication, or otherwise have a bleeding disorder, or are going to have surgery soon.
As with anything, we’re not doctors, let alone your doctors, so please consult yours before trying chaga.
Where can we get it?
We don’t sell it (or anything else), but for your convenience, here’s an example product on Amazon.
Enjoy!
❤️ OUR SPONSORS MAKE THIS PUBLICATION POSSIBLE
Mayo Clinic Diet: effective, practical, and healthy weight loss
Losing weight (healthily!) can be a challenge. Keeping that weight off can be even harder. But, you don't have to do it alone:
The Mayo Clinic Diet is a medically-backed, globally-trusted method that focuses on changing your daily routine by adding and breaking habits that make a difference to your weight.
The benefits are far more than we could list here, but include:
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See also: General Info | Pricing | How it Works | Free Diet Assessment
Please do visit our sponsors—they help keep 10almonds free
🌏 AROUND THE WEB
What’s happening in the health world…
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How education, work and motherhood shape women's life pathways
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More to come tomorrow!
📖 ONE-MINUTE BOOK REVIEW
The Plant-Based Athlete: A Game-Changing Approach to Peak Performance – by Matt Frazier and Robert Cheeke
If you're already a seasoned plant-based athlete yourself, you can probably skip this book; the 60 recipes at the end would still provide value, but there is the "No Meat Athlete Cookbook" that you could hop straight to, in any case.
For most readers, there will be plenty of value from start to finish. We get a quick ground-up tour of nutrition basics, before getting into restructuring diet to optimize it for performance.
There is less in the way of "Vegans struggle with..." and more in the way of "People think vegans struggle with..." and explanations of what vegan athletes actually eat. The book does include science, but isn't too science-heavy, and relies more on modelling what plant-based superathletes enjoy on a daily basis.
To that end, if the book has a weak point, it's perhaps that it could have stood to include more science. The book comes recommended by Dr. Michael Greger, whose nutritional approach is incredibly science-heavy and well-referenced, and this book is obviously compatible with that (so they could have!), but in this case Frazier and Cheeke leave us to take their word for it.
Nevertheless, the science is good whether they cite it or not, and this book is quite a comprehensive primer of plant-based athleticism.
Bottom line: if you're wondering how to optimize the two goals of "eating plants" and "being a powerful athlete", then this one's the book for you.
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Wishing you the very most well-informed start to the week,
The 10almonds Team