Heart health, skin health, digestive health—it can feel like we’re bombarded with so many ways to keep health in tip-top shape, and on so many different levels.

Understanding the many levels of anatomical wellness can be difficult.

Each separate body system has a purpose and role to play in the grander picture of things. As such, all systems must be cared for in a way that may vary from all other systems.

Remembering and cultivating this care in one’s routine can be a difficult thing to stay on top of! Taking care of one’s health, however, is not such a daunting task with the help of natural holistic remedies—such as herbs and mushrooms.

One important system in the body that people tend to overlook—kidney health.

KIDNEY HEALTH: WHY IS IT IMPORTANT?

We might not think of (or even be aware of) the benefits of better kidney health very often. But like all other systems, it’s a vital part of the bigger health picture—and the kidneys need some love and attention, too.

Even since ancient times, methods for strengthening the kidneys (this including the use of natural healing botanical tonics) have had important impacts on wellness. After all, this important organ pair is central to filtering and detoxifying the body naturally, much like (and in tandem with) the liver.

With that said, what’s the best natural approach to boosting kidney health? Well, we have to recommend an amazing medicinal mushroom for the cause: reishi.

WHAT IS REISHI MUSHROOM?

Ever heard of reishi?

A gorgeous woodland fungus with a multitude of benefits, people are more likely to ask: what CAN’T reishi help with when it comes to wellness?

Studies, as well as both traditional and evidence-based uses alike, have pinpointed many benefits in reish mushroom: like boosting the immune system, helping with fibromyalgia, fortifying mental health, and even reducing the risk of cancer.

But, ever since reishi was first studied—and, arguably, ever since it was first used as an herbal medicine—the discoveries of what reishi can do keep on pouring in, with no signs of stopping.

This is quite an amazing thing to think about…

…especially when considering reishi grows quite commonly in temperate woods all over the world, even in North America, parts of Europe, and parts of Asia.

One could take a short walk through most forests of the world— and a powerful healing mushroom might be growing literally just a few feet away.

REISHI HISTORY – IN A SNAPSHOT

In all of this, what is reishi’s connection to the kidneys?

Though scientific studies have established some strong evidence of reishi’s kidney-boosting potential nowadays, the real discovery apparently could have been made thousands of year ago.

Travel all the way back in time, to ancient China.

During this time, traditional healing practices using herbs, mushrooms, and much more reigned supreme. As a matter of fact, these traditions are still very much alive and well today—in the form of Traditional Chinese Medicine (or TCM), which is still used widely in China in modern times.

In TCM, reishi mushroom is an incredibly important medicine.

It was known to heal many different dimensions of health, though it was especially remarkable for its actions on what was called “kidney qi,” a term unique to TCM. According to TCM healers, reishi helped “move” this kidney qi.

This restored energy in the kidneys, and thus created a beneficial cascading effect on health all over the body in amazing ways.

HOW REISHI’S BENEFITS ARE GREAT FOR KIDNEY HEALTH

Research today is proving more and more how great reishi is for kidney health.

We have the ancient healers and herbalists of China from long ago to ultimately thank for our discovery of this kidney tonic herbal medicine—and the wisdom of TCM today to help us know how to use it properly.

Just like these healers claim, reishi could indeed holistically support the kidneys.

But how does that stack up and translate into today’s world? What precisely does reishi do for kidney health—and how?

Let’s take a look at all the benefits and how they’re each rooted in historical use in the past—as well as in modern research today.

REISHI HAS ANTIOXIDANT ACTIVITY

Reishi’s reputation for helping just about anything health-wise doesn’t just come out of nowhere. Apparently, this reputation is due to its high content of antioxidants.

Antioxidants are basically free-radical-fighting compounds.

They’re found in a wide range of both plant and animal foods. But the ones found in reishi, according to studies, are quite formidable (and can even help people age more gracefully).

Plus, they may even be responsible for reishi’s very special kidney benefits.

According to this study, using reishi on a test subject with kidney failure helped reverse injury and damage. The scientists suspected this was due to antioxidant activity in one of its active compounds (called lingzhilactone B).

It’s important to consider, too, that antioxidants don’t just help one system in the body—they help ALL systems. For this reason, reishi’s antioxidative ability to slow down degeneration in the kidneys themselves could be a huge part of its powers.

REISHI COULD HELP STOP KIDNEY DAMAGE

Needless to say, studies like the one above—on reishi’s antioxidant effects on the kidneys—led to even more studies to further understand how this works.

Reishi’s antioxidants were indeed powerful enough to stop kidney damage.

But could this be further understood, even replicated in further studies? Over time, with more studies over the years, the answer has been yes.

Studying reishi’s antioxidants and how they helped protect the kidneys wasn’t the only route scientists decided to take. In this study, for example, scientists took an even deeper look at how reishi extract affected kidney damage.

What they found: reishi once again helped stop kidney damage.

It did so by stopping oxidative stress as an antioxidant. But it also appeared to halt the damage taking place on a very deep, cellular level through the kidneys’ mitochondria—quite a stunning discovery to see the mushroom healing on such a microscopic level!

REISHI GOOD FOR KIDNEY INFLAMMATION

As established above, reishi may help protect the kidneys in multiple ways. More specifically, reishi could be helpful in healing kidney damage on a number of different levels.

Besides helping with actual damage in these filtrating organs, how else can it have a healing effect?

What about more common forms of damage, like from diet?

This is likely to be the case for most people. Plus, it could be the most preventable threat to kidney health if people just changed their diet.

But if changing diet is not enough, a little extra from reishi might possibly help. According to science, a poor diet may, in fact, have an unhealthy effect on the kidneys in the form of chronic inflammation.

But, according to science, reishi helps with this type of inflammation, too.

In this study, for example, a beta-glucan found in the mushroom was observed having an “immunomodulatory” effect on inflammation in the kidneys caused by a poor diet.

What this means: reishi put inflammation to bed, thus helping kidney tissues express themselves in a much healthier way (and in spite of die.

REISHI MAY SHIELD AGAINST CHRONIC KIDNEY DISEASE

As a daily health supplement, reishi may be all-around holistically good for the kidneys. But what about more serious kidney issues? What about chronic kidney disease too, for that matter?

There seems to be some virtues in reishi for kidney disease as well.

Though scientific research is far from considering reishi mushroom an official replacement for kidney medicines and treatments, the evidence thus far suggests it may be ripe for exploration in this field.

This is especially the case with a study on reishi like this one. Though the study didn’t conclude exactly that the mushroom could be a remedy or therapy for kidney disease, it did make a call to the scientific world to explore more ways for reishi to be used in medicines to treat the illness.

If this doesn’t make reishi an ally to kidney health, then we don’t know what does.

REISHI MAY HELP DIABETES-RELATED KIDNEY PROBLEMS

Kidney problems may not seem like they’re all that common.

But for certain members of the population—specifically those with type 2 diabetes—kidney problems, and even the risk of chronic kidney disease, can be very real and very likely.

That’s why there are many studies on reishi’s benefits to diabetic kidney problems.

Like this one, for example, in 2014. Use of reishi mushroom extract was found to have a healing effect on a diabetic test subject who had kidney problems due to the disease.

The benefits were just like they would be for anyone else with kidney damage, inflammation, injury, or disease. But there’s something else to consider with reishi and kidney health for diabetics: studies show that reishi mushroom has direct benefits for diabetes itself, too, not just kidney problems related to it.

This includes support for naturally regulating blood sugars and more. In the long run, use of reishi could mean diabetes support—and through that, kidney health support if it’s connected to their diabetes.

REISHI MAY HELP PROTECT THE LIVER, TOO

Though kidneys naturally come with their very own partners (we each have two kidneys, after all!), there is no better partner organ to the kidneys than the liver.

Together, the liver and the kidneys help purify and detoxify the body.

Boosting kidney health may help boost liver health, and the reverse may be true, too—boosting liver health could help the kidneys work better. Because they both do the work of “filtering” toxins and waste, they support one another’s work.

This is yet another argument for why reishi is so great for kidney health: because it helps with liver health, too, as documented in studies like this one.

No matter the person—diabetic, someone with liver issues, or even just the average individual— reishi mushroom may be the most powerful choice for empowered kidney health to the max, hands down, according to both research and traditional herbal knowledge.

FIND REISHI IN SOME OF OUR BEST HERBAL FORMULAS FOR HEALTH

Reishi mushroom makes a fabulous appearance in two of our favorite supplement blends. Get nothing but the full reishi experience with Reishi Shroom Complex: containing cracked shell reishi spores.

Or, for optimal kidney (and liver) health, try LVR-RENEW: containing reishi alongside the best liver-boosters out there.

• Dandelion
• Licorice
• Milk Thistle
• Poria Mushroom
• Schisandra
• Turkey Tail
• Black Pepper