Tag Archives: weight loss

Keep Your New Year’s Resolution and Lose Weight with Reishi

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New Year’s resolutions have a bad reputation for being tough to keep, and weight loss is one of the most common (and high failure) resolutions. So, if you’re already feeling disappointed in your attempts to start to lose weight this year, don’t let that discourage you because we’re here to keep you motivated and on track to accomplish your weight-loss goals this year.

Why is excess weight hard to lose?

There are many reasons why loss of excess weight can be so difficult. Like most health issues, there can be a combination of nature (genetics) and nurture (lifestyle) issues contributing to health challenges. Some of the more common medical reasons for weight gain include insulin resistance (poor blood sugar metabolism) and diabetes, dysbiosis (imbalance of gut bacteria) and other digestive disorders, hypothyroidism, depression, and hormonal imbalance and menopause.

Further to that, chronic stress can cause too much cortisol production. Made by the adrenal glands, cortisol is a steroid hormone that can increase appetite and the amount of sugar in the bloodstream, causing weight gain, particularly around the middle. Insufficient sleep time, including that caused by simply not allotting enough time for rest, insomnia, and sleep apnea can also contribute to weight gain.

Reishi can support healthy weight loss

Wild mushrooms called “lingzhi” in China and “reishi” in Japan are found growing on dead trees in forests throughout the world. But herbologists have been cultivating this incredible mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) for over 2000 years because of its medicinal properties. Used to treat everything from asthma to heart palpitations, this mushroom has also been found to have anti-diabetic compounds.

In a study published by MDPI, a publisher of peer-reviewed open access journals, a team of researchers found that extracts from reishi mushroom can reduce obesity in mice. Mice fed a diet that included Ganoderma lucidum were found to have a better ability to metabolize glucose, had less accumulation of fat in the liver, and had smaller fat cells, all of which resulted in weight loss.

Another group of researchers investigated reishi’s ability to help with preventing obesity associated with chronic low-grade inflammation and imbalance in the gut bacteria. They found that a water extract of reishi mushroom helped reduce body weight, inflammation, and insulin-resistance. At least part of the reason was that reishi helped restore the gut’s microbiome—a healthy foundation of good bacteria in the digestive system.

Because chronic stress and sleep disorders can also contribute to weight gain and make it harder to lose excess weight, anything that can help manage these issues can assist with reaching a healthy weight. Reishi is most recognized for its adaptogenic properties, helping the body to better deal with stressors, and in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), it is classified as an herb that helps to calm the mind.

If you’re looking for ways to keep your New Year’s resolutions to lose weight and get healthier, in addition to watching what you eat, exercising regularly, and sleeping soundly, supplementing with reishi mushroom can help reach your health goals for 2022 and beyond.

How Reishi Mushroom Supplements Can Help with Weight Loss

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Weight loss is a struggle for many of us, especially after the extra pandemic pounds that some of us have put on because of being less active, stress eating, and home baking. Sometimes it can seem that no matter how hard you diet or exercise, shedding stubborn excess weight can be a challenge, especially if you have a sluggish metabolism.

So, if you are looking for ways to lose those extra pounds, safely and naturally, we have some great news. By now, you probably know that this magical mushroom is used to support a balanced immune system and treat heart disease, liver disorders, and lung issues. But what you might not know is that reishi mushroom can also help you manage weight loss.

Reasons for Excess Weight

When patients ask me if I can help them with weight loss, I often try to reframe the problem. I can (and do) suggest healthier foods and encourage a more active lifestyle, but I can’t make patients follow those recommendations. Plus, some patients have already made those changes and still can’t shed the pounds.

There are many reasons other than eating too much or moving too little that someone can find it hard to maintain their healthiest weight. Some have a tough time regulating their blood sugars. Many have digestive issues. Even stress and poor sleep can affect metabolism and result in weight gain.

How Reishi Works To Battle the Bulge

The reishi mushroom, also known as Ganoderma lucidum and lingzhi, is well known for its abundance of health benefits. In fact, it has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.

Blood Sugar Imbalance

Told you need to cut down on carbs and sweets because you have signs of insulin resistance? Wouldn’t it be nice to have something to help you manage your cravings and better regulate glucose metabolism?

In a recent study done on obese mice, bioactive substances found in reishi were found to help prevent obesity and insulin resistance.

Poor Digestion

While malabsorption of food nutrients often leads to unhealthy weight loss, sometimes poor digestion can result in unintended weight gain. Examples of this include chronic constipation, inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), and overeating caused by trying to abate symptoms of acid reflux. One common cause of digestive distress is an imbalance of the healthy bacteria of the gut. Reishi mushroom compounds, called polysaccharides, have been shown to help restore these good bacteria. In a study on mice, reishi successfully treated obesity, reversing weight gain and insulin resistance.

Stress Eating

Reishi mushroom is best recognized for its ability to help calm the nervous system and manage stress. When we produce more of the stress hormone cortisol, our insulin levels can rise, resulting in a drop in our blood sugar and cravings for sugary and fatty foods. Eating comfort foods may also distract us from facing our problems head on.

What’s worse, ramping up the calories when we’re pumping out high levels of cortisol can make fat preferentially gain around the middle, which holds higher health risks. And, as if that weren’t enough, we burn fewer calories because of lowered metabolism when we’re stressed.

Better managing our chronic stress with an adaptogen like Japanese red reishi can help bump us out of our poor food choices and lower our cortisol levels so we can properly burn off the calories once more.

Reishi for Weight Loss

Anything that has to do with weight loss drums up its fair share of attention. And as if reishi couldn’t get enough of the spotlight when it comes to longevity and overall health, this fantastic fungus has also been shown to help us find our healthy weight once more.