by Farley D
by Farley D
February 24, 2021
by Farley D
by Farley D
February 24, 2021
Our favourite immune boosting tonic herbs
Our best-selling specialty blendΒ of Jing herbs just waiting to plump your kidneys up.
JING
Our best-selling specialty blendΒ of Jing herbs just waiting to plump your kidneys up.
JING
by Tahnee McCrossin October 30, 2018 5 mins read
Β **Check out this wicked pic ofΒ Ophiocordyceps unilateralis (we'll chat about him below)
Β
You might have seen that we sell Cordyceps here at SuperFeast. In fact, we even include it in our two most popular blends, Masonβs Mushrooms and our unique JING blend.
Cordy (as we affectionately call it) is an amazingΒ medicinal mushroom (and herb!)Β - we love it for athletes, kids with asthma or chronic coughs/colds and for post-partum mamas especially. It's warming, strengthening, helps you to rebuild and supports your energy. A herbal ally if ever there was one.
Β
But Cordyceps has a few skeletons in its closet that weβre going to reveal today - like many of us, it has a few dodgy relatives and a bit of a dark past! π
Β
Letβs start with the relatives, shall we?
Ophiocordyceps unilateralis is one of Cordycepsβ nastier cousins. Our cordy, Cordyceps CS-4 is a strain of Cordyceps sinesis mycelium cultivated in a liquid ferment. Normally we grow all our herbs in the great outdoors - Di Dao (Di Tao) is our underlying philosophy at SuperFeast - and we only use medicinal mushroom fruiting bodies, usually. But this cordy is the exception to the rule, and weβll explain why below.
NOTE:Β Cordyceps sinensis is the old name for the fungus that is now, if you're a fungus nerd or scientist, more correctly called Ophiocordyceps sinensis. WeΒ haven't found 'Ophiocordyceps' really rolls off the tongue, so we're sticking with Cordy.
Our cordy comes from a strain, CS-4, discovered in the 80s by Chinese scientists. This lab-grown strain helps preserve the environment as, unfortunately, picking this fungusΒ in the wild can be very damaging to the environment (andΒ dangerous for the people picking it!) CS-4 is, to date, the only non-wild cordyceps strain that still contains all the active ingredients found in wild cordyceps. It took years to discover this strain, and it's been heavily researched in China, and found to be as effective as wild cordyceps in terms of its immune and energy/performance enhancing benefits.Β
CS-4 is grown in a nice sterile environment (in stainless steel tanks on a liquid culture that the mycelium feeds on) on the right side of the tracks. But head to the outskirts of town and youβll find its cuzzies reigning over the insect realm in a most horrific fashion.Β
Originally thought to locate an ant, move into its body and take over its brain, itβs now been shown that Ophiocordyceps unilateralis actually takes over the ants bodies, leaving their brains intact. Which may actually be worse.
βThis means that the ant is likely conscious and cognizant (sic) of whatβs happening to it as the fungus seeps into its body... Itβs like having your entire body zombified except your head, which is arguably even worse than full-on zombification.β
Good. Great. And you thought your relatives were bad!
Now, itβs easy to point the finger at distant relatives and denounce their ant-controlling, zombie-puppeteering ways, but fact is, regular old Ophiocordyceps sinensis (aka the big daddy of our CS-4 strain) is no better than his ant-murderingΒ bro.
See, big poppa C. sinesis is a parasitic fungus too (none of the Cordyceps clan are TECHNICALLY mushrooms, but I dare you to tell them that...Iβll keep my body parasite free, thanks).
Β
Instead of ants he eats moth larvae and heβs very very famous in the Himalayas. He also doesnβt get out of bed for less than $10,000 - for him to take out a larvae and become your herb of choice will cost you, around $20,000-100,000 USD a kilo for the raw materials. Given that we use 10kgs of raw material to make an extract,Β that's not cheap!
Β Β
βTraditional healers in Sikkim recommend the fungus/mushroom Cordyceps sinensis for βall illnessesβ as a tonic, because they claim that it improves energy, appetite, stamina, libido, endurance, and sleeping patterns.β
Now, all these old-school Asian healers classified Cordy as a medicinal mushroom and theyβve been frothing over it for millenia. And we were excited to make it a part of our range. But see, when we were selecting herbs for SuperFeast we had to make a call.
Β
Do we go with the zombie-larvae-fungus-thing that is mighty rare and expensive or do we go with this more modern take on a very old herb, the CS-4. See, CS-4 is trying to redeem the family name. Heβs vegan, affordable, still super potent and been doing his thing for more than 30 years (this strain was developed in the 80s). CS-4 has been studied and tested and it works. We aren't sure it contains the same 'essence' as truly wild cordyceps, but we're constantly impressed with this strain and we use it daily ourselves. Remember, at SuperFeast we are alllll about the potent and wild harvested tonic herbs, according to Di Dao principles. We decided to give CS-4 a chance in the SuperFeast range, and weβve been delighted to see that heβs committed to his reformed zombie lifestyle. Paleo diet (grain and sugar free), keeps it clean with regular checkups (i.e. testing) and stays out of the way of his crazy family (lab grown). We recommend you give him a try!
Β
Now, if youβre a herb nerd and you really want wild Cordyceps, maybe take a little trip down to the southern Australian states (think dry, high-ish forest-type places) and look out for this guy: Cordyceps gunnii.
Heβs expensive and only available to harvest three months of the year, and yep, heβs parasitic, but if you find him, you could brew him up in a tea and/or tincture and enjoy his true blue Aussie cordyceps medicine. Our friend at Teelixir, Jules, found some a while back and gifted us one; it was truly a special day. Thanks Jules!!
Β
We hope you enjoyed this adventure down the rabbit hole of the weird and wacky (Ophio)Cordyceps family. And know that we will continue bringing you theΒ best Chinese medicinals we can source and the least-zombifying cordyceps we can find!!
Weβd love to have a range of Aussie medicinal herbs available to you all soon, weβre working on it. Are there any you guys know and love and would like to see? We just know thereβs so much wisdom and healing to be found in this land. Shoot us any questions in the comments below. And check out this sweet Pumpkin Spice Latte and get your Halloween on!
Β
References
https://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/mindcontrolling-zombie-ant-fungus-creepier-thought/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3121254/?report=classicby Alexandra Anttilla February 24, 2021
by Alexandra Anttilla February 17, 2021
by Tahnee McCrossin February 12, 2021
Join the SuperLove Club & start earning Dao Dollars to use towards your next purchase, access exclusive offers & so much more.
Start earning Dao Dollars & access exclusive offers & discounts on herbs.
It's FREE to join