Welcome to the world of Chaga Mushrooms

A non-psychedelic mushroom with unique health benefits. Meet chaga! In this article we will discuss the effects of chaga Mushrooms, the side effects of chaga and share our conclusion on whether chaga is healthy or not.

What are Chaga mushrooms?

Chaga is a mushroom that grows best in colder regions such as Northern Europe and Russia. Chaga mushrooms mainly grow on trees and often have a black appearance with an orange/brown core. Because chaga is naturally rich in antioxidants, chaga has been used for centuries in northern cultures as a medicine to improve resistance and fight infections.

There are still relatively few scientific studies available on the effects of chaga on the human body. In this article we will discuss what is already known about these super mushrooms.

Health Benefits of Chaga

Supporting your resistance

There are studies that have shown that chaga contributes to the production of cytokines (1). Cytokines are messengers between immune cells and are essential for proper functioning of your immune system. Due to this effect of chaga on cytokines, you could have a reduced chance of infections, additionally chaga could prevent long-term infections (2).

Cholesterol lowering

Because chaga is naturally rich in antioxidants, these mushrooms could help lower your cholesterol (1). High cholesterol can lead to heart problems. Chaga could thus contribute to the prevention of cardiovascular diseases.

Is chaga healthy?

The main health benefit of chaga is that these mushrooms are rich in antioxidants. There are many studies that have shown that antioxidants are very important for our body and can have various effects such as improving your resistance, lowering cholesterol or preventing other diseases. We would therefore conclude that chaga is a healthy and valuable addition to the daily diet.

Use of chaga

You can use chaga in several ways. Perhaps the most well-known form is in supplements. There are several brands that offer chaga in pill form or in loose powder forms.

In the northern cultures, chaga is also widely used to make tea and this trend is now spreading more and more to the west. Chaga tea is easy to make by adding chaga extract to warm/boiling water and letting it steep for some time.

At Cupplement we have a habit of always checking whether we can mix the additives with coffee. And guess what, the slightly vanilla-like taste of chaga is a very good addition to your cup of coffee! Note, do not add too much because then it will get a somewhat sandy structure.

Chaga side effects

There are only a few scientific studies known in which chaga has been investigated on the human body. The number of studies that investigate the side effects of chaga are therefore limited.

Chaga could influence your blood sugar level and this superfood would therefore not be suitable for people with diabetes (1). Additionally, chaga could interact with blood clotting (3). Chaga is therefore not recommended for people who use blood thinners.

Resources in this article

1. https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/ chaga-mushroom#benefits
2. https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/ 318527#immune-support
3. https://www.webmd. com/diet/health-benefits-chaga-mushrooms#1