#Mummy Mushroom releases spores | Explore Tumblr posts and blogs

dreddymd · 4 years ago

Text

Birch Polypore: A Mushroom for Immunity, Gut Health & More

Source: Birch Polypore: A Mushroom for Immunity, Gut Health & More

by Dr. Edward Group

In 1991, scientists discovered a 5,300-year-old mummy named Ӧtzi the Iceman in the Italian Alps. Amazingly, some of Ӧtzi’s possessions were preserved along with him, including a leather pouch with supplies for his mountain journey. What was in the pouch? Tools, weapons, and pieces of a birch polypore mushroom.[1, 2]

Why has this mushroom withstood more than five millennia of use? Far from just a tasty ingredient in your favorite recipe, edible fungi like the birch polypore mushroom offer a wide variety of health benefits — from immune system-boosting to soothing the gut to providing a boost of energy. Let’s dig into some of the ways this fantastic fungus can improve your health and wellness.

What Is the Birch Polypore Mushroom?

Also known as birch bracket or razor strop, the birch polypore mushroom got its name because it grows from dead birch wood, but not on living trees.[3] Scientifically, it’s called Fomitopsis betulina (formerly Piptoporus betulinus). The mushroom’s tough and woody fruiting body — the cushiony-looking part of the mushroom that grows out of wood like a pancake — is usually tan or greyish-brown in color.[3]

As with other bracket fungi mushrooms, the birch polypore’s fruiting body is kidney-shaped like a shelf or bracket.[3] Its mycelium, the threadlike tubes that branch out on a fungus, are white and downy.[3] They’re called “polypore” mushrooms because they have many small pores on the white undersurface where the spores come from. After the mushroom releases its spores, the undersurface turns black and is no longer good to use or eat.

You can find these unique mushrooms in northern temperate forests throughout North America, Europe, and Asia.[3] Cultures around the world value them both as a source of nutrition and as an herbal remedy.[3] Some believe that tea made with the fruiting bodies can strengthen the weak and soothe the stressed.[4]

The birch polypore also contains essential fatty acids, including alpha-linoleic acid, oleic acid, and palmitooleic acid, as well as agaric acid that was traditionally used to stop harmful organisms.[5] Mushrooms, including this one, are some of the few plant-based natural sources of vitamin D.[5]

Modern science supports the traditional use of the birch polypore mushroom to promote wellness. Ӧtzi the Iceman (not to be confused with Wim Hof the Iceman) was onto something!

Benefits of the Birch Polypore

The birch polypore mushroom contains bioactive substances that can provide benefits throughout the body. Here are some of those benefits.

Boosts the Immune System

If you’re looking to add immune-boosting nutrition to your wellness plan, mushrooms like the birch polypore are a great place to start. Like many other mushrooms, the birch polypore has a long history of use for enhancing immunity.[6]

Birch polypore mushroom extract can cause a strong increase in the release of interferon-gamma (IFNγ), a cytokine that helps your immune system respond to invaders.[6] Birch polypore also protects monocytes, white blood cells made in the bone marrow.[6]

Birch polypore extract appears to boost the secretion of interleukin-8 (IL-8), a substance that promotes immune cell growth. The bottom line is that the birch polypore can support a healthy immune system.

Soothes the Gut

A healthy digestive system is key to overall wellness, so it’s important to provide yours with nutritional support. People have long used the birch polypore mushroom as an herbal remedy for gastrointestinal concerns. It promotes regular bowel movements and can even ease stomach discomfort.[5]

Mushrooms, in general, help keep your gastrointestinal system balanced. They can act as prebiotics, providing beneficial bacteria in your gut with fuel and food. Having enough of the right kinds of good bacteria prevents other microbes like Candida albicans yeast and harmful bacteria from going overboard. This maintains gut balance and protects against illness.[7]

Deters Harmful Organisms

Not only does birch polypore promote the health of your microbiome, but it actually can deter the harmful organisms in the gut — and elsewhere in the body. Birch polypore and other basidiomycetes mushrooms may be able to slow or stop the growth of many harmful organisms in lab conditions, with more research needed on how it works in the body.[3]

What gives the birch polypore mushroom the ability to deter harmful organisms? This mushroom is so rich in bioactive substances that it’s hard to pinpoint which one is behind this particular health-boosting power, but experts believe it could be its triterpenoids.[3]

Prevents Overactive Cell Proliferation

When harmful cells begin to grow in the body, they can be hard to stop. Studies suggest that the birch polypore mushroom contains substances that may help to prevent the proliferation of these harmful cells, namely its triterpenes.[5]

Extracts made from birch polypore mushroom can stop the proliferation of harmful or irregular cells. This can keep them from multiplying and spreading.[5] These extracts appear to counteract harmful cells affecting the skin, colon, and prostate.[5]

Reduces Redness & Swelling

Birch polypore mushrooms promote a normal response to inflammation in the body. While temporary redness and swelling are a normal part of the body’s immune response, the long-term effects of inflammation can lead to health issues. Anti-inflammatory substances can help when redness and swelling are chronic.

The birch polypore mushroom may inhibit enzymes that contribute to systemic redness and swelling.[3] Compounds called phenolic acids in the fruiting bodies and mycelium of birch polypore mushrooms may also reduce redness and swelling, thanks to their antioxidant properties.[5] Antioxidants prevent oxidative damage, which contributes to redness and swelling throughout the body — not to mention aging and disease.

Ways to Use the Birch Polypore Mushroom

There are several ways to reap the nutritional and wellness-boosting benefits of the birch polypore mushroom. Here are some of them.

Fresh Mushrooms

While you can harvest fresh mushrooms from the wild, we recommend you should never attempt this unless you’re accompanied by an expert mushroom hunter and taxonomist who can identify them for you. Many edible mushrooms bear a strong resemblance to other, poisonous varieties, and harvesting the wrong one could be deadly.

Dried Mushrooms, Powder, & Capsules

Dried birch polypore mushrooms are another option for use. The dried mushrooms can also be made into a powder that can be dissolved in liquid or put into empty vegetarian capsules. Make sure to buy organic supplements from reputable companies who take care with their supply chain and production process.

Mushroom Tea

You can make birch polypore immuno-enhancing tea by steeping fresh or dried mushrooms in hot water. You may also dissolve mushroom powder in water to make tea.

Herbal Extracts

In the tradition of infusions, herbal extracts made with birch polypore provide healing benefits in a concentrated form. You can find extracts or infusions of birch polypore alone or an extract with other ingredients.

Points to Remember

Selenium

Ӧtzi the Iceman knew what he was doing when he packed his pouch with birch polypore mushroom pieces. This fantastic fungus grows on birch trees and has been used for thousands of years to support wellness.

The birch polypore mushroom may boost the immune system and soothe gastrointestinal issues. It can also deter harmful organisms and prevent damaging cells from proliferating. And birch polypore mushrooms might be able to reduce redness and swelling throughout the body, thus promoting a normal response to inflammation.

You can use the birch polypore mushroom in several different ways. It can be harvested from the wild (under expert guidance), enjoyed dried and powdered, or brewed into a tea or as an herbal extract.

Do you have a favorite way to use mushrooms like the birch polypore? We’d love to hear about it in the comments.

References (7)

Wierer U, et al. The Iceman’s lithic toolkit: Raw material, technology, typology and use. PLoS One. 2018;13(6):e0198292.

Stamets P, Zwickey H. Medicinal mushrooms: Ancient remedies meet modern science. Integr Med (Encinitas). 2014;13(1):46-47.

Pleszczyńska M, et al. Fomitopsis betulina (formerly Piptoporus betulinus): the Iceman’s polypore fungus with modern biotechnological potential. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2017;33(5):83.

Pleszczyńska M, et al. Cultivation and utility of Piptoporus betulinus fruiting bodies as a source of anticancer agents. World J Microbiol Biotechnol. 2016;32(9):151.

Sułkowska-Ziaja K, et al. Chemical composition and biological activity of extracts from fruiting bodies and mycelial cultures of Fomitopsis betulina. Mol Biol Rep. 2018;45(6):2535-2544.

Grunewald F, et al. Effects of birch polypore mushroom, Piptoporus betulinus (agaricomycetes), the “Iceman’s fungus”, on human immune cells. Int J Med Mushrooms. 2018;20(12):1135-1147.

Jayachandran M, et al. A critical review on health promoting benefits of edible mushrooms through gut microbiota. Int J Mol Sci. 2017;18(9):1934.

Top Causes of Vitamin D Deficiency and Best Natural Remedies

Fish Oil Supplements: Are the Fish Oil Benefits True?

Omega-3 Fatty Acids: Benefits, Foods, & Supplements

5 Health Benefits of Hemp Seed Oil

from WordPress https://ift.tt/2XOn9uu via IFTTT

#IFTTT #WordPress

0 notes

myth-lord · 8 years ago

Text

MYTHIKA’S ENVIRONMENTS

Where do all the creatures in Mythika live? In what kind of environment are they encountered most? Of course some of these monsters appear on multiple environments (like Bakunawa can be found both in Oceans and in Deep Oceans) but I put every monster with their most common and logical environment.

This list can be handy if you making your own game/world and you need mythological/cryptid/fantasy monsters for your environments!

Sorry for not putting the monsters in alphabetical order, but they are in species-order from:

Ooze -> Dragon -> Humanoid -> Beast -> Chimerae -> Aberration -> Fae -> Construct -> Undead -> Demon -> Plant -> Giant -> Vermin -> Titan -> Elemental -> Angel

Not every environment has its own species though, so it may appear a bit messy.

Let us start

==============================================================

OCEANS

Cirein Croin / Dragon Turtle / Haietlik / Jormungandr / Adaro / Zitiron / Telchine / Akheilos / Caspilly / Echeneis / Gambo / Hippocampus / Ketos / Ziphius / Kun Peng / Charybdis / Lusca / Punga / Scylla / Each Uisge / Caleuche / Bakekujira / Draugr / Isonade / Ghawwas / Umibozu

Each Uisge are the Kelpies of the oceans, they are far more vile though and often hide themselves among the sea-weed forests to stalk prey, they control sea plants and use them to pull sailors from ships.

==============================================================

DEEP OCEAN

Bakunawa / Siyokoy / Leviathan / Marool / Iku-Turso / Kraken / Sazae-Oni / Con Rit / Shen / Muldjewangk

Looking like enormous clam shells, the Shen are powerful casters of realistic illusions, they use these illusions to lure prey into their gaping maws or to scare bigger predators away, often weaving the illusions of powerful dragons to help them with it.

==============================================================

COASTAL and BEACH

Harpy / Taniwha / Lorelei / Shellycoat / Pua Tu Tahi / Ahkiyyini / Cyclops / Heikegani / Karkinos / Stella / Planctae / Symplegades

Planctae are bizarre Rock Elementals that hide themselves among normal rocks to stalk prey, the related, much more powerful Symplegades are always encountered in pairs, they crush other creatures between the two of them and then feast on the bloody remains.

==============================================================

LAKES, RIVERS and FRESH WATER

Butatsch-Cun-Ilgs / Swamfisk / Knucker / Muirdris / Boobrie / Lukwata / Morgawr / Namazu / Zaratan / Afanc / Bunyip / Ahuizotl / Kappa / Suiko / Mishibizhiw / Nguruvilu / Water Leaper / Cuero / Grindylow / Migas / Abaia / Amhuluk / Encantado / Kelpie / Hrokkall / Traicousse / Tlanusi / Nargun / Rusalka / Undine

Tlanusi are magical leech monsters the size of a horse. They can boil water and create powerful geysers which blow their prey high up into the air so they fall to their deaths. Expect some burns when you fight these terrors.

==============================================================

SWAMPS and BOGS

Codrille / Hydra / Orochi / Wyvern / Vouivre / Vodyanoi / Bolotnik / Catoblepas / Lavellan / Seps / Tiddalik / Alp-Luachra / Bagiennik / Bukavac / Cipactli / Wizard’s Shackle / Druj Nasu / Abere / Mambabarang / Nuckelavee / Alraune / Mbielu Mbielu / Troll / Ettin / Kurage-No-Hinotama / Lou Carcolh / Moskitto / Brollachan / Dorotabo / Will o Wisp

Vouivre are female Wyverns, they are more powerful than the males and have a venomous stinger with potent venom. They use the beautiful gemstone embedded in their foreheads to lure prey close and then pierce it with their stinger. They only feed on male flesh, like the Wyvern only feeds on women flesh.

==============================================================

JUNGLE

Orang Minyak / Basilisk / Pyrausta / Scitalis / Eloko / Nagual / Vish Kanya / Bonguru / Burrunjor / Kongamato / Ropen / Mapinguari / Ngoubou / Camazotz / Succarath / Zhenniao / Dingonek / Grootslang / Manticore / Xiao / Ahool / Abuhuku / Nandi Bear / Carbuncle / Anggitay / Mngwa / Peuchen / Shadhavar / Anhanga / Tikbalang / Parandrus / Jenglot / Wulgaru / Mokoi / Sigbin / Popobawa / El Tunche / Kayeri / Umdhlebi / Ya-Te-Veo / Asanbosam / Kapre / Cagn / Jba Fofi / Minhocao / Curupira / Adze

Not all monsters are man-eating horrors, some are just grumpy herbivores that don’t tolerate other big things in their environment. Ngoubou look like big horned dinosaurs, some look more like Styracosaurus and others more like Triceratops.

==============================================================

FORESTS & GARDENS

Hodag / Zburator / Likho / Alkonost / Maenad / Nuno / Rougarou / Skinwalker / Aniwye / Argopelter / Drop Bear / Gulon / Nependis / Questing Beast / Wolpertinger / Sagari / Yara-Ma-Yha-Who / Cu Sith / Cwn Annwn / Erlking / Faun / Gancanagh / Hidebehind / Kumiho / Nogitsune / Lechuza / Strix / Narcissus / Katsura-Otoko / Phooka / Ratatoskr / Sianach / Spriggan / Yale / Banshee / Baykok / Dullahan / Valravn / Raven Mocker / Vrykolakas / Ajatar / Binaye-Ahani / Nalusa Falaya / Batibat / Ladon / Leshy / Mandragora / Otso / Awahondo / Awd Goggie / Eintykara / Scarab / Humbaba

Being both the terror and the greatest protectors of the forests, the bear-like Otso loves to toy with its victims before absorbing them into its plant-like mass. They are plants with the forms of feral bears, very much wanted by most Druids.

==============================================================

DESERT and SAVANNAH

Vritra / Bouda / Girtablilu / Intulo / Lunwaba / Urmahlullu / Alicanto / Ichneumon / Karkadann / Leontophone / Nemean Lion / Roc / Ziz / Salawa / Tuyango / Xhumpedzkin / Ammit / Leucrotta / Sak / Sphinx / Palis / Miraj / Pard / Pukwudgie / Djieien / Petsuchos / Aghash / Tsenahale / Cactus Cat / Splinter Cat / Devalpa / Aigamuxa / Death Worm / Khepri / Myrmecoleon / Scorpios / Sandwalker / Ghul

Karkadann are aggressive desert unicorns, they attack anything bigger than themselves and scare away the smaller creatures. They love small birds though and would never attack such fragile creatures, many hunters use small birds now to hunt for Karkadann as their horns hold magical healing powers.

==============================================================

MOUNTAIN

Asdeev / Gbahali / Impundulu / Kamaitachi / Indrik / Musimon / Zlatorog / Chimera / Peryton / Piasa / Fachen / Satyr / Zheng / Utlunta / Asag / Omukade / Pazuzu / Tsuchigumo / Yeitso / Jinmenju / Wak Wak / Cacus / Fear Liath / Hraesvelgr / Inulpamahuida / Cherufe / Hala / Ebajalg / Nida

Pazuzu are powerful wind demons from the mountains, they can bend and command the wind and most creatures that use it to fly. Fighting a Pazuzu is like fighting a winged army. Their four beautiful wings allow them to fly in the strongest of hurricanes.

==============================================================

TUNDRA & COLD

Adlet / Fenrir / Tizheruk / Kokogiak / Akhlut / Amikuk / Colorobetch / Qalupalik / Ishigaq / Jack Frost / Yuki-Onna / Snow Queen / Mahaha / Wendigo / Jotunn / Ice Worm / Barbegazi / Psonen

Jack Frost are the winter version of the Erlking, they appear near winter times and in cold area’s they are as cruel as the burning cold and they have all ice based abilities and spells at their disposal. Whenever a Jack Frost appears the environment automatically turns into a frozen wasteland over time.

==============================================================

URBAN & SEWERS

Dheeyabery / Tengu / Tesso / Rat King / Akaname / Doppelganger / Ewah / Horerczy / Kaw Kaw / Keukegen / Marabbecca / Rokurokubi / Bauk / Kikimora / Mad Gasser / Rawhead / Springheel / Gargoyle / Ittan-Momen / Osschaart / Harionago / Oniate / Poltergeist / Dybbuk / Gremlin / Imp / Rakshasa / Flaga / Anteros

Oniate are created from the hands and claws of criminals. These perfect assassins are often controlled by evil and powerful Liches and Necromancers, they do their job well, mostly strangling their victims while they are sleeping. There are also giant Oniate, which are created from the hands of Giants or even Titans.

==============================================================

HILLS, GRASSLANDS and FARMLANDS

Aitvaras / Peluda / Buckrider / Goblin / Amphisbaena / Chichevache / Colo Colo / Chupacabra / Centaur / Ly Erg / Pesta / Tatty Bogle / Barghest / Gwyllgi / Gloson / Cagrino / Stray Sod / Fear Gorta / Antaeus / Blemmyes / Brucha / Gaueko / Land Wight / Nuberu / Planetnik / Poludnica

Gaueko are the protectors of the night, the protectors of fear, they are the night, they are living shadows. And all whom don’t fear the night and darkness will become its prey.

==============================================================

DREAM WORLD

Hypnalis / Baku / Nightmare / Cauchemar / Nocnitsa / Incubus / Succubus / Phobetor / Shtriga

One little bite of these beautiful white cobra’s and you’re in a coma until the pretty snake thinks it’s time for you to die, then they slip into your endless nightmare and kill you from within. They are called Hypnalis.

==============================================================

ABYSS, BATTLEFIELDS and WASTELAND

Gaasyendietha / Berserker / Arzshenk / Stymphalides / Emela Ntouka / Behemoth / Taotie / Muscaliet / Kurita / Tooth Fairy / Fulad-Zereh / Invunche / Juggernaut / Muramasa Blade / Wanyudo / Aatxe / Chon Chon / Leyak / Fext / Gaki / Gashadokuro / Polong / Sluagh / Bushyasta / Cerberus / Delgeth / Empusa / Erchitu / Makhai / Geryon / Kasha / Odontotyrannos / Jidra / Jubokko / Xing Tian / Tartalo / Apocalypse Locust / Hekantoncheires / Enenra / Ifrit / Grim Reaper / Erinyes / Valkyrie

Taotie are even more voracious and gluttonous than their smaller cousins the Gulon. The Taotie doesn’t have a stomach so all the food they eat is wasted into oblivion keeping the creature forever hungry and never sated.

==============================================================

RUINS, TEMPLES and TOMBS

A Bao A Qu / Nurikabe / Fafnir / Kampe / Sybaris / Zirnitra / Zmey / Balaur / Chrysaor / Gorgon / Lamia / Echidna / Minotaur / Tera-Tsutsuki / Gray / Mothman / Otoroshi / Tenome / Jorogumo / Arachne / Leanan Sidhe / Redcap / Thriae / Agrippa / Grotesque / Golem / Pixiu / Haetae / Terra-Cotta Warrior / Acheri / Berbalang / Lich / Mormo / Moroi / Mummy / Nosoi / Pandora Box / Tiyanak / Toyol / Raktavija / Argus / Jack-in-Irons / Ouktazaun / Ankou

The Pandora Box has some vile aura around it, it makes victims more curious and almost forces them to take a peek. Once they are open these chests release the most vile of spirits and evils upon the victims, eventually turning the victim into one of their mass before closing again to lay a trap for the next victim that wanders by.

==============================================================

UNDERGROUND and CAVES

Nidhogg / Dactyl / Mimi / Olitiau / Whowie / Dalaketnon / Svartalfar / Trenti / Charon / Gold-Digging Ant / Eurynomos / Buggane / Fomorian / Karzelek / Lampad

Trenti love to collect mushrooms and toadstools of all types, they keep entire gardens of the fungus underground and use their spores and poisons in battle, making their enemies sleep, paralyzed or worse.

==============================================================

ANYWHERE (these monsters can appear in any setting on any environment, spare maybe for the Ocean.)

It / Cuelebre / Tiamat / Ashinaga-Jin / Tenaga-Jin / Tarasque / Dijiang / Automaton / Talos / Candileja / Zombie / Hellequin / Nekomata / Brobinyak / Papinijuwari / Virabhadra / Gegenees / Salamander / Veela / Sylph

Gegenees are the male species of a multi-armed race of giants, the female variant is known as Virabhadra and it has even more arms than the male, females have eight arms and males have six arms. While the males are much stronger the females are faster and they use eight weapons in battle.

43 notes · View notes