Manipulative and Body-Based Practices: An Overview
Keywords: chiropractic, massage, osteopathic manipulation, spinal manipulation
Introduction
Scope of the Research
Summary of the Major Threads of Evidence
Definitions
References
For More Information
What Is CAM?
Keywords: integrative, CAM definitions
Introduction
What is CAM?
Are complementary medicine and alternative medicine different from each other?
What is integrative medicine?
What are the major types of complementary and alternative medicine?
What is NCCAM's role in the field of CAM?
Definitions
For More Information
Mind-Body Medicine: An Overview
Keywords: meditation, placebo effect, relaxation, immunity
Introduction
Definition of Scope of Field
Background
Mind-Body Interventions and Disease Outcomes
Mind-Body Influences on Immunity
Meditation and Imaging
Physiology of Expectancy (Placebo Response)
Stress and Wound Healing
Surgical Preparation
Conclusion
References
For More Information
Taking the Hype Out of Hypnotherapy
It can ease pain, anxiety and addiction, but beware of false claims
Forget those movie images of Svengali-like hypnotists waving pocket watches.
Today's hypnotherapy is practiced by qualified physicians and has long been recognized by leading medical organizations -- including the American Medical Association, the American Psychological Association and the U.S. National Institutes of Health -- as an adjunct therapy useful in easing a range of ailments.
"It's a tool we use in our clinical work -- regardless of whether you're a dentist or psychologist or physician," said Marc Oster, a clinical psychologist and hypnotherapist based in Arlington Heights, Ill.
Dr. David Spiegel, an expert on hypnotherapy and a professor of psychiatry and behavioral sciences at Stanford University in California, agreed.
"Hypnotherapy is just a form of highly focused attention, and there are therapeutic strategies that you employ using that highly focused attention," he explained.
For that reason, both experts stressed that patients who want to try hypnosis as a treatment tool should consult a practitioner licensed in some other form of medicine -- an M.D., a psychologist or a dentist, for example.
Their reasoning: "If you don't have clinical training, how can you work with clinical problems?" Oster said. While hypnosis can help people stop smoking, for example, a mere hypnotist may not be able to spot and treat underlying problems.
"Maybe the person is using smoking to help manage their anxiety," Oster said. "So then you're not treating the problem, just a symptom." In the case of psychiatric woes, especially, poorly guided hypnotherapy may even worsen the situation, experts say.
What is hypnotherapy? According to Oster, patients are usually "talked" into a state of highly focused, suggestible attentiveness where they are able to clear away mental "clutter" and focus on whatever problem it is that concerns them. In most cases, practitioners teach patients self-hypnosis techniques they can use at home.
Patients do not relinquish self-control, Oster said.
"Actually, from a clinical perspective, that's the opposite of what we do with people," he explained. "People come to see us to develop greater willpower and have more self-control, more confidence in themselves. You don't help that by taking it away."
Using electroencephalogram [EEG] and other methods, science is beginning to determine what happens to the hypnotized brain. "We're getting to the point where we can see that the hypnotic brain looks different from the resting or sleeping brain," Oster said. Hypnotized individuals are usually physically at ease, with lowered blood pressure and heart rates, while feeling fully awake and mentally attentive.
Studies have shown hypnosis can be a useful adjunct therapy against many ills, including:
Gastrointestinal problems. "For irritable bowel syndrome, especially, hypnosis has been demonstrated to be about 80 percent effective in reducing or eliminating symptoms. Medicine cannot do that," Oster said.
Pain. "It's been clearly helpful there for hundreds of years," Spiegel said. In many cases, patients with chronic pain use self-hypnosis techniques to "turn down" pain, like lowering the volume on a radio. Spiegel said patients can also use the technique to help get through invasive or painful medical procedures, such as dentistry or even cardiac catheterization.
Smoking and other addictions. "Half of people will typically stop smoking after a single [hypnosis] session, and half of those won't have a cigarette for two years," Spiegel said. In the world of smoking-cessation, a 25 percent long-term success rate is considered impressive, he said.
Weight loss. "There's some pretty good research that says hypnosis is helpful," Oster said. "It seems to help people stay focused on their goals."
Finding an effective, qualified hypnotherapist is easy if one consults one of two recognized associations: the practice-oriented American Society of Clinical Hypnosis, and a more research-oriented group, the Society for Clinical and Experimental Hypnosis. Both groups mandate that hypnotherapists also be licensed in some form of clinical training.
Oster said consumers should be wary of claims that seem exaggerated or too good to be true. "If someone says their success rate with smoking is 90 to 95 percent, for example, I'd stay away," he said.
Both experts stressed that hypnotherapy is really directed by the patient, anyway, not the practitioner.
"It's a collaborative relationship between two people," Oster said, "you and I. It's something I do with you, not to you." A good hypnotherapist simply teaches techniques that allows a patient to fulfill his or her goals, he said.
"Patients look at it as, 'I'm doing this -- I'm learning to help myself,' " he said.
ScoutNews, LLC.
Scientists have captured an image of the AIDS virus in a biological handshake with the body's immune cells it attacks, and said on they hope this can help lead to a better vaccine against the disease.
They pinpointed a place on the outside of HIV that could be vulnerable to antibodies that could block it from infecting human cells.
U.S. National Institutes of Health researcher Peter Kwong said the study, published in the journal Nature, may reveal HIV's long-sought "site of vulnerability" that can be targeted with a vaccine aimed at preventing initial infection.
"Having that site and knowing that you can make antibodies against it means that a vaccine is possible," Kwong said in a telephone interview.
"It doesn't say we've gotten there. But it's taken it off the list from an impossible dream and converted it to something that is a (mere) technical barrier."
Experts agree that a vaccine is the only hope of stopping the pandemic of AIDS, which has killed more than 25 million people since it was first recognized in 1981. About 40 million people now live with HIV, with sub-Saharan Africa hardest hit.
But while dozens of potential vaccines are in development, only two AIDS vaccine candidates are in advanced human trials -- one made by Merck and Co. and another by Sanofi-Aventis SA.
Because the virus attacks immune system cells, it has been especially difficult to design a vaccine to fight it.
The team at the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, part of the NIH, made atomic-level images of the virus.
They revealed the structure of a protein on the surface of HIV as it looks while the protein is bound to an infection-fighting antibody. They said this protein, called gp120, seems susceptible to attack by this antibody, which is called b12 and is capable of broadly neutralizing the virus.
An antibody is a protein produced by the immune system in response to invading microorganisms, such as viruses and bacteria.
CAUTIOUS HANDSHAKE
The researchers detailed the precise interaction that occurs as the virus tries to grab and infect protective immune system cells.
"The first contact is like a cautious handshake, which then becomes a hearty bear hug," said Dr. Gary Nabel, an NIH vaccine expert and a co-author of the research.
The virus uses the protein gp120 to gain entry into the CD4 T-cells it infects. But the researchers also found that the antibody b12 can block this process.
The virus mutates quickly and continuously to beat the immune system's efforts to target it. It also is cloaked in such a way that it stops antibodies from blocking the proteins that HIV uses to bind to a cell and infect it.
So this is a critical area of vulnerability, Nabel said. "This is certainly one of the best leads to come along in recent years," he said.
NIAID Director Dr. Anthony Fauci said the findings are of great importance, but much more work in animal and human studies is needed, and any vaccine is years away.
"I don't think there's any one particular thing that, in and of itself, is the show-stopper. But I don't think we could really make substantial, fundamentally scientifically based progress until we got this very important information," he said.
Reuters Health
Guided imagery can boost the body's healing powers
What if your mind's eye could take you to a place so peaceful that the experience eased your pain or sped your recovery from surgery? It's not such a far-fetched concept.
Guided imagery," a type of mind-body therapy that uses visualized images to communicate to the housekeeping systems of the body, is making its way into traditional medical settings.
"People are just now taking a very serious look at it," said David E. Bresler, co-founder of the Academy for Guided Imagery, in Malibu, Calif., and author of the book Free Yourself From Pain. "There are a handful of hospitals around the country and around the world that are starting to implement these programs," he said
In one study, researchers at Harvard Medical School found that more than 30 percent of U.S. adults have used some form of mind-body medicine, a category that includes imagery, according to the National Center for Complementary and Alternative Medicine.
Bresler, a traditionally trained Ph.D. neuroscientist, first became intrigued with alternative methods of pain relief in the early 1970s, as founder and director of the University of California, Los Angeles, Pain Control Unit. Patients often used vivid images to describe their pain. It felt like an ice pick to one person, fire ants to another. One particular patient, a psychiatrist with a painful rectal carcinoma, suffered low back pain that he said "felt like a dog chewing on my spine."
Bresler knew that when patients used their imagination to go to a peaceful place, it helped them to relax, so he guided the agitated psychiatrist through a relaxation exercise. When the man's pain flared up, Bresler instructed him to speak to the dog. Would it let go of his spine? Then, an astonishing thing happened -- when the dog let go to talk, the man's pain subsided.
Today, guided imagery has numerous applications. Sports psychologists use it to enhance athletes' physical performance. Cancer centers often use it to relieve patients' pain and nausea.
In a 2004 study in the journal Pain, researchers at Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center found that children who used guided-imagery tapes before and after routine surgery had significantly less pain and anxiety than a control group. More recently, researchers examined how children used these tapes, which suggested that they "go" to a park, at least in their mind. Many, though, put their own spin on the proposed image, allowing them to escape to places like a swimming pool, a lake or an amusement park.
Bresler said imagery is the language of the autonomic nervous system, the part of the nervous system that regulates many involuntary body functions, such as heart rate, blood pressure and digestion. "So, when you're working with images, it's really a set of instructions to the system," he said.
Victoria Menzies, an imagery researcher and professor at Florida International University's School of Nursing, in Miami, said the first step for a patient in any guided-imagery session is to develop a rapport with the guide who is asking you to close your eyes and relax. Once the patient is in a relaxed state, the guide will either offer an image or ask the person to come up with their own, someplace where he or she would feel calm and safe or joyful -- the mountains, the seacoast, a favorite room in their home, whatever.
Engaging the senses is the next step, she explained. The guide might ask where you are and what you see, hear, smell, feel and even taste.
Menzies led a 10-week guided imagery intervention for a small group of patients with fibromyalgia, a condition involving chronic pain and fatigue. In the study, published in January 2006 in the Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine, one group of patients received usual care and used a set of guided-imagery audiotapes. The other group received only usual care. Compared with the controls, the patients who participated in guided imagery were better able to perform activities of daily living and had a greater sense of being able to manage their pain and other symptoms, the study showed.
What's more, Menzies found, "The pain did not change, but the ability to cope with the pain was improved."
Bresler considers it shocking that medical colleagues would reach their hands into someone's body and remove organs before allowing a patient to go through an imaging exercise.
"It only takes a few moments to do these things and to really check on the wisdom from inside, because there is tremendous wisdom that's being generated if only we'd listen to it," he said.
HealthDay
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Nutrition Notes:
Besides raising your spirits, a cup of tea has many health benefits. Fresh brewed tea is a source of antioxidants called flavonoids. These natural compounds are released into the cup through contact with boiling water. All black, green and oolong teas contain antioxidants, including common blends such as Orange Pekoe, Earl Grey and English Breakfast. Decaffeinated tea blend also contain antioxidants. Drinking tea may also reduce the risk of heart disease and stroke, and cut the risk of some cancers, including stomach, lung, colon, skin and oral cancers.
Herbal teas are not actually teas, but are tisanes or infusions. Although herbal blends are a just as tasty and relaxing as actual tea, the health research does not apply to them.
Tea is an all-natural beverage with no additives, artificial flavorings or colors. It has no calories when enjoyed without milk, sugar or honey.
Healthy Ways to Drink More Tea Everyday:
Breakfast
. Try the Irish Breakfast Smoothie with a bran muffin for a quick get-up-and-go.
Lunch
. Use tea to flavor dressings for green, fruit or pasta salads.
. Have a cup of your favorite green tea for a mid-afternoon refresher.
Dinner
.Marinate scallops or other shellfish and fish in strong-flavored tea such as Lapsang Souchong before cooking for a sophisticated taste.
. A dish of ice cream flavored with tea is a new twist on an old dessert favorite.
. For special occasions, serve shortbread flavored with tea.
. Use brewed tea as a marinade for chicken or vegetables.
. Brewed tea can be used to sauté or stir-fry vegetables.
Snacks
. A mug of herbal tea will warm you up after a brisk evening walk. And you won't have to worry about the caffeine keeping you up at night.
. Serve juicy Popsicles made with tea on hot summer days.
. A sunny glass of iced tea is a great thirst quencher.
"This information was provided by Leslie Beck, registered dietitian and nutrition consultant. Visit her website at www.lesliebeck.com."
The antioxidant activity of green and black tea (Camellia sinensis (L.) Kuntze, Theaceae) in the body (in vivo) is well established, but an important question remains: Does the addition of milk to tea inhibit the bioavailability of antioxidant tea polyphenols? Not according to the results of this Dutch study, which showed that a single dose of either black or green tea with or without milk caused a significant rise in plasma antioxidant activity.
The crossover study compared the antioxidant effects of green tea, black tea, and non-carbonated mineral water with or without milk in 21 healthy volunteers. Each participant received a dose of one of the six test substances on six different days. A single dose of tea was defined as 2 g of tea solids in 300 ml of water (Lipton Research Blend, Lipton, Englewood Cliffs, NJ). The researchers utilized the ferric reducing ability of plasma (FRAP) assay to measure both plasma antioxidant and catechin levels. Blood samples were taken before consumption of the test substances and again 30, 60, 90, and 120 minutes after consumption. According to the results, both green and black tea caused a significant rise in plasma antioxidant and catechin levels, but the effect of green tea was significantly greater at all time points. The addition of milk to either type of tea did not significantly alter responses.
While a limited number of studies support these results, others have shown that milk had a negative impact on the antioxidant capacity of tea. An earlier study published in the European Journal of Clinical Nutrition concluded that while the addition of milk to tea had no effect on antioxidant activity in vitro, it did appear to interfere with absorption of tea polyphenols in vivo. The authors of the older study offered two possible explanations for this effect. First, because milk proteins can cause complexation (binding) of tea polyphenols, the researchers proposed that milk/polyphenol complexes resist gastric breakdown, rendering the polyphenols unavailable for absorption. They also theorized that milk might hinder polyphenol absorption by increasing gastric pH
On the other hand, the authors of the more recent study suggested that the antioxidant assay utilized by Serafini and colleagues (called the Total Radical trapping Ability of Plasma, or TRAP assay) might be less reliable than the FRAP method, as TRAP may be associated with a higher degree of variability. - Evelyn Leigh, HRF
An open Japanese study suggests that consumption of oolong tea (Camellia sinensis) helps speed clearance of recalcitrant atopic dermatitis lesions.
The 118 study participants continued their usual dermatologic treatments but also drank oolong tea (10 g steeped in 1000 mL water a day, divided into three doses).
Beneficial results were noted after one to two weeks, and 74 (63%) of the participants showed marked to moderate improvement of lesions after one month.
After 6 months, 64 patients (54%) still demonstrated a good response to treatment.
The study builds on animal research showing that oral administration of green, black, or oolong tea suppressed allergic skin reactions. Uehara M, Sugiura J, Sakurai K.
Independent analyses of raw powdered Ginkgo biloba and ginkgo extract have discredited a recent study suggesting that ginkgo supplements contain the toxic alkaloid colchicine. The flawed study, "Identification of Colchicine in Placental Blood from Patients Using Herbal Medicines," by Petty et al., was released on the American Chemical Society's website on August 4, 2001, but apparently has not yet been formally published. The authors of the study warn that consumption of ginkgo supplements by pregnant women may pose dangers to developing fetuses, based on an analysis that they believe revealed the presence of colchicine in ginkgo.
Major media sources have publicized the study's conclusions, but herb experts and other scientists have strongly criticized the validity of the conclusions and the research methods used by the researchers. Some have suggested that the investigators misidentified a non-toxic ginkgo compound as colchicine. This ginkgo compound reportedly has a structure similar to that of colchicine, and the researchers failed to perform a test necessary to differentiate between the two. "Ginkgo simply does not contain colchicine," said HRF President Rob McCaleb. "These scientists should have done their homework before submitting their erroneous conclusions for publication."
Ginkgo has been the subject of hundreds of clinical, pharmacological, chemical, and toxicological studies, not a single one of which has identified colchicine as a gingko constituent. "For the authors to say 'such supplements should be avoided by pregnant women or those trying to conceive because the colchicine in them could affect the viability of a fetus,' as quoted in Chemical and Engineering News, is an unacceptable leap, give the questions raised about this report, and its conflict with the existing scientific literature with colchicine," said John Cordaro, president and chief executive officer of Council for Responsible Nutrition (CRN). Both CRN and the American Herbal Products Association (AHPA) commissioned third party analyses of finished ginkgo products sold in the US. Colchicine has not been detected in any of the products.
In addition, a comprehensive search of the scientific literature on ginkgo conducted by Dr. Norman Farnsworth, Distinguished Research Professor of Pharmacognosy at the University of Illinois at Chicago, further confirmed that colchicine has never been detected in ginkgo or ginkgo products. "Anyone who thinks that colchicine can be found naturally in ginkgo is not qualified to be a peer reviewer of this paper," Farnsworth said. -Evelyn Leigh
Acupuncture shown to work on brain in pain relief says BBC2 programme. (24.01.2006)BBC2's programme "Alternative Health" showed researchers carrying out brain scans ...»
Relief for Tinnitus (28.10.2005)Acupuncture could offer relief for tinnitus, a ringing in the ears which affects ...»
Acupuncture: an effective treatment for tension headaches (29.07.2005)Acupuncture is an effective treatment for tension headaches, say German researcher...»
Acupuncture proven to go beyond placebo effect (02.05.2005)Brain scanning techniques were used to demonstrate acupuncture's impact is more th...»
Acupuncture lowers blood pressure (31.03.2005)U.S. researchers at the University of California have found that acupuncture treat...»
Acupuncture can relieve pain for mothers-to-be (18.03.2005)A research team from Gothenburg, Sweden, has found that acupuncture is effective a...»
Acupuncture relieves depression during pregnancy (03.03.2005)A recent clinical trial from Stanford University in the U.S. has found that 70% of...»
Acupuncture Aids Pain Relief for Knee Arthritis (21.11.2004)Acupuncture, used as a complementary therapy to drugs, is a more effective treatme...»
Acupuncture Helps to Relieve Allergies in Children (16.11.2004)According to a new study in the journal Paediatrics, acupuncture can help relieve ...»
Acupuncture can improve chances of successful fertilit
y treatment (02.11.2004)According to recent research in the USA, acupuncture can significantly improve a w...»
British Acupunture Council
Acupuncture is an effective treatment for tension headaches, say German researchers from the Centre for Complementary Medicine Research at Technische Universitat in Munich The ancient Chinese therapy cut the rates of headaches by nearly half in a study of 270 people.
"A significant proportion of patients with tension-type headaches benefited from acupuncture" said Dr Wolfgang Weidenhammer, one of the research team. Patients were given 12 sessions of acupuncture over 8 weeks.
The headache rate in patients given the traditional treatment dropped by almost half.
They experienced 7 fewer days of headaches in the four weeks after treatment had finished.
The results of the research, published in the British Medical Journal (29 July 2005) stated that "acupuncture was well tolerated and improvements lasted several months after completion of treatment"
BBC2's programme "Alternative Health" showed researchers carrying out brain scans on people having acupuncture.
The BBC Two show also featured heart surgery done using acupuncture instead of a general anaesthetic.
The patient is conscious during the operation in China, but she was given sedatives and a local anaesthetic. In Alternative Medicine: The Evidence, volunteers were subjected to deep needling, which involves needles being inserted 1cm into the back of the hand at well-known acupuncture points.
A control group underwent superficial needling with needles placed only 1mm in. The needles are then twiddled until the participants feel a dull, achy or tingling sensation.
For those in the deep needling group this stimulates the nervous system. During these two procedures, the volunteers underwent brain scans to see what, if any, effect there was in the brain.
The team, including leading scientists from University College London, Southampton University and the University of York, found the superficial needling resulted in activation of the motor areas of the cortex, a normal reaction to pain.
But with deep needling, the limbic system, part of the pain matrix, is deactivated.
The finding was surprising because experts had always assumed acupuncture activates the brain in someway. Professor Kathy Sykes said: "The pain matrix is involved in the perception of pain - it helps someone decide whether something is painful or not, so it could be that acupuncture in some ways changes a person's pain perception.
"We have found something quite unexpected - that acupuncture is having a measurable effect on the human brain.
"We are not suggesting that it should be used during surgery, although it is in China, but just that it acts as a pain relief and should be taken seriously." Video clip: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4631930.stm
A recent clinical trial from Stanford University in the U.S. has found that 70% of women studied responded positively to treatment with acupuncture for depression during pregnancy.
Sixty-one pregnant women with major depressive disorder were studied in this double blinded controlled trial, with the researchers concluding that "acupuncture holds promise for the
treatment of depression during pregnancy"
British Acupunture Council
According to recent research in the USA, acupuncture can significantly improve a woman's chances of successful fertility treatment.
Patients receiving acupuncture during IVF had higher rates of pregnancy and lower rates of miscarriage.
Researchers from the Reproductive Medicine and Fertility Centre in Colorado Springs studied 114 women undergoing IVF.
Only 36 per cent of the women on conventional treatment became pregnant, compared with 51 per cent of those who had acupuncture.
Just 8 per cent of the acupuncture patients suffered a miscarriage, compared to 20 per cent of the other patients.
The therapy also reduced the risk of ectopic pregnancy, where the embryo develops in the fallopian tube rather than the womb.
Live birth rates in the acupuncture women were 23 per cent higher for each IVF cycle.
British Acupunture Council
According to a new study in the journal Paediatrics, acupuncture can help relieve hay fever and other nasal allergies in children.
Researchers at a hospital in Hong Kong studied 85 children with allergies.
Half were given acupuncture according to traditional Chinese medical principles; the other half were given a sham acupuncture treatment.
The children who had received genuine acupuncture reported significantly fewer sneezing bouts and less congestion over the following months, compared with the placebo group, who saw no improvement.
British Acupunture Council
Acupuncture, used as a complementary therapy to drugs, is a more effective treatment for knee osteoarthritis than medication alone, says a Spanish study in the latest British Medical Journal.
The research team treated 88 knee osteoarthritis patients with diclofenac - a standard anti-inflammatory painkiller.
Half the patients received 12 weekly acupuncture treatments as well, selecting acupuncture points on the basis of traditional treatment methods, while the other half had sham acupuncture that did not penetrate their skin.
At the end of treatment, it was found that those who received real acupuncture had taken less of their pain medication than those who had fake acupuncture.
Yet they had less pain, less stiffness, and better physical function.
British Acupunture Council
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A mushroom is an above-ground fruiting body (that is, a spore-producing structure) of a fungus having a shaft and a cap. By extension, mushroom also designates the entire fungus producing the fruiting body of such appearance, the fungus consisting of a network (called the mycelium) of filaments or hyphae. In an even broader sense, mushroom is applied to any visible fungus, or especially the fruiting body of any fungus, with the mycelium usually hidden under bark, ground, rotten wood, leaves, and other surface matter.
Contents [hide]
1 Mushrooms vs. Toadstools
2 Morphology and types
2.1 Structure
2.2 Types
2.3 Identification
3 Human use
3.1 Edible mushrooms
3.2 Toxic mushrooms
3.3 Psychoactive mushrooms
3.4 Medicinal mushrooms
3.5 Other uses
4 References
5 Trivia
6 Further reading
7 Gallery
8 External links
Mushrooms vs. Toadstools
The term toadstool dates from the fourteenth century and is a fanciful name combining toad, which is associated with poison, and stool, which is an archaic term for the head of a fungus.[1]
Strictly speaking, the basidiocarp is the spore-producing structure of a "true" mushroom, while a toadstool is a basidiocarp that is poisonous to eat.
However, inhowfar the difference between toadstools and mushrooms in everyday usage is as clear-cut as the theoretical definition is largely dependent on local custom. As with many layman concepts of the world, it may helpful to see this in the light of Prototype Theory: A toadstool is "something like a fly agaric (amanita muscaria)", whereas a mushroom is "something like a field mushroom (agaricus campestris)" If you understand anything written above, you are a genius. This a horribly written definition.
Morphology and types
The relative sizes of the Cap (pileus) and Stalk (stipe) vary widely.Main articles: Basidiocarp and Ascocarp
Further information: Sporocarp (fungi)
Structure
Identifying mushrooms requires a basic understanding of their macroscopic structure.A thong A "typical" mushroom consists of a cap or pileus supported on a stem or stipe. Both can have a variety of shapes and be ornamented in various ways. The underside of the cap (in agarics) is fitted with gills or lamellae where the actual spores are produced. How the gills are attached is another important characteristic used in identification. In the boletes, the gills are replaced by small openings called pores. Bracket fungi essentially lack a stipe, and the cap is attached like a bracket to the substratum, usually a log or tree trunk. Some bracket fungi have gills, others have pores.
Types
The main types of mushrooms are agarics (the button mushroom, the most common mushroom eaten in many western countries), boletes, chanterelles, tooth fungi, polypores, puffballs, jelly fungi, coral fungi, bracket fungi, stinkhorns, and cup fungi. Mushrooms and other fungi are studied by mycologists. The "true" mushrooms are classified as Basidiomycota. A few mushrooms are classified by mycologists as Ascomycota, the morel and truffle being good examples. Thus, the term mushroom is more one of common application to macroscopic fungal fruiting bodies than one having precise taxonomic meaning. There are approximately 14,000 described species of mushrooms; however, there is an estimated 1.5 million species of fungi, of which it is likely there are about 140,000 of species qualifying as mushrooms.[2]
[edit] Identification
In general, identification to genus can be accomplished in the field using a local mushroom guide. Identification to species, however, requires more effort; one must remember that a mushroom develops from a young bud into a mature structure and only the latter can provide certain identification of the species. Examination of mature spores, or at least knowing their color, is often essential. To this end, a common method used to assist in identification is the spore print.
Human use
The button mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), one of the most widely cultivated mushrooms in the world.Further information: Ethnomycology
Edible mushrooms
Main articles: Edible mushrooms and Mushroom hunting
Edible mushrooms are used extensively in cooking, in many cuisines (notably Chinese, European and Japanese). Though commonly thought to contain little nutritional value, many varieties of mushrooms are high in fiber and protein, and provide vitamins such as thiamine (B1), riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), biotin (B7), cobalamins (B12) and ascorbic acid (C), as well as minerals, including iron, selenium, potassium and phosphorus. However, a number of species of mushrooms are poisonous, and although some may resemble edible varieties, eating them could be fatal. Eating mushrooms gathered in the wild can be risky and a practice not to be undertaken by individuals not knowledgeable in mushroom identification. The problem is that separating edible from poisonous species depends upon the application of only a few easily recognizable traits. People who collect mushrooms for consumption are known as mycophagists, and the act of collecting them for such is known as mushroom hunting, or simply "mushrooming".
Toxic mushrooms
Main article: Mushroom poisoning
The Panther cap (Amanita pantherina), a toxic mushroomOf central interest with respect to chemical properties of mushrooms is the fact that many species produce secondary metabolites that render them toxic, mind-altering, or even bioluminescent. Toxicity likely plays a role in protecting the function of the basidiocarp: the mycelium has expended considerable energy and protoplasmic material to develop a structure to efficiently distribute its spores. One defence against consumption and premature destruction is the evolution of chemicals that render the mushroom inedible, either causing the consumer to vomit (see emetics) the meal or avoid consumption altogether.
Psychoactive mushrooms
Main article: Psychedelic mushrooms
Psilocybin mushrooms possess psychedelic properties. They are commonly known as "magic mushrooms" or "shrooms", and are available in smart shops in many parts of the world. A number of other mushrooms are eaten for their psychoactive effects, such as fly agaric, which is used for shamanic purposes by tribes in northeast Siberia. They have also been used in the West to potentiate, or increase, religious experiences. Because of their psychoactive properties, some mushrooms have played a role in native medicine, where they have been used to effect mental and physical healing, and to facilitate visionary states. One such ritual is the Velada ceremony. A representative figure of traditional mushroom use is the shaman, curandera (priest-healer), Maria Sabina.
Medicinal mushrooms
Currently, many species of mushrooms and fungi utilized as folk medicines for thousands of years are under intense study by ethnobotanists and medical researchers. Maitake, shiitake, and reishi are prominent among those being researched for their potential anti-cancer, anti-viral, and/or immunity-enhancement properties. Psilocybin, originally an extract of certain psychedelic mushrooms, is being studied for its ability to help people suffering from mental disease, such as obsessive-compulsive disorder. Minute amounts have been reported to stop cluster and migraine headaches.
Other uses
Mushrooms can be also used for dyeing wool and other natural fibers. The chromophores of mushrooms are organic compounds and produce strong and vivid colors, and all colors of the spectrum can be achieved with mushroom dyes. Before the invention of synthetic dyes the mushrooms were the primary sources on dyeing textiles. This technique has survived in Finland, and many Middle Ages re-enactors have revived the skill again.
Some mushrooms have been used as fire starters (known as tinder fungi). Ötzi the Iceman was found carrying such mushrooms. Mushrooms, and other fungi, will likely play an increasingly important role in the development of effective biological remediation and filtration technologies. The US Patent and Trademark office can be searched for patents related to the latest developments in mycoremediation and mycofiltration.
References
^ Oxford English Dictionary: Entries for toadstool & stool (requires subscription.)
^ Chang, S., and Miles, P.G., Mushrooms, Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact, CRC Press, 2004
Trivia
The term "mushroom" is sometimes used for a person who has been intentionally kept uninformed. This relates to the fungal variety tending to grow in the absence of light.
Mushroom management refers to unfair corporate policy (see anti-patterns). The corporate treats their employees like mushrooms: they are kept in dark, they are shoveled with manure, and once they have grown big enough, their heads are cut off.
A Mushroom cloth is a specially selected piece of fabric whose abrasive properties are particularly useful for removing the outer layer (and soil) from edible mushrooms.
Further reading
All That the Rain Promises, and More (1991) ISBN 0-89815-388-3
Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms (2000) ISBN 1-58008-175-4
Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home (1983) ISBN 0-9610798-0-0
Mushrooms: Cultivation, Nutritional Value, Medicinal Effect, and Environmental Impact" (2004) ISBN 0-8493-1043-1
Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Will Save The World (2005) ISBN 1-58008-579-2
Mushrooms Demystified: A Comprehensive Guide to the Fleshy Fungi (1986) ISBN 0-89815-169-4
Psilocybin Mushroom Handbook: Easy Indoor and Outdoor Cultivation (2004) ISBN 0-932551-64-5
Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World (1996) ISBN 0-89815-839-7
Modern science and ginseng
As with herbalism in general, ginseng's medical efficacy remains controversial. It has been difficult to verify the medicinal benefits of ginseng using modern science, as there are contradictory results from different studies, possibly due to the wide variety and quality of ginseng used in studies. The quality and neutrality of studies from East Asia have also been questioned.[citation needed] Another issue is the profit potential of corporate research since ginseng cannot be patented. As a result, quality studies into the effects of ginseng are rare. Ironically, one of the better studies involving ginseng actually uses a proprietary formula of ginseng [3]
Ginseng is promoted as an adaptogen (a product that increases the body's resistance to stress), one which can to a certain extent be supported with reference to its anticarcinogenic and antioxidant properties,[4] although animal experiments to determine whether longevity and health were increased in the presence of stress gave negative results.[5]
A comparative, randomized and double-blind study at the National Autonomous University of Mexico does indicate it to be "a promising dietary supplement" when assessed for an increase in quality of life [6].
Panax ginseng appear to inhibit some characteristics associated with cancer in animal models; nevertheless, this effect is unclear in humans.[7]
Ginseng, Nitric Oxide, and Reproductive Activity
A 2002 study by the Southern Illinois University School of Medicine (published in the annals of the New York Academy of Sciences) found that in laboratory animals, both Asian and American forms of ginseng enhance libido and copulatory performance. These effects of ginseng may not be due to changes in hormone secretion, but to direct effects of ginseng, or its ginsenoside components, on the central nervous system and gonadal tissues. In males, ginsenosides can facilitate penile erection by directly inducing the vasodilatation and relaxation of penile corpus cavernosum. Moreover, the effects of ginseng on the corpus cavernosum appear to be mediated by the release and/or modification of release of nitric oxide from endothelial cells and perivascular nerves. Animal studies lend growing support for the use of ginseng in the treatment of sexual dysfunction and provide increasing evidence for a role of nitric oxide in the mechanism of ginsenoside action. [3]
Side Effects
One of ginseng's most common side-effects is the inability to sleep.[4] Other side-effects include nausea, diarrhea, euphoria, headaches, epistaxis, high blood pressure, low blood pressure, mastalgia, and vaginal bleeding.[5]
Common classification
Ginseng roots in a market in Seoul, 2003Panax ginseng Chinese/Korean ginseng (root)
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) Ginseng promotes Yang energy, improves circulation, increases blood supply, revitalizes and aids recovery from weakness after illness, stimulates the body
The ginseng root can be double steamed with chicken meat as a soup. (See samgyetang.)
Panax quinquefolius American ginseng (root)
Ginseng that is produced in the United States and Canada is particularly prized in Chinese societies, and many ginseng packages are prominently colored red, white, and blue.
According to Traditional Chinese Medicine, American Ginseng promotes Yin energy, cleans excess Yang in the body, calms the body. The reason it has been claimed that American ginseng promotes Yin (shadow, cold, negative, female) while East Asian ginseng promotes Yang (sunshine, hot, positive, male) is that, according to traditional Chinese medicine, things living in cold places are strong in Yang and vice versa, so that the two are balanced. Chinese/Korean ginseng grows in northeast China and Korea, the coldest area known to Chinese in the old time, so ginseng from there is supposed to be very Yang. And originally, American ginseng was imported into China via subtropical Canton, the seaport next to Hong Kong, so Chinese doctors believed that American ginseng must be good for Yin, because it came from a hot area. However they did not know that American ginseng can only grow in temperate regions.
The ginseng is sliced, a few slices are soaked in hot water to make a tea.
Most North American ginseng is produced in the Canadian provinces of Ontario and British Columbia and the American state of Wisconsin, according to Agri-food Canada. P. quinquefolius is now also grown in northern China.
A randomized, double-blind study shows that American ginseng reduces influenza cases in the elderly when compared to placebo.[3]
Wild ginseng
Wild ginseng is ginseng that has not been planted and cultivated domestically, rather it is that which grows naturally and is harvested from wherever it is found to be growing. It is considered to be superior to domestic ginseng by various authorities, and it has been shown to contain higher levels of ginsenoside. Wild ginseng is relatively rare and even increasingly endangered, due in large part to high demand for the product in recent years, which has lead to the wild plants being sought out and harvested faster than new ones can grow (it requires years for a ginseng root to reach maturity).
Red ginseng
Red ginsengRed ginseng (Korean=홍삼, Simplified Chinese: 红蔘; Traditional Chinese: 紅蔘), is Panax ginseng that has been heated, either through steaming or sun-drying. It is frequently marinated in an herbal brew which results in the root becoming extremely brittle. This version of ginseng is associated with stimulating sexual function and increasing energy. Red ginseng is always produced from cultivated roots, usually from either China or South Korea.
A double-blind, crossover study of Red ginseng's effects on impotence show a marked positive effect.[8]
A study shows that Red ginseng reduces the relapse of gastric cancer versus control[9]
A study of ginseng's effects on rats show that while both White ginseng and Red ginseng reduce the incidence of cancer, the effects appear to be greater with Red ginseng.[10]
Ginseng alternatives
These plants are sometimes referred to as ginseng, but they are either from a different family or genus.
Eleutherococcus senticosus (Siberian ginseng)
Pseudostellaria heterophylla (Prince ginseng)
Angelica sinensis (Female ginseng, aka Dong Quai)
Withania somnifera (Indian ginseng, aka Ashwagandha)
Pfaffia paniculata (Brazilian ginseng)
Lepidium meyenii (Peruvian ginseng, aka Maca)
Gynostemma pentaphyllum (Southern ginseng, aka Jiaogulan)
Source: WIKIPEDIA
