Dr. Maitake says “Make sure you get your dialy dose of Maitake Beta Glucans!”

And “biased” is probably an understatement. I friggin’ LOVE Maitake mushrooms.

First of all, the are delicious. I live in Osaka, Japan, so I can buy a bunch of fresh Maitake at the local grocery store for about $1. My favorite grower is Yukiguni Maitake. Ask your local grocer to stock them.

Here are a few cooking ideas:

• Put them in miso soup 
• Stir fry them with other veggies.
• Chop em’ up and stuff them into gyoza.
• Add them to your stew or soup. (the maitake beta glucans are hot water soluable, so the soup will be a real immune booster)
• Mix them into your hamburger mix.
• Steam them and eat them straight

A point about digestion. Maitake (Grifola frondosa) contain a lot of dietary fiber. So you don’t actually digest all of it 100%. And as you probably know, dietary fiber is great to clean the pipes.

Another component of Maitake that is not digested is the immune modulating “1-3-, 1-6 beta glucans”.
These are the components that have reiceved international scientific research from Japan to America, for their ability to induce immune potentiating effects. Stimulating some immune cells and signals, while reducing other immune signals. Dr. Nanba, the dicoverer or the anti-cancer maitake extract told me that the extract/fraction influences the Th1/Th2 immune balance. It can stimulate attack cells such as Killer T cells, Natural Killer cells and macrophages. This may be why studies show anti-cancer effects when taking the Maitake extract.

And that may be why my wife is still alive today.

I could blab on and on about Maitake Mushroom.

But it’s probably better if you sign up for the newsletter on the right hand side bar. Then you can get important updates.

Bruce