Turkey Tail

This is a beautiful bracket, or shelf fungus, common on fallen trees in the Pacific Northwest. Called “kawaratake”, or “mushroom by the riverbank” in Japan, and “yun-zhi”, or “cloud fungus” in China, it is found in moist areas such as logs fallen across rivers and in the spray of waterfalls. It has a delicate fan-like appearance, and multicoloured stripes of brown, tan, white, and sometimes even red or blue, looking very much like a turkey’s tail.

Like so many mushrooms, Turkey Tail is an excellent immune tonic, balancing and regulating immune response to all types of stresses and ailments. Components of Turkey Tail have been shown to have both general boosting effects on cellular immunity, as well as specific anti-tumor effects against skin, breast, colon, lung, and many other cancers.

In many studies, Turkey Tail and its extracts improved recovery rates and long-term survival, as well as lessening symptoms and side-effects in cases where chemotherapy was also used. Notably, appetite was much less suppressed and weight loss less drastic in patients using the Turkey Tail extracts in conjunction with conventional cancer treatment, and overall remission and survival rates were increased by up to 30%.

Extracts of Turkey Tail have also been shown to be antiviral, and are being researched in HIV treatment, as well as being of benefit in hypertension, diabetes and rheumatism. Much of these effects are probably related to the mushroom’s antioxidant and free radical scavenging properties.

In China, Turkey Tail is used for infections and inflammation of the respiratory, digestive, and urinary tracts, in liver disease including some hepatitis, and in many chronic diseases. For all of these applications, TCM practitioners consider Turkey Tail and Astragalus to act synergistically, working better together than either alone.

Our Turkey Tail Spiritualized Essence was created under Mars’ rulership, from very high quality, ethically wildcrafted material from the Northwest. Turkey Tail is also the “sixth Mushroom” in our newly improved formula.