Medicinal mushrooms are useful against atherosclerosis thanks to their preventive action against venous insufficiency, they are useful in case of predisposition to cardiovascular diseases, diabetes, high cholesterol and obesity. Let’s find out better.
What is Atherosclerosis
Atherosclerosis is a disease that causes damage to the arteries; the normal part of an artery is resistant and elastic, so that it can release and contract in accordance with the changes in blood pressure resulting from each cardiac systole.
When an artery is affected by atherosclerosis, it loses its elasticity, becoming rigid and fragile: this occurs due to abnormal deposits (plaques or atheromas) on the walls, deposits that lead to the gradual narrowing of the lumen and can end up completely occluding the vessel so as to prevent the flow of blood.
Causes of atherosclerosis
The causes are not known precisely, but considerable progress has been made in recent years in the study of this disease. It is related to risk factors such as hypertension, hypercholesterolemia and hypertriglyceridemia, obesity, smoking, diabetes.
Among the blood lipoproteins an atherogenic role is attributed to LDL (low density lipoproteins) and VLDL (very low density lipoproeins), while a protective role is attributed to HDL (high density lipoproteins).
It is assumed that this disease is caused by poor eating habits and by some particular risk factors such as a sedentary lifestyle, smoking, stress, etc.
The individuals most prone to atherosclerosis are:
a) Diabetic subjects;
b) obese;
c) hypertensive (i.e. subjects with high blood pressure);
d) people with particularly high fat blood;
e) individuals exposed to the risk factors mentioned above.
It is certainly possible to adopt appropriate preventive measures to the onset of this disease: for example, if a person is obese, trying to lose weight; if he is used to consuming foods rich in cholesterol, eliminating them from the diet in favor of foods rich in fiber ; if he is hypertensive, keeping blood pressure under control. These measures can indeed delay the atherosclerotic process.
Certainly playing sports or in any case physical activity, reducing weight and maintaining a healthy diet can contribute to reducing atheromatous plaques.
Which mushrooms to take
Certainly, after having done a good groundwork and constitutional work, we can use Mycotherapy which will help reduce atheromatous plaques and let the blood flow in the best possible way.
The mushrooms we can use are ABM, Auricularia, Cordyceps, Coprinus, Reishi, Maitake, Shiitake.
The Agaricus blazei murrill mushroom is used in case of toxic and type B hepatitis, against arteriosclerosis, for type I (juvenile) and type II (senile) diabetes and against hypercholesterolemia, arterial hypertension and Angina pectoris. ABM is the fungus used in all types of toxicity; exogenous (from external causes), endogenous (from internal metabolic causes), tumor, and iatrogenic (due to the drugs used). ABM is a great activator of the SRE (Lattice-Endothelial System, belongs to the Immune System) and of the internal respiratory cycle of the cell (Krebs cycle).
The Auricularia fungus has a nutritional, preventive and therapeutic action against peripheral venous insufficiency; hypercholesterolemia; hyperglycemia; obesity; predisposition to cardiovascular diseases (stroke, cardiac arrhythmia); arteriosclerotic tendency; thrombotic tendency; muscle cramps; immunodeficiency; oxidative stress.
The Cordyceps mushroom in the language of oriental medicine increases the “Chi” and protects the kidneys, but not only is it of great help in hypercholesterolemia, it helps to maintain high levels of HDL (good cholesterol); type II or senile diabetes, arthrosis, atherosclerosis, myeloma.
The Coprinus fungus is the great diabetes fungus, both for type I (juvenile), if it has arisen no more than two years ago, and for type II (senile) diabetes. Also useful in cases of obesity, metabolic syndrome, and arteriosclerosis.
The powerful Reishi is used in cardiovascular pathologies : against arteriosclerosis, arterial hypertension, viral hepatitis, pancreatitis, hepatic steastosis, gastric and duodenal ulcer. Reishi has hepatoprotective properties with detoxification activity; moreover it has always been used as a cardiac tonic, it improves the metabolism of the heart muscle by regulating blood pressure. An exceptional antioxidant, this mushroom helps the blood by regulating blood pressure, controlling blood sugar, and inhibiting the aggregation of platelets.
The Maitake lowers blood pressure, prevents diabetes, regulates cholesterol and protects the liver, in short, it also has a positive action against all those pathologies related to excess weight.
Shiitake, a powerful mushroom, contains lentinan, which is a carbohydrate that activates white blood cells, which are naturally responsible for identifying and eliminating all potentially harmful elements for the body. Not only that, it is a probiotic, lowers cholesterol and protects the liver, counteracts tooth decay and atherosclerosis.
Indications
Always contact a professional in the sector who will be able to indicate the type of mushroom or the best mushrooms to use will be evaluated according to the subject and its constitution. Furthermore, he will have to do some ground work first to ensure an excellent action of medicinal mushrooms on the whole organism.
