The first documented use of Chaga and other mushrooms and fungi for promoting health and longevity by Asian culture dates back centuries before the time of Christ. Chaga is cited throughout early Russian and Siberian folklore. Referred to in folklore as the "King of Herbs", the health-enhancing properties of Siberian Chaga have been documented for many centuries.
Timeline
3,300 BC: Evidence obtained from the study of Otzi (Ötzi) the Iceman shows that polypore mushrooms (which include chaga) were used by people towards the end of the Stone Age.(wiki)
3,000 BC: Legends tell of an amazing birch fungus found in Western Siberia that has been used for health concerns. Chaga is used by the Khanty and other Siberian peoples.
2696 BC: Medicinal Mushrooms are classified by the Shen-nung Pen-tsao Ching among the "Upper Class" herbs, as the "King of Herbs" and "Gifts from the Gods"
1000 BC: Chaga is used throughout Asia. In Traditional Chinese Culture, Chaga was used to balance the body's life energy or Chi and enhance immunity.
15th Century AD: Use of Chaga and its health benefits are documented in Russian folklore.
1955: Chaga is approved for use by the Russian Medical Academy of Science for supporting healthy immune system.
1968: The novel “Cancer Ward” by the Russian writer Alexander Solzhenitsyn is published, introducing the West to chaga. One of the chapters of the book, “Birch Cancer”, is devoted to a discussion among clinic patients about the miraculous birch mushroom that cures cancer.
1984: Dr. Kirsti Kahlos begins important scientific research about Chaga's active compounds and their health benefits.
Today: Scientific research on Chaga continues, as more and more people discover its amazing health benefits and life-enhancing properties.
For thousands of years, Chaga (Inonotus Obliquus) has been revered throughout the known world (Eurasia), where it has been referred to as a precious "Gift from God" and nature's "King of Herbs". Documented back well before the time of Christ, ancient Asian folk medicine practitioners relied upon Chaga, a special mushroom, to maintain a healthy life energy balance ("Chi"), preserve youth, promote longevity, and boost the body's immune system. As a folk remedy, Chaga was ingested by the local people of the Siberian mountain regions in tea or powder form, inhaled from smoke and applied to the skin.
Documented in the book "The Shen Nong Ben Cao Jing" in 100 B.C., the Chinese Monk Shen Nong proclaimed Chaga as a superior class herb, because of its diverse and complete health-enhancing properties. The entry reads "A Precious Gift of Nature" and "The King of the Herbs".
For centuries, people have used Chaga as a daily supplement for the overall balancing of the body's immune system and promoting good health even for those of advanced years. Historically, some Russians drank Chaga as a daily beverage just as we do coffee or tea. Today, Chaga tea is commonly used in Russian cultures as a family cupboard product to support a healthy immune system.
Early Russian culture embraced the use of Siberian Chaga, and its use has spread westward to the Urals and Baltic regions of the European continent. In the 12th Century Tzar Vladimir Monamah was reportedly treated with Chaga to maintain his health.
Siberian Chaga, received acclaim and notice by the Western world when Nobel Prize winning Russian novelist Alexandr Solzenitsyn introduced it in his 1968 novel, The Cancer Ward, where he talks about the tea from the birch tree mushroom and its beneficial properties.
According to thousands of years of testing by Chinese Health Practioners, mushrooms including Chaga, can help to increase longevity, promote health, and boost life energy or "Chi." The biochemistry of these mushrooms is complex and is still being studied. After 40 years of research, the publication of hundreds of clinical, in vivo and in vitro studies, research science is only beginning to understand the life and health enhancing properties of the class of superior mushrooms.
In 1982, Mr. J. T. Osugi, an expert chemist and industrial engineer, immigrated to the Asian Continent to guide developing nations in the design and construction of water purification and reclamation systems. While there, he sought acceptance by a Qigong Master to study Acupuncture and the art of Chi. At the end of the fifth year of study, the Qigong Master offered his dying words to Mr. Osugi: "I will be departing upon a spiritual journey. You will receive a precious gift in your midlife - you have the responsibility to use it wisely".
Twenty years later, Mr. Osugi, trained in Traditional Chinese Medicine, traveled to the Mountain regions of Siberia, where he found local people harvesting and using the legendary Chaga mushroom. Observing the lifestyle, health and longevity of the villagers, Mr. Osugi recognized Siberian Chaga as the "precious gift" prophesized by the Qigong Master.
Mr. Osugi then dedicated his professional efforts to bring Siberian Chaga to the global community so that everyone can benefit from the life-enhancing powers of Chaga.
