Chaga Forager’s Quest

Chaga is unique among mushrooms. It may well be one of the most important ever discovered. Like all healthy mushrooms, Chaga contains beta glucans and polysaccharide. Chaga also has an extremely high ORAC value (a measurement tool for representing the antioxidant activity of various foods), even more than that of blueberry extract. Immortality Quest Chaga is made from wild-growing Chaga combined with hot water and ethanol extracts.

Chaga grows in the circumpolar region of the world, in the northern hemisphere of our planet, where it grows in deciduous forests, where birch trees are exposed to harsh weather conditions. Although Chaga grows primarily on birch, it can also grow on elder, ash, beech, elm, and even apple trees. When Chaga grows on birch, it feeds on the nutrients and substances found in the birch, concentrating the energy of the extraordinarily powerful environment into a form that can be readily used by humans. In Siberian Shamanism, Chaga is known as the "King of mushrooms". Traditionally, Chaga was mainly consumed in the form of tea.

Partner or parasite? There are two different theories about the relationship between Chaga and the birch tree. The first states that Chaga is a parasite, or a cancer on the tree. The second theory is based on a symbiotic relationship between Chaga and the birch, in which each takes something from the other that they need. Paul Stamets in 'mycellium running' states that Chaga extracts can be used topically in the treatment of tree diseases, thus doing justice to the symbiotic model.

Chaga contains, among other things, Melanin. It is what gives Chaga its brown colour. Chaga contains more melanin than any known food or herb. It is the best source of nutrients of all. This substance is only found in wild Chaga products, and is not found in cultivated mycelium products.

Chaga also has amazingly high levels of antioxidants, or ORAC - (Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity). Chaga has the highest ORAC score ever recorded in a natural food.

Superoxide Dismutase (SOD) - Chaga is known for its very high content of SOD, an important enzyme. The concentration of SOD units per gram: Chaga 35,000, Reishi 1,400, Agaricus 1,500 Polysaccharides, such as beta-glucans (multiple sugars). Glucans work best in synergy with other polysaccharides, triterpenes, sterols and numerous antioxidants all found in Chaga.

Betulin is an abundant naturally occurring triterpene. It is found in high concentration in the bark of the birch tree and the Chaga helps to convert the betulin into an absorbable form of betulinic acid. Betulin is the substance that makes the birch bright white. Betulin is a powdery substance found in the outer bark of the birch. It has been used by the cosmetics industry as a skin restorative tonic, the birch bark extract being added to various products.

Nutrients:

• protein bound xylogalactoglucans
• polyphenols
• sterols
• initodiols
• triterpenoid saponins
• melanin
• betulin/betulinic acid
• lupeol
• copper
• germanium

Chaga contains 215 phytonutrients including 29 polysaccharides or beta-glucan derivatives.

Trace elements:

• barium
• bismuth
• boron
• chrome
• copper
• germanium
• manganese
• selenium
• zinc

Main minerals:

• calcium
• caesium
• iron
• magnesium
• phosphorus
• potassium
• rubidium
• silicon
• sulphur
• vitamins B2, D2
• dietary fibres
• amino acid complexes