Shiitake - Lentinula edodes:
As a food, the shiitake mushroom is amongst the most prized in Oriental cooking, and is widely regarded for its flavour. In China it known as Hsiang Ku, meaning "fragrant mushroom", possibly because of its caramel-like smell.

Shiitake is both the second-most popular and second-most most widely-cultivated mushroom on the planet, often grown in private gardens as well as commericially.

Yet despite this widespread culinary devotion, the nutritional and healing properties of this valued fungus are still little known in the West, even though Shiitake has long been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), and as a folk-remedy for measles, colds and bronchial inflammation.

Shiitake can be eaten fresh, or prepared from dried or powdered mushrooms, either for culinary use or as tinctures, teas or extracts.

We have been growing shiitake mushrooms since 1996. By following the management principles set down by generations of Japanese growers we are able to produce mushrooms of the highest quality, grown with the addition of water - and nothing else.

Our products, selected with great care and thought to accommodate all palates and tastes, make it easy to supplement your diet with shiitake. We have confidence in the quality of these products because we maintain total control of the growing process, from culture production to harvest, allowing us to maintain a consistent quality throughout our products. The mushrooms are grown to organic standards and harvested at a stage where active compounds are known to peak. We produce concentrated extracts so that they are both cost-effective and easy to take on a regular basis.

The beneficial properties of mushrooms have been prized for thousands of years and fruiting bodies organic mushroom extracts are the most potent and effective form of mushroom nutrition available. In China and Japan, traditional products based on these beneficial properties are considered to be amongst the highest class of medicines, i.e., tonics that are said to impart strength, vigour, and longevity.

The Chinese and Japanese believe, with good reason, that nurturing a healthy immune system is the best way to combat many modern-day ailments, and both use mushrooms as nutritional therapy to treat cancer and many other modern day immune-related illnesses. Our products, based on the mushrooms featured on this site, contain compounds that are known to be amongst the most powerful natural immuno-enhancers known to science. The functions of products based on mushrooms are described as Host Defence Potentiators and Biological Response Modifiers. We make no claims about our products: instead we have provided a very detailed list of references, journal, scientific reports, books and on-going studies, which will provide you with all the information that you need to make your own judgement about using our products.

Echinacea, the best selling "herbal" product in 2002, is marketed as an "immune-system enhancer". A compound extracted from Shiitake mushrooms is the strongest immuno-enhancer known to science!

The general consensus among the medical profession is that if we eat a good, healthy wholesome, diet then in many cases (but not all), our chances of living relatively free of disease and constant viral attacks are enhanced.

The problem, particularly for the male of the species, is that adhering to a "healthy & wholesome" diet is just not that easy, despite our best efforts! "Health-giving" fizzy drinks (containing everything from sodium benzoate to Aspartame), the odd pint or two, cigarettes, a chocolate bar here and there, that plastic-sandwich at the service station and on and on.

Good sense would have it that we should all consume sizable portions of green vegetables every day – broccoli, kale and cabbage being key to everyone's ideal daily intake. Of course, in reality it is difficult to achieve these portions on a daily basis, so the need exists to supplement your diet, and mushrooms are the answer!

Our compulsion to colour everything we eat and drink means that every time you open your mouth to put something in it, it will almost certainly contain something that is going to unbalance your immune system!

A strong immune system is the key to surviving the 21st Century. Prevention is key.

Additional Information: The mushroom extract is in an alcohol base, which can be steamed off by putting the extract into hot water (and then allowing to cool) before taking.

There is 1g of mushroom extract for each ml, 100ml per bottle.

The suggested daily dose is 2ml twice daily as maintenance or doubled to 4ml twice daily if treating a specific condition.