Agaricus Blazei
This type of mushroom is also classified as a Agaricus Brasiliensis or “Brazilian Blazei”. The reason why this mushroom is often called Agaricus Blazei Murril is because there is a strain known as Agaricus Subrufescens that was found in North America by a mycologist named William Murril.
When these mushrooms are eaten fresh, they have a delicious fragrance similar to almonds and a slightly sweet flavor. The climate in which they flourish best is in warmer climates which have some sunlit locations such as forest canopies. Depending on where you are around the world these mushrooms also have another named such as Almond Mushrooms, Mushrooms of the Sun and Mushrooms of Life and God.
Even though this mushroom is largely produced in Brazil they are often not consumed in Brazil. It is more an export product towards Japan.
Nutritional information on Agraricus Blazei
This mushroom is rich in various amino acids that are packed with high levels of minerals such as calcium, phosphorus, potassium magnesium and zinc. They contain several vitamins as well such as B vitamins and D2 Precursor – Ergostrol. The almond smell that emanates from this mushroom is from a compound called benzaldehyde, benzoate and benzyl alcohol which are the same compounds found in almonds.
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The Medicinal Benefits of Agaricus Blazei:
- Immune system Boost – The best and well known researched medicinal benefits of this wonderful mushroom is the gift of boosting the body’s immune system. This type of mushroom has been used to formulate extracts that when used on a wide range of diseases such as Diabetes, circulatory, high cholesterol, hepatitis, cancer and osteoporosis assisted with the healing of these known immune deficiencies. There have been a variety of studies over the past decade that have shown it improves overall quality of life and health. These same studies show the reason they are beneficial is because of a compound called polysaccharides that is in the form of highly structured beta-glucans. These same compounds are also known for the ability to improve a persons immune response and add extra protection against diseases. (Article)
- Cancer Fighting– This mushroom has the potential to fight against various forms of cancer. There is beta-glucan within the mushroom that is said to be extremely effective in improving the body’s immune system response rate. There was a study in Korea that was published in 2004 and it showed that these mushrooms performed miracles for those undergoing chemotherapy. They showed that this treatment had a positive effect in the common side effects of chemotherapy. Patients showed improvements of their hair loss, physical weakness and appetite as well as the emotional stability which suggests that the treatment with Agraricus Blazei can be extremely beneficial for patients while using chemotherapy. (Article)
- Antibacterial and Anti Viral – The beta-glucan polysaccharides that are within this mushroom serve as a natural defense from invasive organisms. With this in mind they can be used medically by people to combat against viral and bacterial infections. (Article)
- Anti Inflammatory – Studies have also shown that the Agraricus Blazei has been very effective when it comes to internal and external inflammation. There was one experiment done on patients that had inflammatory bowel conditions and they made an extract that alleviated the effects of inflammation caused by Chron’s Disease and Ulcertive colitis. (Article)
- Weight Loss – Some amazing news for people who have been wanting to lose that unwanted weight. The Agraricus blazei mushroom was used in a French study that was published in 2013 that wanted to examine the effects of an extract on overweight and obese rats that were fed a high fat diet. The scientists soon discovered that the rats were protected from weight gain. (Article)
