This is such an impotant thing to talk about, man. As an herbalist who is not a clinician, but still gets asked for recommendations on plant medicines regularly, I thank you. People look at me like I have three heads when I tell them I stay away from certain things considered "superfoods" or medicine due to the oxalates, lectins or phytates, depending on what it is. I do really enjoy my Pressure cooker chaga seasonally and only when it comes from loved ones I tust. (Fellow Minnesotan here) Appreciate this content, dude! ❤
I live in the north with huge forests of spruce and beautiful birches, both red and white. Few things are as beautiful as that lovely bark. (I never pull it off) Antway, chagas grow all over the place! For a long time I thought it was just some random fungus but now that I know what it is, I realise I've seen some absolutely massive ones in the back country
From my research much of the potential negative effects from oxalates can be avoided by combining consumption with calcium to bind the oxalates present in Chaga in the gut to be expelled as waste. Just make your own Chaga steamer with some cacao nibs, cinnamon, and whole milk. Delicious, without the oxalate concern. There's still the Hypoglycemic, and Anti-coagulate concerns... but hey... what's a superfood without some side-effects? 🤣
Thank you for sharing your personal story and insights regarding the medical claims in the end! I am a registered dietitian and I love learning about foraging edible and useful resources in nature and your channel is a veritable gold mine! I find that many casual sources on foraging tend to focus way too much on the (most oftenly unsubstatiated) medicinal properties - it is one thing to state what an herb has been traditionally used for, and what nutrients and active compounds it contains - but it can often take a dive into pure quackery. It frustrates me to no end how some people don't take into consideration that the information they are spreading on their platform all too easily can have dire consequences. So thank you for providing a responsible voice in this corner of the internet!
I have collected this in the past for a friend who teaches the use of chaga as tinder for fire starting, apparently a traditional native use (northeastern Ontario) (Anishnawbe/Ojibway).
Thanks for making the video. Great perspective on a hot drink, the downsides of powdered forms and the dangers of oxalates. My favorite bit is that Otzi the Iceman carried bits of Chaga with him. Supposedly it helps you feel full if you don’t have food. A good decoction out in the mountains!
So glad you point out the shortcomings of this fungus. I hear almost every "expert" prescribe chaga for some malady or another and never sites peer reviewed studies. Some may mean well but the devil resides in the details. You have presented the truth based on current understanding and I for one appreciate that fact. Thank you.
I am excited to look out for Chagas. I have a new app. I just found fresh Birch polypores. I wonder how many times I have walked past Chagas and Birch polypores.
I do the same with turkey tail. I occasionally collect it and make tea with it because I like the taste and it's novel, not because I think it'll cure cancer.
Oh my gosh, this is such a triggering video, but thank you for it! The intersection of wild food with folks that are 'experts' in medicine and nutrition because they read some stuff on the internet or casual statements in some books, is so frustrating. Even when folks reference medical literature there's so many problems, as basic as misidentifying of species by the medical people when you read the actual article and not a summary, or folks not appreciating the difference between in vitro and in vivo studies, or between lab and clinical studies, or the need for multiple studies to develop treatment protocols. There's no question that some plants and fungi can impact our health (good, bad, mixed, and conditional), but healing people or even healthy eating are about so much more than identifying a plant or fungus and knowing how to soak it, boil it, or dry it. Replacing "Big Pharma" with Big Herbal is no improvement - hucksters are everywhere and some people are so desperate for better health, physical and mental.
You are absolutely not party to that sad incident you mentioned. You didn't tell them not to seek real treatment, you didn't tell them your chaga was some miracle cure and you didn't extort or threaten them into buying it. If someone dies from their own ignorance, that is on them. If someone dies from cigarettes the gas station clerk doesn't feel bad
Wow, I’m glad I saw this before I ever found any chaga. I’ve looked for it occasionally over the years, with the intention to sell it if I found any. Sounds like it could be a bad idea.
@@foragerchef4141Commented before I watched the whole video. Really appreciate the honesty of your chaga selling story, it speaks volumes to your character that you consider your role in that scenario. They would have bought some homeopathic slop if not your chaga, or worse some random shit they got online. you weren't the difference. But yeah it's something to think about for sure. Thank you for going above and beyond a cooking channel and talking about ethics!
@@anidiquaojala1804There’s lot of studies from China and Russia. Knock yourself out, I won’t be linking to them here. This one’s a good read though. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878614616000180
Its a living thing, just like other mushrooms. If you don’t dry it, it’s going to mold. It’s like drinking a gymsock. It can be used fresh too, refrigerating it will lengthen the shelf life if you’re averse to drying it.
Idk. You can’t buy them without a wholesale account. They’re through a local resto distributor called Pierce Purveyors in St Paul. Thicker and more durable than the thin cheap ones from Amazon. Sorry I don’t know more I’ll try to remember to ask.
Oxylates or whatever the spelling. Is in Spinach too & other veggies. So don't listen to fear tactics. As long as you drink water. Don't eat tons of spinach or Chaga. Lol. They both can be hard on kidneys. I prefer Turkey tail cause of this. I'm genetically prone to renal issues. Everything in moderation. Even excessive water consumption WILL kill you.
With certain people oxalates can be very dangerous and it’s the concentration of them, along with personal sensitivity that needs to be taken into account. Theres more too, Diabetics should not drink it at all imo. I drink it personally on occasion, but people deserve to make informed choices and it’s not some magic cure all.
Hey man, you should really skip that skeptiics bullshit. Just make a stonger berw, like black coffe or more and you will change your skeptic mind. Just try, please,. Talk then.
@@ilkkasaarinen9812 Did you skip the part where I said someone died from taking Chaga and skipping conventional medicine? The mushroom world is filled with charlatans and wellness bullshit. I will *never* tow the line and tell people they’re anything but food until I have concrete sources to cite. Put yourself in my shoes for a minute, or start your own channel to sell people fantasies you can only speculate on.
much of the newfound "medicinal" plant material is overrated. They always claim that tribes and cultures used and "worshipped" the plants - that might be true, but it was part of their diet anyway
This is such an impotant thing to talk about, man. As an herbalist who is not a clinician, but still gets asked for recommendations on plant medicines regularly, I thank you. People look at me like I have three heads when I tell them I stay away from certain things considered "superfoods" or medicine due to the oxalates, lectins or phytates, depending on what it is. I do really enjoy my Pressure cooker chaga seasonally and only when it comes from loved ones I tust. (Fellow Minnesotan here) Appreciate this content, dude! ❤
I live in the north with huge forests of spruce and beautiful birches, both red and white. Few things are as beautiful as that lovely bark. (I never pull it off) Antway, chagas grow all over the place! For a long time I thought it was just some random fungus but now that I know what it is, I realise I've seen some absolutely massive ones in the back country
Hey there neighbor.
From my research much of the potential negative effects from oxalates can be avoided by combining consumption with calcium to bind the oxalates present in Chaga in the gut to be expelled as waste. Just make your own Chaga steamer with some cacao nibs, cinnamon, and whole milk. Delicious, without the oxalate concern.
There's still the Hypoglycemic, and Anti-coagulate concerns... but hey... what's a superfood without some side-effects? 🤣
Thank you for sharing your personal story and insights regarding the medical claims in the end!
I am a registered dietitian and I love learning about foraging edible and useful resources in nature and your channel is a veritable gold mine!
I find that many casual sources on foraging tend to focus way too much on the (most oftenly unsubstatiated) medicinal properties - it is one thing to state what an herb has been traditionally used for, and what nutrients and active compounds it contains - but it can often take a dive into pure quackery.
It frustrates me to no end how some people don't take into consideration that the information they are spreading on their platform all too easily can have dire consequences.
So thank you for providing a responsible voice in this corner of the internet!
Considering your academic background I bet that is really frustrating. Thank you for helping people live healthier
Thanks, great point there.
I have collected this in the past for a friend who teaches the use of chaga as tinder for fire starting, apparently a traditional native use (northeastern Ontario) (Anishnawbe/Ojibway).
Yep works great for Tinder too.
Thanks for making the video. Great perspective on a hot drink, the downsides of powdered forms and the dangers of oxalates.
My favorite bit is that Otzi the Iceman carried bits of Chaga with him. Supposedly it helps you feel full if you don’t have food. A good decoction out in the mountains!
Otzi might have been using it as tinder
@@Sheepdog1314 ooooh thanks! That would make a lot of sense
Thanks for chiming in.
@@Sheepdog1314 Otzi was carrying Fomitopsis betulina, and Fomes fomentarias. He did not have Chaga. (This is a common misunderstanding)
So glad you point out the shortcomings of this fungus. I hear almost every "expert" prescribe chaga for some malady or another and never sites peer reviewed studies. Some may mean well but the devil resides in the details.
You have presented the truth based on current understanding and I for one appreciate that fact.
Thank you.
Great point!
I am excited to look out for Chagas. I have a new app. I just found fresh Birch polypores. I wonder how many times I have walked past Chagas and Birch polypores.
I do the same with turkey tail. I occasionally collect it and make tea with it because I like the taste and it's novel, not because I think it'll cure cancer.
Thanks for chiming in.
Oh my gosh, this is such a triggering video, but thank you for it! The intersection of wild food with folks that are 'experts' in medicine and nutrition because they read some stuff on the internet or casual statements in some books, is so frustrating. Even when folks reference medical literature there's so many problems, as basic as misidentifying of species by the medical people when you read the actual article and not a summary, or folks not appreciating the difference between in vitro and in vivo studies, or between lab and clinical studies, or the need for multiple studies to develop treatment protocols. There's no question that some plants and fungi can impact our health (good, bad, mixed, and conditional), but healing people or even healthy eating are about so much more than identifying a plant or fungus and knowing how to soak it, boil it, or dry it. Replacing "Big Pharma" with Big Herbal is no improvement - hucksters are everywhere and some people are so desperate for better health, physical and mental.
It's so triggering, I know. Thanks for stopping by.
Did you calm down yet from that episode you had?
@@MoonbeamBenjamin lol, yes, time takes care of a lot! ; )
You are absolutely not party to that sad incident you mentioned. You didn't tell them not to seek real treatment, you didn't tell them your chaga was some miracle cure and you didn't extort or threaten them into buying it. If someone dies from their own ignorance, that is on them. If someone dies from cigarettes the gas station clerk doesn't feel bad
Thanks. I know, I just don’t ever want to be a part of spreading misinformation.
@@foragerchef4141 Appreciated
Wow, I’m glad I saw this before I ever found any chaga. I’ve looked for it occasionally over the years, with the intention to sell it if I found any. Sounds like it could be a bad idea.
Thanks for the visit.
Can't wait to say "Decoction" in conversation now. "De *what*?"
The more you know 💫 😆
@@foragerchef4141Commented before I watched the whole video. Really appreciate the honesty of your chaga selling story, it speaks volumes to your character that you consider your role in that scenario. They would have bought some homeopathic slop if not your chaga, or worse some random shit they got online. you weren't the difference. But yeah it's something to think about for sure. Thank you for going above and beyond a cooking channel and talking about ethics!
TY, I'm looking for the links you provided but don't see them...?
Look at the top of the video description. I'll put it here too. foragerchef.com/how-to-make-chaga-tea/
@@foragerchef4141 TY
I passed by that link looking for the scientific studies...
@@anidiquaojala1804There’s lot of studies from China and Russia. Knock yourself out, I won’t be linking to them here. This one’s a good read though. www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1878614616000180
Boiling it?.... Does that not kill all the nutrients?
This is the traditional way it’s made. JFC people. 😂
Why do you dehydrate chaga if you’re going to put it in water after to make tea?
Its a living thing, just like other mushrooms. If you don’t dry it, it’s going to mold. It’s like drinking a gymsock. It can be used fresh too, refrigerating it will lengthen the shelf life if you’re averse to drying it.
What brand of plastic square deli containers are those?
Idk. You can’t buy them without a wholesale account. They’re through a local resto distributor called Pierce Purveyors in St Paul. Thicker and more durable than the thin cheap ones from Amazon. Sorry I don’t know more I’ll try to remember to ask.
❤❤❤❤❤❤
Thanks SG.
Oxylates or whatever the spelling. Is in Spinach too & other veggies. So don't listen to fear tactics. As long as you drink water. Don't eat tons of spinach or Chaga. Lol. They both can be hard on kidneys. I prefer Turkey tail cause of this. I'm genetically prone to renal issues. Everything in moderation. Even excessive water consumption WILL kill you.
With certain people oxalates can be very dangerous and it’s the concentration of them, along with personal sensitivity that needs to be taken into account. Theres more too, Diabetics should not drink it at all imo. I drink it personally on occasion, but people deserve to make informed choices and it’s not some magic cure all.
Hey man, you should really skip that skeptiics bullshit. Just make a stonger berw, like black coffe or more and you will change your skeptic mind. Just try, please,. Talk then.
@@ilkkasaarinen9812 Did you skip the part where I said someone died from taking Chaga and skipping conventional medicine? The mushroom world is filled with charlatans and wellness bullshit. I will *never* tow the line and tell people they’re anything but food until I have concrete sources to cite. Put yourself in my shoes for a minute, or start your own channel to sell people fantasies you can only speculate on.
much of the newfound "medicinal" plant material is overrated. They always claim that tribes and cultures used and "worshipped" the plants - that might be true, but it was part of their diet anyway
Agreed.