Four Sigma Foods 101: Chaga
Chaga is a parasitic fungus which lives on birch trees. In the Northern Hemisphere, it grows in many regions, including Siberia, Japan (Hokkaido), the Nordic countries, the Baltic countries and areas of northern North America. Chaga is known to have been in the folk medicine of northern Europe during the 16th and 17th centuries; its Norwegian name, “kreftkjuke,” translates as “cancer fungus.”
In his 1950’s research for the novel Cancer Ward, Russian author and Nobel laureate Alexander Solzhenitsyn was amazed at the healing powers of chaga in treating cancer. He spoke of the fungus in the novel, published in 1968:
“He could not imagine any greater joy than to go away into the woods for months on end, to break off this chaga, crumble it, boil it up on a campfire, drink it and get well like an animal. To walk through the forest for months, to know no other care that to get better! Just as a dog goes to search for some mysterious grass that will save him…”
Chaga contains extraordinarily large amounts of superoxide dismutase (SOD) – 25 to 50 times more, in fact – and SOD happens to be one of the body’s most powerful antioxidants.
Why to Use Chaga
More than 1600 scientific research studies examining chaga have proven it to be one of nature’s most potent cancer-fighting agents. It includes 215 different phytonutrients, with anti-oxidative, immune-stimulative, anti-cancer, and anti-inflammatory effects. We like to refer to chaga as being “anti-everything.”
Compared with other medicinal mushrooms, chaga contains extraordinarily large amounts of superoxide dismutase (SOD) – 25 to 50 times more, in fact – and SOD happens to be one of the body’s most powerful antioxidants. Chaga has been proven to increase the activity of natural killer cells by 300%. These amazing cells play a major role in eradicating tumors and removing virus-infected cells.
Chaga is also a powerful adaptogen, helping the body adapt to both internal and external stresses.
How to Use Chaga
Chaga is traditionally taken as an infusion. The user first boils a few grams of chaga in two liters (or quarts) of water for two to three hours, then drinks the resulting brew. Today there are many companies offering chaga in dietary supplements, usually in capsule or liquid extract form. In Finland, one can find chaga powder in health food stores, and boil up one’s own chaga tea. If you happen to live in an area where the fungus grows wild, you can harvest, desiccate and boil it yourself.
Chaga is a “tonic herb,” which means that it is non-toxic and can be taken in large quantities and over long periods, with no ill effects.
Where to Buy Chaga
Chaga products are still quite rare throughout most the world. We believe that Four Sigma Foods Instant Chaga provides the most convenient, tastiest and healthiest Chaga experience available. That’s why we encourage you to give it a try. After FSF Instant Chaga there are only few products left we can recommend.
Surthrival Immortality Quest Chaga | High quality chaga product by Daniel Vitalis
Amazon US (Affiliate*): Surthrival Immortality Quest Chaga
Amazon US: Surthrival Immortality Quest Chaga
Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Chaga | High quality chaga product by Paul Stamets
Amazon US (Affiliate*): Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Chaga
Amazon US: Fungi Perfecti Host Defense Chaga
*Affiliate program link: Product costs the same to you but FSF gets a percentage of the sales to bring more healthy products to you.
