We all know the benefits of herbs, wild berries and roots. But who knows that mushrooms are also successfully used in folk medicine? Chanterelles are mushrooms whose medicinal properties are scientifically proven.
Ordinary chanterelles
A beautiful mushroom with a color ranging from bright yellow to pale yellow has a hat that looks like an inverted umbrella with wavy edges 10-12 cm in diameter. The cap of a chanterelle mushroom with thick and dense plates smoothly passes into a large leg.
These mushrooms always grow in groups, settle in coniferous and mixed forests, especially like spruce-birch. The "silent hunt" for them begins in the middle of summer and lasts until the end of October.
The description of the chanterelle mushroom will be incomplete, not to mention its main feature: it is never wormy, unlike other types of mushrooms.
How to distinguish a real fox from a false
Each edible mushroom has a double - conditionally edible or poisonous. Chanterelles - mushrooms, the healing properties of which will be discussed below, also have their counterpart. False chanterelles, or orange talkers, are conditionally edible mushrooms. This means that they can be used as food, they can’t be poisoned, although they won’t bring any benefits to the body and they have an unpleasant smell and bad taste.
The table shows the description of the chanterelle mushroom in comparison with the orange talker.
| Subject of Description | True fox | Orange talker (fox fox) |
| Coloring | Calm, from dark yellow to light yellow. | Bright orange. |
| Hat | Irregular shape with wavy edges, the surface is glossy. | The hat is of a regular round shape with smooth edges, the surface is velvet to the touch. |
| Leg | Large. | Thin. |
Disputes | Yellowish. | White. |
Pulp | Yellowish white, dense. When pressed, it turns slightly red. | Solid yellow, loose. When pressed, it does not change color. |
Smell and taste | The smell is pleasant, the young chanterelle has a fruity, the older one has a woody one. The taste is delicious, nutty with a slight acidity. | Bad smell, tasteless. |
Place of growth | Always grow in groups. They prefer the soil under fallen leaves, sometimes they grow on a mossy stump. | They prefer to grow individually on fallen trees, on moss, forest litter. |
Such a comparative description will help distinguish between false and real foxes - mushrooms, whose medicinal properties help get rid of serious ailments.
Chemical composition and properties
Chanterelles are very rich in vitamins PP, E, group B, ascorbic acid. They have more carotene (vitamin A) than carrots. These mushrooms contain valuable amino acids, minerals (iron, potassium, calcium, cobalt, magnesium, manganese, copper, sodium, sulfur, fluorine, chlorine, zinc), trametonolinic acid, which has a detrimental effect on the hepatitis C virus, the substance ergosterol, which contributes to healthy liver. A very important and unique component of chanterelle mushrooms is quinomannosis. This substance destroys adult helminths and their eggs, so chanterelles are used to get rid of worms. Chinomannose - a natural substance that does not cause side effects, does not poison the human body.
Also, therapeutic chanterelle mushrooms are used to heal from sore throats, abscesses, boils, to increase immunity. They can restore moisture in the mucous membranes of the eyes and cure night blindness and some other eye diseases. It is useful to include them in the menu for the prevention of oncology. They are also useful for anemia, dysbiosis, osteoporosis and rickets. The caloric content of chanterelles is only 19 kcal per 100 grams of product (fried a little higher - 70 kcal per 100 g), but chanterelles are perfectly saturated, so nutritionists recommend them to combat obesity.
Traditional medicine practices the treatment of mushrooms with chanterelles of the cardiovascular system, musculoskeletal system, and pancreas. They are used in the complex treatment of psoriasis, tuberculosis.
The use of chanterelle mushroom in folk medicine
In order for the chanterelle to be useful in fungotherapy (treatment with mushrooms), the raw materials should be properly prepared. It should be borne in mind that the valuable substance of quinomannose is destroyed even at a temperature of 60 ° C, as well as under the influence of sodium (sodium chloride). Therefore, chanterelles - mushrooms, the healing properties of which are able to restore health to a person - after collection they clear the earth and litter, then dry. Ideally, chanterelles should be dried in a natural way - in a well-ventilated place not in direct sunlight at an air temperature of no higher than 40 ° C. You can use a dryer, and the temperature also does not set above 40 ° C.
After the mushrooms are ground in a coffee grinder. The powder is stored for no more than one year in a dry place in a tightly closed glass container or canvas bag. From this powder and prepare a medicinal water or alcohol tincture.
In addition, it should be noted that chanterelles are necessarily collected in ecologically clean places, as far as possible from the industrial center, the highway and agricultural fields that use pesticides.
In addition, chanterelles often remain soft even after drying, so if you can’t grind them, you can just chop them very finely.
Preparation of medicinal vodka infusion
Pour 200 ml of vodka into one tablespoon of mushroom powder, leave for 10 days in a dark place at room temperature. Every day, tincture should be shaken.
Shake the tincture before use. Accept:
- for liver cleansing - every night for 2 weeks, 2 teaspoons an hour before bedtime,
- to get rid of worms - 2 teaspoons before bedtime for 20 days,
- for the treatment of hemangiomas, cirrhosis, obesity of the liver, pancreas - 1 teaspoon every night before bedtime for 3-4 months,
- for the treatment of hepatitis - 1 teaspoon daily in the morning and evening for 4 months.
Preparation of medicinal water infusion
A glass of boiled water at room temperature, pour 1 teaspoon of mushroom powder, leave for one hour, then shake and drink with the precipitate overnight. Drink for 20 days. It helps with helminthiasis.
Increases the effectiveness of the treatment by adding to the chanterelle powder a powder of porcini mushroom. They are mixed and for the preparation of water infusion take 1 teaspoon of the mixture.