Sunday, October 31, 2021

Red-Belted Polypore - A Little Treasure In the Forest

Have you heard about Red-belted polypores (fomitopsis pinicola)? They are a type of polypore that grows in the forests in the Northern Hemisphere. They are perennial and extremely durable, they grow additional tubes every year. These mushrooms are often found on dead or dying Hemlock and Douglas fir trees, and they look like shelves rather than umbrellas, their caps are fairly flat with the pores on the underside of the mushroom. Fomitopsis Pinicola is also called Fomes Pinicola by some mycologists. The shape of red belted polypore is half-circle shelving bodies and flat to bulbous, semicircular, or fan-shaped; the surface is smooth but becomes wrinkled with age. The size is about 5-40 cm in diameter, and 0.5-10 cm thick. It has white to creamy flesh; multi-colored with black, or gray-brown on the surface, rimmed with a rust-red color. Even though this mushroom is named after the red belt around its edge, it doesn't always have that red belt.

Although they are not the only mushrooms that grow on trees, once you have identified a mushroom as a red-belted polypore, it is safe to ingest. There is one polypore that is poisonous, which is hapalopilus nidulans, you can identify it by its orange color and fleshier texture. Hapalopilus grows mostly east of the Rockies, though it can sometimes be found in the Southwest and Pacific Northwest. Always show respect when you want to harvest the mushroom from the tree, the incredible spirit of the mushroom will infuse into its medicinal benefits more potently when you show respect and appreciation to it. To remove the mushroom, grasp with a firm hand, and yank to dislodge the polypore from its host.  If it is growing out of a log on the ground, you can apply pressure easily to the top and knock it with your hands or a boot to remove it. Red-belted polypores have been used in homeopathy and native medicine for many years. They possess amazing healing powers, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, immuno-modulating, anti-pathogenic, anti-histamine, anti-diabetic. They are also adaptogenic and help boost immunity and detoxify the liver. Red-belted polypores contain a high level of germanium, which is an anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, anti-mutagenic, and oxygen catalyst, it enhances oxygen supply to the body cells and boosts energy production. They also help regulate blood sugar by normalizing and regulating insulin production due to the hypoglycemic glycans in red-belted polypores. They also contain natural steroids that can relieve arthritis and painful auto-immune and inflammatory diseases.

Here are some amazing benefits of red-belted polypores

·        Relieve rheumatoid arthritis.

·        Reduce inflammation in the digestive tract and relieve Crohn's disease, gastric ulcer, and chronic diarrhea.

·        Improve diabetes by regulating blood sugar. 

·        Prevent cancers and inhibit the growth of cancer cells.

·        Contain a very high concentration of phenolic with powerful anti-oxidant properties.

·        Remove toxins in the liver and intestines.

·        Boost immune function by increasing neutrophil count and other white blood cells.

Two simple recipes of red-belted polypore help you enjoy this amazing medicinal fungus.

Fomitopsis Pinicola Dual Extract

Chop dried mushroom and mix with water with a 1:20 ratio (dried mushroom to water) in a pot. Simmer until liquid is reduced by half. Let it cool down and pour the mixture into a sanitized jar. Add 30% organic alcohol (95%). Shake the jar daily and let it macerate for 3 weeks. Strain the mushroom out and here is your dual extract.  

Red-belted Polypore Tea

Ingredients:  1/2 cups of fresh red-belted polypores (finely chopped) and 4 cups of water. Place chopped polypore in a large pot and cover with the water. Bring the water to a boil and simmer with low heat for 20-30 minutes. Strain through a mesh strainer and enjoy the drink, you can add honey to it to enhance the flavor, place the rest in the fridge and it can last for a few days. It is a good idea to take a small amount of mushrooms (or mushroom extractions) at first, and only try one type of your picked mushroom at a time. Wait for 24 hours before consuming additional mushrooms or mushroom products. Mushroom poisoning and/or allergic reactions can occur. It is recommended not to eat any mushroom that you are not sure whether it is poisoning or not. 

I hope you enjoy the information, for more information on holistic health and nutrition, please visit https://optimalhealthsolutions.ca.



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