Knowing how to make a chaga tincture can support your health goals. Packed with antioxidants, chaga mushroom may fight cancer and improve immunity, chronic inflammation, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels (1). Tincture’s made from chaga often include a double extraction. This two-step process combines alcohol and water extracts to maximize the healing benefits (2).
Learning how to make a chaga tincture is one way of reaping the benefits. Tinctures make it easy to consume the natural health-boosting chemicals found in chaga. But, chaga can also be enjoyed in powder, extract, and tea. Check out how to make chaga tea if you want to reap this healing mushroom’s benefits immediately.
Alcohol is used as a solvent in this chaga tincture recipe. It has been used for centuries. Alcohol remains popular today for its fast-acting properties, its potency, and its ability to preserve the shelf-life of tinctures. An alcohol-based tincture will allow it to be extremely fast-acting (3). This is because alcohol can enter our bloodstream very quickly.
The best way to use a chaga tincture into place a drop under your tongue. Our tongue and cheeks contain lots of capillaries that quickly absorb alcohol. When you place some drops under your tongue, you’re not actually digesting the extract. Rather, it’s entering your bloodstream almost immediately to deliver the tincture’s potent properties (4).
HOW TO MAKE A CHAGA TINCTURE
Chaga contains both water-soluble components, known as polysaccharides, and alcohol-soluble components known as triterpenes. Chaga tinctures should undergo a double extraction to combine alcohol and water extracts and maximize the healing benefits.
Ingredients
- Thinly sliced chaga mushroom (either purchased dried or wild foraged)
- 80 proof alcohol, such as vodka
- Glycerin
- Spring water (or chlorine-free filtered water of any sort)
Equipment
- Mason jar (size will depend on your batch size)
- Cooking pot
- Straining material: funnel and mesh strainer or cheesecloth
- Tincture bottles for storage
Directions
- Divide chaga into two equal parts.
- Prepare the tincture by covering half of the mushrooms in a mason jar with a mixture of 80% alcohol (100 proof vodka), 20% glycerin, and 10% water.
- Allow to steep 4-6 weeks, shaking occasionally
- Strain
- Combine the second half of the mushrooms with twice the volume of water than what you used for tincture you made.
- Simmer for at least one hour, preferably 2 or more. Keep adding water as needed during the cooking time.
- Strain simmer the liquid until it equals the amount of strained tincture. Remove from heat and cool completely.
- Combine the liquids from both, with the end product roughly 25% alcohol by volume.
If you are a visual learner we also have a video demonstration below:
CHAGA TINCTURE BENEFITS
Chaga mushrooms are one of the most health-promoting foods on the planet. They carry alternating degrees of protein and fiber. A chaga tincture a great source of antioxidants and vitamins. It also carries B vitamins as well as a potent antioxidant called selenium, which helps to support the immune system and limit damage to cells and tissues.
Fights Cancer
When the body is unable to produce enough antioxidants to prevent this damage, oxidative stress occurs. Laboratory and animal research suggest Chaga may restrain the growth of some cancers. Oxidative stress can cause cancer and a host of other health problems. It’s thought that the anticancer effect of Chaga is partly due to its high content of antioxidants, which protect cells from damage by free radicals.³
Improves Digestion
Chaga mushroom has antimicrobial properties similar to ashitaba tea, which have traditionally been used as an internal cleanser with alcohol extract for the treatment of stomach and intestinal disorders. Chaga can speed up emptying of the stomach, which can be beneficial for people with indigestion and related stomach discomfort. Chaga also appears to have beneficial effects on the enzymes trypsin and pancreatic lipase, which are important for digestion.
Psoriasis
Several reports show benefits from Chaga for psoriasis. Psoriasis is an inflammatory condition that causes red, scaly patches of skin to develop, often on the elbows, knees, or scalp. The Chaga mushroom contains berberine, which may help to suppress some of the inflammation that psoriasis causes. A Russian study on 50 psoriasis patients, which reported a 76% cure rate, with improvement in a further 16% of cases. The same study reported that it typically took 9-12 weeks for improvement to become apparent.
Anti-viral
Chaga mushrooms have also been used to treat certain viral ailments and to prevent the Herpes simplex virus. It has also been shown to disrupt the growth of the HIV-1 virus and viral fusion to the cell membrane. Chaga reduces the replication of viruses and halts their ability to penetrate replicate inside healthy cells. It also binds to the tiny spikes on a virus protein that are used to pierce and invade healthy cells and destroys them so that the virus is ineffective.
Boosts Immune System
One of the most important effects of a chaga tincture is that it can boost your immune system. Chaga is unique in providing both antioxidant and immune support. Chaga mushroom is nature’s way of breaking down the organic matters to convert it into fertile soil. One of the healthiest food on the planet, mushrooms are rich in essential nutrients and minerals.
Powerhouse of Antioxidants
Chaga is packed with antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that help in preventing certain types of cell damage. The body uses antioxidants to fight free radical damage, which is very dangerous for the body’s tissues and is connected to cancer and premature aging.