A Walk in the Woods
Some things are worth lugging a ladder, tote bags, a camera, and all manner of cutting tools into the woods, propelled by the hope that one will be rewarded for the effort. Indeed, some things are worth spending over an hour teetering on the top rung of said ladder, operating a pull saw overhead, blinded as dust rains into one’s eyes and ears. This worthy prize is chaga.
It’s the bitter end of winter here in Maine, and it will be a while yet before we have plants we can harvest for food and medicine, that is, except for pine (for its sap and needles), maple (for its sap), and birch (for its bark, sap and chaga). This time of year I’m itching to get outside and away from the computer, so an excursion into the woods is a welcome change of scenery. It is out here, amongst the soaring birches, that one may encounter the chaga. Chaga – so what is it anyway?
Chaga, Inonotus obliquus
Chaga is not a mushroom but a sterile conk fungus found growing on yellow and paper birch trees throughout northern regions of Europe, Asia, and North America. Made up of sclerotia (a hardened fungal mycelium), chaga looks like a rupture of charcoal with a rough texture and deep fissures. Mature chaga can reach over a foot in diameter and is only found on trees that are at least 40 years old. While the chaga is a parasite that will eventually kill its host tree, the birch-chaga union will survive together for many years.
Is Chaga Good for You?
Chaga is commonly known as clinker polypore (due to its burnt wood appearance), birch canker polypore, and tinder conk (for its high flammability and smoldering properties). These names speak to the physical attributes of chaga, but it is what’s within the gnarly black crust that has stirred up the most interest, especially in the wellness community. Asian and Eastern European countries have used chaga for centuries to combat cancer, diabetes, and hypertension while in the West, research into its healing potential is still quite limited.
***Much research is yet to be conducted to verify the benefits and efficacy of chaga on the human body and the information below is not meant to identify disease, treat illness, or prescribe medicine – it is presented purely as informational and everyone is encouraged to do further research. That said, among some of the health benefits linked to chaga are:
- Antibacterial*
- Anti-inflammatory*
- Antioxidant*
- Immune stimulating/modulating*
- Liver protective*
- Gastro intestinal support* (by promoting good gut flora)
- Source of vitamins and minerals
- Modulates healthy cholesterol, blood pressure, and blood sugar* (thanks to betulin)
- Anti-cancer* (by blocking tumor growth and stimulating natural killer cells)
- Combats cellular degeneration* (skin)
*Asterisks denote content that you should investigate further on your own
Nutritive constituents of chaga include betulins (currently being researched as a chemotherapeutic agent), polyphenols and polysaccharides (beta-glucans) that are said to combat free radicals. Chaga is also loaded with vitamins and minerals (including vitamins A, B, D, K, amino acids, fiber, potassium, magnesium, to name a few).
Cautions?
Like with anything you put onto or into your body, safety precautions and common sense should always be employed. While chaga is natural, so are strawberries, and every year, people die from eating strawberries. Kapeesh?
Due to its naturally high levels of oxalate, chaga should be consumed in moderation, especially among people who who are sensitive to oxalic acid-containing foods such as spinach and soy.
A study* has shown that chaga contains a protein that could inhibit blood clotting, therefore, people with blood disorders, or are about to go into surgery, need to consult with medical professionals before taking chaga. Don’t fool around-just go talk to your doctor!
*Asterisks denote content that you should investigate further on your own
How to Incorporate Chaga into your Life
Disclaimers out of the way, and enthusiasm restored, now you want to know how to make chaga part of your life. Remember when I said that the harvesting of chaga required no small effort? Well, when it comes to unlocking the nourishing properties of chaga, one also needs to be patient and take the correct steps to get the most out of this incredible fungi. If you can’t or don’t want to forage chaga yourself, skip down to the Sources section. If you love a good challenge and want to be involved in the process of making your own supportive supplement read on!
So first, if you are near a mixed wood forest, have the proper tools, and think the possibility of encountering chaga is pretty good, then go forth and forage (with permission from the land owner of course!) Next, once you’ve carefully harvested the chaga, being sure to leave at least a third of the fungi on the host to continue to grow, you will need to hustle home and start the post harvest process immediately.
Chop Chop!
As you can see in this photo, I had to first chop the freshly harvested chaga into much smaller chunks. These chunks are about the size of a head of garlic. This is the first step to properly preserving the precious harvest. Once chopped, these bits should be spread out on a drying screen, in a single layer, and left in a warm covered area for several weeks until bone dry. Drying in the oven is not recommended.
Fast Forward – You’ve Got Dry Nuggets – What Now?
Because the cell walls of chaga are composed of chitin (same material in shellfish and insect exoskeleton), you will need to further break down your chaga to a powder, decoction or tincture to get the healing benefits.
- For powder, simply whiz the nuggets in a spice grinder (or grated) to a fine powder and mix into a smoothie, soak in water and strain it for a sweet brew, or encapsulate for easy dispensing. You will want to store the powder in a glass jar away from direct sunlight.
- For a decoction, place a nugget(s) in a mug and pour hot (but not boiling) water over and let sit for a while. By a while, I mean about an hour; you really want to draw out the good stuff. Waiting stinks but the good news is that you can reuse the nugget for multiple decoctions until the deep golden color is gone. Note, that with powder and nugget decoctions, you will be extracting only the water-soluble constituents (polyphenols and beta-glucans).
- If you want to make a tincture, the preferred method is a double extraction process that draws out both the water soluble constituents and the alcohol soluble constituents, which includes betulin and triterpenes. Here are instructions from Mountain Rose Herbs on how to make your own double extraction. Tinctures are a viable way to preserve chaga for long-term storage and use.
Sources (And Soap Box)
Knowing where and how your chaga is grown and handled is a really important part of your wellness and that of the chaga. There are a number of fungal species that can masquerade as chaga, simply fool the uneducated, or are knowingly harvested by shady folks trying to pass them off as chaga. Also, chaga that has been “cultivated” appears to lack the quality of its wild counterpart. If you didn’t go and harvest the chaga yourself, you really want to know the source, not just for the aforementioned reasons but also for the long-term sustainability of this strange and wonderful fungi. You will sleep soundly knowing that trees were not harmed and forests weren’t disrupted in the harvest of your chaga. Here are a few places to start your chaga sourcing journey.
Thanks for hanging in there throughout this long post. I sincerely hope it has inspired you to explore the woods with fresh eyes while providing some new information with which you can enhance your wellness or that of someone you care about. I will publish a follow-up post in a couple of months once the chaga nuggets are dry and ready to be made into tincture.
Until then, aloha!
