therapeutic properties. However, not everyone has a correct idea about its external signs, which allow to easily distinguish it from other trout mushrooms growing on birch trees and inexperienced collectors often mistaken for chaga.
Chaga is found on the trunks mainly of live birches and less frequently of some other species (alder, rowan, beech), but of practical importance are the outgrowths inhabiting only the trunks of live birches.
Chaga has the appearance of irregular, jelly-shaped, sometimes stretched along the length of the trunk outgrowths with black, heavily puckered and cracked uneven surface. They often reach large sizes (0.5 m or more in length and up to 40 cm or more in diameter) with a weight sometimes exceeding 2-5 kg. The inner tissue of these outgrowths is dark brown, very hard, and completely unscratchable by the nail, but towards the wood this tissue is somewhat lighter, not so hard, and often penetrated by small yellowish veins. The latter are usually more prominent at the base of the growths and in adjacent, already destroyed and altered layers of the substrate, where the fungal tissue is gradually mixed with completely destroyed wood particles.
Chaga overgrowths always develop on the places of broken off knots or frostbites, sunburns and all kinds of mechanical damages of tree bark; sometimes they stretch from top to bottom along the length of frost cracks up to 1 m and more.
Let's briefly describe the other trout mushrooms with which chaga is sometimes mixed. Such mushrooms can be: false trout fungus, true trout fungus, fringed trout fungus, birch sponge.
FALSE TRUTOVIC Fungus.
In color and hardness of the inner tissue, this mushroom most resembles the growths of chaga, but from the latter differs from the correct, in youth lumpy-spherical, then hoof-shaped or flattened-flat, sometimes almost prostrate cap. Its surface in youth is reddish or brownish, with pale gray down, with age concentric-bearded, becoming smooth, grayish-black, then black-brown, often covered with more or less deep cracks. Cap margin, blunted or bluntly rounded, rusty or rusty-brown to grayish-gray; tissue woody, very hard, most often reddish-brown or chestnut-brown; tubes equilibrate, annually forming a new layer covering the old one, the tubes of which gradually overgrow whitish, well-marked tissue. Tube pores are rounded, very small, 4-6 by 1 mm, with rusty-brown or chestnut-brown margins.If, apart from this description, we take into account that the fruiting bodies of the false trutovik fungus develop in most cases on dead trees and on stumps, it can never be mixed with chaga growths, although they are sometimes found together on dying and dead birch trees.
NEW TRUTHWORK.
By the same features and some others, mainly by the grayish-gray or brownish-leather-yellow, concentric-bearded, smooth surface of the cap, by the trout-like, wispy-corky, brownish-rusty or reddish inner tissue and by the light gray to the color of hazelnut shell surface of the tubular layer of the true mushroom trout differs from the two mushrooms described above.Note also the regular, hoof-shaped cap of a true trutus with a broad base, but attached only in the center of its upper part. Therefore, the fruiting bodies of the fungus of the real trutovik relatively easily removed from the trunk, which can not be said about false trutovik and even more so chaga.
OCAIMED TRUTH.
Although it is also perennial and has a similar form to the two preceding trutoviks, it is easily distinguished from them by the furrowed-zonal, light yellow, yellow-orange, reddish, reddish-chestnut or knobbly-red, and at the base sometimes gray, then black surface of its caps. Cap tissue corky-woody, pale or wood-colored, to creamy-reddish-brownish in old age; surface of tubular layer cream or wood-colored, to light coffee-colored.The growing orange-red edge of the cap is particularly characteristic of this mushroom. Its crust in older specimens is so impregnated with a resinous substance that it often receives a faint luster.
Birchwood.
This fungus is easily characterized by a kidney-shaped or flattened hoof-shaped, with a narrowed base annual cap, a bare, smooth, pale, yellowish-brownish in old age, radially wrinkled its surface, and a white, fleshy-pubescent, in the dry state loose-leathery, elastic tissue of the fruiting body. The surface of the tubular layer is whitish, with a brownish-yellow tint when drying.From the above descriptions of mushrooms it is easy to see how sharply chaga outgrowths differ from other mushrooms found on birch, so that, having at least elementary information about the morphology of these fungi, it is impossible to confuse them.
You can collect chaga all year round, but it is better to do it in spring, with the beginning of sap movement, in the fertile season of nature's awakening. And no matter how big, no matter how attractive a mushroom is - it should not be taken at the bottom, especially at the bases of old trees. The birch tree should be at least twenty years old, but not older than fifty years old either. And as the nightingale drinks the dew of the birch leaf - it is desirable to stop collecting. All these subtleties must be known and observed in order to have medicinal raw materials of high quality. Chaga is cut with an axe along the trunk, separate adhering pieces of bark and wood, remove the inner part and dried at a temperature of 50-60 ° C, pre-cut into pieces. Can also be dried outdoors in warm weather or in well-ventilated warm rooms. Dried chaga should be stored in a dry place. When dried, the chaga pieces thicken. The dry pieces are very hard, dark brown in color. When stored in a dry place, chaga does not lose its healing properties for 2 years.
From the medical literature we know several attempts of doctors dating back to the last century to find out the therapeutic effect of chaga on cancer patients. In 1858. physician E. Froben described a case of curing a severely ill parotid gland cancer patient with a decoction of birch sponge (chaga?). In 1862. Л. Furcht described a case of curing lip cancer in a patient by applying a decoction of chaga. The cancerous ulcer occupied 3/4 of the lower lip, and the submandibular gland was involved in the tumor process. Thick decoction of chaga was used internally and as a compress 3 times a day. The treatment lasted several months and ended with the complete disappearance of the cancerous tumor and cancerous ulcer.
The current use of chaga preparations in cancer treatment suggests that chaga has a stimulating effect on the central nervous system. In many patients who retained strength and did not get cachexia, chaga slows down further development of the tumor. Exceptions are patients in a state of pronounced cachexia, in which areactivity is observed, accompanied by depletion of reserve forces of the body. For them, treatment with chaga is ineffective.
Assessing the results of using chaga for the treatment of patients with stage four gastric cancer, the following can be noted:
1. The intensity and persistence of the positive effect of chaga depends on the initial state of the patient and the duration of treatment.
2. Chaga has a two-phase action - the first phase comes relatively quickly, within I-4 weeks (except for extremely seriously ill), and leads to a distinct improvement in health and condition, the second is revealed in 1.5-2 years and apparently contributes to a slower growth of the tumor and reduce its propensity to metastasize.
3. The disease with prolonged use of chaga proceeds with less rapid development of exhaustion and cancer intoxication and is characterized by significant weakening or complete removal of pain syndrome. Prolonged Treatment with chaga leads to lengthening the life of patients compared to patients with stage 4 gastric cancer, receiving chaga short-term.
In assessing the effectiveness of treatment of patients with stage 4 lung cancer, first of all, it should be noted the positive effect of chaga in the sense of improving the subjective state and well-being of patients, except for those who to the beginning of treatment are in extremely serious condition.
With short-term treatment with chaga for 4-6 months, only subjective improvement occurs, while tumor growth and tendency to metastasize continues. With long-term treatment with chaga, subjective improvement is followed by a slowing down of the cancer process and its spread. Consequently, prolonged use of chaga preparations prolongs the life of a patient with stage four lung cancer.
Also a distinct positive effect of chaga is revealed in patients with esophageal cancer of the fourth stage only with its long-term use and with preserved reactivity of the organism. Chaga in such patients at first acts as a tonic, causing (with the exception of extremely seriously ill) a distinct improvement in health and condition. The persistence of this improvement modifies the clinical course of the disease, leads to a decrease or complete disappearance of pain sensations, as well as to a slowing down of the development of dysphagic phenomena. All this with prolonged use of chaga leads to lengthening the life of patients. The mechanism of action of chaga remains unclear.
Treatment of patients with breast cancer of the fourth stage allows us to conclude that treatment with chaga not only causes improvement of well-being, but with its prolonged use leads to slowing the spread of cancer process. The positive effect of chaga depends on the initial state of patients at the beginning of treatment.
It should be noted that despite the small number of observations, a certain pattern is observed as a result of the use of chaga:
.1. Treatment with chaga regardless of the localization of the cancer process leads to a distinct improvement in the well-being of patients, with the exception of those who were in extremely serious condition.
2 The subjective improvement in long-term treatment with chaga is marked by persistence and duration.
3. Prolonged treatment with chaga appears to contribute to the tumor's lower propensity to metastasize, despite the longer duration of the disease.
The very fact of temporary restoration of strength and even performance of patients with stage four cancer in the treatment of chaga is of considerable interest, although so far only modest results have been achieved in the form of some extension of life of patients with stage four cancer and alleviate their suffering.
Infusion of chaga can be prepared at home. To do this, chaga is poured boiled water (temperature not exceeding 50-60 ° C) and insist 4 hours. Then soaked pieces of chaga are passed through a meat grinder or rubbed on a grater. For each part of crushed chaga add 5 parts of boiled water (temperature not exceeding 50-60 ° C) and insist 48 hours at room temperature. Then the liquid is drained, and the remainder is squeezed through several layers of gauze and to the resulting liquid add water, in which the chaga was infused at first. The prepared infusion can be stored for 4 days, taking into account. Take at least three glasses per day before meals daily. Drink it not only for stomach cancer, but also for almost all types of malignant neoplasms. If the tumor is in the pelvis (prostate cancer, rectal cancer, etc.). д.), then additionally do at night and early in the morning warm microclysters - 50-100 ml of infusion.
Successfully combined chaga with the root of the snake root, called popularly cancerous cervicals, serpentine. Rhizomes are dug up in late fall, washed in cold running water, removing strings of sinking roots, and dried for a long time, until they become stiff, as serpentine in storage does not tolerate humidity. Rhizomes of serpentine are very rich in tannins, have styptic, astringent and anti-inflammatory properties, they are sometimes used separately in aqueous infusion or in alcohol tincture for stomach and intestinal cancer with bleeding. However, it is preferable to consume serpentine together with chaga. 3 tablespoons of serpentine root and 3 tablespoons of crushed chaga pour 0.5 liters of vodka and insist in a dark place, occasionally shaking, two weeks, then strain and take 1 tablespoon three to six times a day before meals. Who does not tolerate alcohol, he can make a water infusion: one teaspoon of finely chopped root and chaga pour one glass of boiling water, insist in a hot oven or in a thermos overnight, strain. It is useful to add a quarter teaspoon of licorice root powder to this collection.
In folk medicine, it is recommended in almost all collections of medicinal plants to enhance their healing properties to add in small amounts (1/5 - 1/4 teaspoon) powder from the root of licorice naked, licorice naked improves the conductivity of drugs, and therefore improves their main effect. This should be taken into account in all previously discussed cases of birch preparations.
The medical industry produces a drug befungin, which is a semi-thick extract of chaga, to which cobalt salts are added. It is administered orally in the form of an aqueous solution, for which 2 teaspoons of the drug is diluted in 150 ml of warm boiled water and take 1 tablespoon 3 times a day for 30 minutes before meals.
During treatment with chaga preparations, penicillin, which is their antagonist, and intravenous glucose should not be administered.
Chaga preparations are also prescribed for chronic gastritis, dyskinesia of the gastrointestinal tract with a predominance of atony.
Treatment with chaga preparations is carried out in courses of 3-5 months with breaks between each course of 7-10 days. With long-term continuous use of chaga in some patients observed increased excitability of the autonomic nervous system, as well as dyspensic phenomena that disappear after discontinuation of chaga preparations. Chaga is contraindicated in patients with chronic colitis and chronic dysentery.
Chaga extract is an official drug used in the treatment of gastric and duodenal ulcers, gastric and intestinal polyposis.
Given the normalizing effect of chaga in gastrointestinal disorders, chaga preparations are useful for the treatment of persons with unfavorably current psoriasis, simultaneously suffering from chronic diseases of the gastrointestinal tract and liver.
In almost all patients, exacerbations of psoriasis often coincide with exacerbations of gastrointestinal diseases. In patients suffering from diseases of the nasopharynx, exacerbations of tonsillitis, inflammation of the middle ear or maxillary sinusitis - these diseases also often serve as causes of recurrences of dermatosis.
Chaga extract, befungin or infusion of chaga powder is recommended for patients suffering from psoriatic arthritis, psoriatic erythroderma, widespread large plaque psoriasis with massive plaque infiltration, widespread small plaque rashes, limited psoriatic rashes.
1 tablespoon of chaga extract should be heated on a boiling water bath and diluted in 1 cup of boiled water at room temperature. This solution is taken orally 1 tablespoon 3 times a day 20-30 minutes before meals daily. Aqueous solutions of befungin are prepared at the rate of 1 dessert spoon of befungin per 100 ml of warm boiled water. The resulting solution should be taken internally according to the same methodology.
Usually, resolution of psoriatic rashes is first seen on the trunk, then on the scalp, upper extremities and lastly on the thighs and shins. During the second and third months of treatment, the nail plates affected by psoriasis are normalized. When treating with chaga preparations, a plant-based diet should be prescribed.
In malignant tumors of the larynx, there is often reactive inflammation of the tissues surrounding the tumor. In these cases, it is advisable to use chaga extract in aerosols. It is necessary to prescribe chaga in the form of inhalations at the rate of 40 g of extract per 200 g of water. For the course of treatment, 10 treatments with a duration of 5-6 minutes should be prescribed. As a rule, after five inhalations there is an improvement in well-being, pain in the larynx disappears, dysphagia is eliminated, the general condition improves, sleep normalizes, appetite appears, breathing improves.
The therapeutic effect of chaga extract in aerosols for diseases of the larynx is so effective that in some cases completely eliminated inflammatory processes in the larynx.
In many areas of Russia, villagers, lacking tea, use chaga to "paint". As a result, cancer is a rare occurrence in these areas..
