Medicinal Mushrooms Part 7: Oyster Mushrooms, Delicious Control

   Oyster mushroom (Hiratake, píng gū, 平菇) is a famous edible mushroom that has been eaten as a delicacy around the world for centuries. This mushroom lives up to its name, in that the taste and texture are similar to oysters. Most people find it is one of the tastiest of the normal mushrooms; adding
Continue reading…

Detox – A Good Way to Make a Fresh Start

‘Tis the season! Oh, you thought it was over? In January and February every year our clinic feels somewhat like a confessional. “Forgive me Father for I have sinned. I haven’t eaten right in 30 days. I cannot believe how much I went off the wagon over the festive season.”  The post Christmas season is
Continue reading…

Medicinal Mushrooms Part 6: Cordyceps, the Energetic One

Cordyceps, in its many forms, has been used since the 15th century in China and Tibet, while also being used by indigenous peoples around the world.1,2 I have seen it growing in diverse places like China and the Amazon. Its Chinese name dong chong xia cao literally means “winter bug, summer herb,” a reference to
Continue reading…

Medicinal Mushroom Part 5: Chaga, the Siberian Wonder

I was first introduced to Chaga (under another name), over a campfire talk by a Cree Elder from Northern Alberta, in the late 1980s. I was one of several instructors in a survival course on the lovely Kootenay Plains.  We were gathered to put on a weeklong course on various primitive technologies that could be
Continue reading…