What is Cordyceps?
Cordyceps Sinensis is a fungus that grows in the high altitudes of Tibet, Nepal and parts of China. Cordyceps Sinensis thrives in the cold grassy mountains at about 10,000 feet above sea level. Cordyceps Sinensis belongs to the fungi family of Ascomycotina. While there are over 680 species in the Cordyceps, we will be focusing on the Cordyceps Sinensis species. While it is a fungus that looks like a mushroom; technically it is not a mushroom. Cordyceps is a plant that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine to restore energy, promote longevity, stimulate the immune system and to improve quality of life.
How was Cordyceps Sinensis discovered?
About 1,500 years ago yak herders in the Himalayas of Tibet and Nepal noticed that their yak would graze on some capless mushrooms and suddenly become very energetic and playful. The herders investigated what the yaks were eating and cordyceps was discovered.
In AD 620 (during the Tang Dynasty) the first written record of cordyceps was made. Cordyceps quickly became prized by the ruling Emperors of China for its healing and longevity properties. Starting in the 1400's Tibetan scholars started to write extensively about cordyceps.
In the 18th century, the Western World was introduced to cordyceps. A French Jesuit priest named Jean Baptiste du Halde was a guest of the Chinese Emperor when he was introduced to cordyceps and its revitalizing powers. In 1757 Cordyceps makes its first appearance in a medical text - New Compilation of Materia Medica. From that point on, scientist have been fascinated by the health properties of the cordyceps sinensis.
What was Cordyceps traditionally used for?
Traditionally cordyceps has been used in the Orient for purported benefits to the heart, lungs, immune system, for its energy-boosting effects, stamina and for anti-aging purposes. In Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) cordyceps is considered one of the most important medicinal foods. In fact, wild Cordyceps Sinensis was so rare in ancient times that it was valued at four times its weight in silver.
In the wild, Cordyceps can grow on caterpillars, insects, plants and other fungi. In a traditional Chinese herbal market you may see Cordyceps that grew on a caterpillar. Modern cultivation techniques allow cordyceps sinensis to be grown in a controlled environment on grain - completely insect free and vegetarian.
What are the Health Benefits of Cordyceps Sinensis?
A search on pubmed.gov for "cordyceps sinensis" will show over 440 clinical studies.
There is an incredible amount of research on Cordyceps and potential health benefits, but it can get very scientific and technical. If you are interested in learning more about the health benefits, please read this amazing article... "Ancient Cordyceps in the Modern World by John Holliday"
John Holliday is considered one of the foremost experts on Cordyceps and has done amazing work on Cordyceps cultivation and research. We have been so impressed with Dr. Holliday's work that we exclusively buy the Cordyceps for our Perfect Acai Revive from Dr. Holliday. Here are just some of the most prominent uses for Cordyceps Sinensis...
- Increase energy, endurance and stamina
- Increase oxygen capacity
- Battle weakness and fatigue
- Boosts lung function and capacity
- Boosts the immune system
- Improves sexual function
Cordyceps is very popular with endurance athletes of all types. Cyclists, Runners, Mountain Climbers, Swimmers and Triathletes are just some of the athletes who have used Cordyceps with great success. In 1993 at the Chinese National Games the Chinese Women's Track and Field team shattered 9 world records. The secret as revealed by their coach? You guessed it - a drink made with Cordyceps!
How does Cordyceps Sinensis work with my body?
Cordyceps is an adaptogen herb. This term, coined by Russian scientist, Dr. Lazarev in 1947. Adaptogen herbs must conform to three standards.- Must be nontoxic and cause very few, if any, side effects
- Produce nonspecific resistance in the body to all types of stressors (physical, chemical and biological)
- Produce a normalizing influence on the body
How do Cordyceps work?
Studies have shown that Cordyceps can help increase lung capacity and lead to easier breathing and better oxygen capacity. This matches with Cordyceps use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) as a lung tonic to help support the respiratory system. Cordyceps can increase oxygen capacity and increase ATP (adenosine triphosphate) levels.
What is ATP (adenosine triphosphate) and how does it give me energy?
Every cell in our body has these amazing little cellular structures called mitochondria. The mitochondria are responsible for converting the nutrients from the food we eat into energy. Yes, the mitochondria have the daunting task of providing energy for every cell in our body, so we can eat, move, think, talk, breath, etc.
The Mitochondria converts nutrients into ATP (adenosine triphosphate), which are stored in the cell. Simply think of ATP as the fuel that our body needs to run on. As long as we produce more ATP than our body uses, we have an energy surplus and our body feels great. On the other hand, if those tiny Mitochondria can not keep up with the body's demand for energy - we have an energy deficit - and this can lead to many problems.
ATP is made on demand in our body, we do not keep large reserves of ATP in our body. At any give time we only have about 100 grams of ATP in our body. This may sound like a lot but an active cell requires more than 2 million ATP molecules per second. Some quick match shows that our bodily store of ATP is sufficient to satisfy our needs for only a few seconds, therefore, the store of ATP needs to be continuously replenished. Simply put, if our body stopped making ATP for 4 seconds - we would die.
What causes an energy deficit in our body?
Damage to our mitochondria. It can be oxidative stress, emotional stress, physical stress, toxins in our body, normal wear and tear at a cellular level - basically anything that decreases the capacity of the mitochondria can deplete our supply of ATP and CP and create that dreaded energy deficit.
How does Cordyceps Sinensis help with energy deficit?
Animal studies have shown that supplementing with Cordyceps can increase the ATP stores in the liver ( J Altern Complement Med. 2001 Jun;7(3):231-40). In addition, Cordyceps is a powerful antioxidant and can defend against oxidative damage to our cells and in turn the mitochondria. Healthy mitochandria means the cells produce more ATP. If we have more ATP available to our cells, we increase the total amount of fuel available to our body. Add in the fact that Cordyceps helps with oxygen capacity and now you have the two major components for real cellular energy - ATP and oxygen to burn!
The ability of Cordyceps to increase ATP levels and improve Oxygen capacity goes a long way in explaining how this herb can have many positive health benefits.
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