# Survival > Bushcraft Medicine >  Have you drank Chaga Tea? Personal benifits from it?

## Gray Wolf

Have you (or do you)  drank Chaga Tea? If so, did you (or do you) notice any personal benefits from it?

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## Rick

No, I don't and thanks for asking.

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## Gray Wolf

Chaga has some of the highest amounts of anti-oxidants of any food. Plus, Polysaccharides that enhance the immune system, Betulinic acid to counter viral infections, Triterpenes to lower cholesterol, improve circulation, and detoxify the liver, Germanium (a free-radical scavenger) to cleanse the blood, and normalize blood pressure. Other nucleosides, phytonutrients, minerals, and amino acids including saponin, magnesium, chromium, iron, kalium, beta-glucan, inotodiol and isoprenoid.

I know, play with it outside...

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## Rick

Actually, I was gonna say don't be runnin' in the house with it in your hands.

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## Beo

Never even heard of it. Where can I get some to try?

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## Gray Wolf

It's chaga conk or tinder fungus, known scientifically as the chaga mushroom. The Chaga mushroom is a fungi that grows on the wounds of birch trees. Occasionally chaga is also found on ironwood, elm, alder and beeches but both paper birch and yellow birch seems to be its favorite.

http://www.survivaltopics.com/survival-supplies/

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## Gray Wolf

They have a complete info page here:
http://www.survivaltopics.com/surviv...inal-mushroom/

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## Ole WV Coot

Sounds like it would make you howl at the moon and chase domestic animals for unnatural acts that I won't mention. Probably would almost come close to decent clear, invigorating homemade drink from the hills that is truly the nectar of the Gods.

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## crashdive123

> Sounds like it would make you howl at the moon and chase domestic animals for unnatural acts that I won't mention.


You need tea for that?

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## Rick

No. In fact, if you drink to much of it or the nectar of the gods you generally wind up losing your pistola and your knife and starting telling people that they hid from you.

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## Beo

I thought it was in like health stores or something, and yeah you chase domestic animals for unnatural acts that you won't mention, I know ya do... lol

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## Ole WV Coot

> No. In fact, if you drink to much of it or the nectar of the gods you generally wind up losing your pistola and your knife and starting telling people that they hid from you.


You keep dragging up unpleasant memories. One good thing, the knife hasn't been found in anyone's back and no shootings traced back to yours truly :Big Grin:

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## canid

i use reishi, and conifer reishi, but i also eat a lot of shelf fungi which have similar medicinal properties, as do many other wood loving fungi, such as Herecium species [lion's mane fungus, comb tooth fungus, etc].

personally, i don't seem to get sick more than once each winter if i'm living someplace with good fall mushroom hunting, and i am otherwise illness prone. when i'm living such places, i tend to spend a lot more time in the cold and damp, camping, hiking, hunting, even hunting mushrooms.

the only conk fungi i've eaten [drinken] are the ganodermas.

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## Gray Wolf

More info:

Wilderness Medicinal Mushroom

Fire making aside, the chaga mushroom is also well known for its huge load of immune stimulating phytochemicals and betulin that can be consumed as a tea. Some of these compounds are derived from the birch tree and bark it consumes and concentrates in its flesh.

The chaga fungus has some of the highest amounts of anti-oxidants of any substance consumed by man. Siberian folk medicine and modern uses of a tea made from Chaga fungus include:

    * boosting the immune system
    * treating stomach diseases
    * Intestinal worms
    * Liver and heart ailments
    * Cancers including those of the breast, liver, uterine, and gastric
    * Hypertension
    * Diabetes
    * anti-tumor activity
    * The active compound inotodiol which works against influenza A and B viruses and cancer cells.
    * Activity against HIV-1
    * As an anti-inflammatory

Some experts claim the Chaga is the best anti-cancer mushroom of all.

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## trax

Them birch tree mushrooms been used for medicinal purposes by the Cree for a few thousand years or so, didn't know someone was marketing them. Go figure.

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## Gray Wolf

I always thought that Chaga was used for tinder in a fire piston, never heard of this use. A neighbor has cancer and started drinking the Chaga Tea. I didn't know if he was being conned out of his money.

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## canid

most of the woody bracket fungi have been implicated for some level of anti cancer or at least anti tumor activity. they're a joy to know, being so versatile.

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## wareagle69

i think calling it a mushroom is misleading it is a fungus that gorws on birch trees now this is something that i have heard about before but always thought about it more for firelighting, i will have to research more on the tea aspect of it, actually when i was out with another one of my mentors this week he pointed out the yellow birch to me and the chaga growing on it

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## Arsey

I'd never heard of it before now.
I am however taking Reishi Gano and Ganocelium which have rave write ups.
Not much Birch here....too hot.

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## Gray Wolf

I had said it was *known scientifically as the chaga mushroom*. The Chaga mushroom is a fungi that grows on the wounds of birch trees. Occasionally chaga is also found on ironwood, elm, alder and beeches but both paper birch and yellow birch seems to be its favorite.

Posted above,

Wilderness Medicinal Mushroom

Fire making aside, the chaga mushroom is also well known for its huge load of immune stimulating phytochemicals and betulin that can be consumed as a tea. Some of these compounds are derived from the birch tree and bark it consumes and concentrates in its flesh.

The chaga fungus has some of the highest amounts of anti-oxidants of any substance consumed by man. Siberian folk medicine and modern uses of a tea made from Chaga fungus include:

* boosting the immune system
* treating stomach diseases
* Intestinal worms
* Liver and heart ailments
* Cancers including those of the breast, liver, uterine, and gastric
* Hypertension
* Diabetes
* anti-tumor activity
* The active compound inotodiol which works against influenza A and B viruses and cancer cells.
* Activity against HIV-1
* As an anti-inflammatory

http://www.survivaltopics.com/surviv...inal-mushroom/

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## wareagle69

i did cut off a chunk of it on sunday maybe i will try it tonight in a tea guess i will just let the "chunck" steep for 10 minutes and see how it tastes

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## Gray Wolf

> i did cut off a chunk of it on sunday maybe i will try it tonight in a tea guess i will just let the "chunck" steep for 10 minutes and see how it tastes


This is perhaps the most written about method of making tea from chaga mushrooms:

   1. Shred the inner part of the Chaga mushroom.
   2. Soften in cold water for four hours.
   3. Filter with a coffee filter and save the liquid and the softened Chaga separately.
   4. Pour water heated to a temperature of about 50C (122F) over the softened chaga in a ratio of 5-parts water to 1-part fungus.
   5. Let stand at room temperature for 48-hours.
   6. Filter the new mixture and add this water to that prepared in step 3.
   7. Use this batch within four days, drinking 3-glasses at eight hour intervals each day. After four days make a new batch of chaga tea.

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## Gray Wolf

*Or*

Mushroom Hunters Chaga Method

   1. Bring two gallons (8 liters) of water to a boil.
   2. Let the water cool until you can touch the pot without it burning your hand.
   3. Put 3 or 4 handfuls of the chaga into the water.
   4. Cover the pot and let stand for 48-hours.
   5. Strain the liquid and store in a refrigerator.
   6. The cubes can be used at least two additional times.

According to the Mushroom Hunter some people say boiling the chaga releases additional cancer fighting ingredients so he as a last step he boils the cubes to obtain the last bit of goodness.

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## JerseyBlues

Has this topic been further investigated? Is Chaga tea really that beneficial? The articles indicate it grows in northern USA- how far north? We have birch here in southern NJ; is it reasonable to believe it can be found here? How about in central PA?

I have some hypertension going on and I hate the side effects of the medications prescribed to me, so I'm very willing to try some natural remedies.

If I source some from a healthfoods store, is it the same thing?

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## rwc1969

The main thing to consider is the source, which should be white birch. It's hard to know if the stuff from health food stores came from white birch, or is even chaga for that matter.

I would suggest only buying chaga in chunk form and knowing what it looks like and buying from someone whom I could trust.

I drink it because it tastes good, if there's any health benefits then yee haaa, that much better I suppose. I was having stomach troubles after a surgery and after drinking it got better. can't say if it was the chaga tea or time. but, I harvested my own chaga.

I made some out in the field the other day, here's the vid

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xEXTwhKW7Q4

For best health benefits it's suggested that you don't boil it though.

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## BobC

Chaga tea is very beneficial for your health. 

When harvesting your own Chaga for preparing tea make sure you only use Chaga that grew at least several 100s of kilometers away from industrial and/or rural areas /highways. Like all mushrooms Chaga is a true pollution sponge and absorbs heavy metals very easy. Not very healthy.

I am using Chaga for quite some time now, though only as a food supplement in capsules. Stops the colds and the flus from appearing. Lowers cholesterol and more of that stuff. I'm now trying tea for the first time.

Have a look at this Russian site (in English) with lots of background. The best/most clean Chaga stems from Siberia. Very interesting!

chagatrade.ru

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## crashdive123

Well, maybe you can find Chaga 


> that grew at least several 100s of kilometers away from industrial and/or rural areas /highways


 in the Netherlands, but for most folks that is unrealistic.  What you are describing does not exist in many places where civilization exists.  Your wouldn't live 240 miles from the nearest road would you?

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## mountainmark

I have used Chaga to attempt fighting off a bug, but it didn't help (or seemed not to) but my guess is, as with many antibiotics, you need the right one for the bug you got. On a side note, I have heard that boiling it is in fact the best way to use it, and boiling the water down to a third it's original volume makes it much more potent. It is recommended to not use it as a preventative as your body will grow tolerances to it and it won't be there for you when you need it. Just some thoughts. mark

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