FAQ

We offer the best value-for-money in the world. Google and you'll get instant confirmation. This is one of the reasons we have customers in over 30 countries.

In Asia extracts like these are very popular but also expensive or very expensive. The producers are benefitting from consumers that do mix up price and value; but a higher price does not automatically indicate a better quality or value. PSP extracts are also sold e.g. in Singapore and Hongkong. The price is 5 x higher.

Apart from the price there is no difference with EU or US products. Percentages of active ingredients or information about the production process is not revealed, though, so it is difficult to compare the actual quality. Requests for a Certificate of Analysis are in general ignored, which also gives food for thought.

Our extracts are without competition when it comes to potency and power. No other producer can rightfully claim an identical or better percentage of actives. Our extracts are used more and more by health practitioners. The capsules and the clear indication of what they contain make administration very efficient. Our Certificates of Analysis are available on request, to verify the statements made above.

We have unmatched levels of actives in our extracts. This is due to the fact that our producer is a combination of a pharmaceutical production- and mushroom research-center, where extracts for injections and i.v. administration are also being produced. These extracts require a purity level of at least 99%

Our extracts are the only ones on the market that are fully certified according to ISO22000:2005, HACCP and GMP. (also check: Why is certification important? ) This assures the safety and pharmaceutical quality of the products and the justness of their descriptions.

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Oriveda mushroom extracts are the only ones in the world that are fully certified. This is important, because it means that you, as a customer, have the guarantee the products are 100% safe, free of dangerous substances and are described accurately, without exaggeration.

Mushrooms can be contaminated with heavy metals and pesticides, both of which they easily absorb. These contamination levels have to be listed in a so-called Certificate of Analysis (COA), that has to be presented to the authorities during e.g. the import/export process. If the product to-be-imported does not comply with the international safety standards, it will be confiscated by the authorities and destroyed.

A decade ago several problems were reported with mushroom products imported from China, the worlds biggest producer of mushrooms. Since then the import regulations became more strict and the fear of contaminated Chinese products is no longer justified. But we still recommend to always ask for a COA before buying expensive supplements, even when they are recommended by a guy in a white coat on TV - after all, it's about your health and well-being.

Oriveda extracts were produced in compliance with not just the basic GMP (Good Manufacturing Practice - a series of general principles that must be observed during manufacturing) but also HACCP (Hazard Analysis and Critical Control points - a program used in the food industry to identify potential food safety hazards) and ISO 22000:2005 (an extension of the HACCP policy).

In short, these safety standards demand extensive quality control during all phases of the production process, including pre- and post-production. Clean rooms and in-house laboratory testing facilities are required, e.g., and external auditors keep track of everything to prevent tampering or sloppiness.
Certificates of Analysis (COA) should accompany every production batch and have to show accurate and factual information about the active ingredients and the contamination levels in the product. This goes way beyond a basic 'supplement facts' label.

You might notice that many sellers will refuse to show you a COA. They might even use phrases like 'it contains proprietary information' to justify this.
This is nonsense.
The COA of a mushroom extract only shows you contamination levels and levels of active ingredients, plus the way these have been determined. Nothing to be secretive about.
Unless the COA reveals contamination or insignificant levels of actives, of course...

Our COA's are .

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Indeed, there is a pill for almost everything, and in general they more or less do what is expected of them. But there are plenty of complex medical problems that are not easy to solve, like cancer, eczema, psoriasis, migraine.. often because medical science does not fully understand what exactly is causing the problem. So they just fight the symptoms, based on their speculations about the cause, which they do not always fully understand.

Apart from that, more and more viruses and other pathogenic organisms have become resistant against synthetic antibiotics. Causing doctors to prescribe more and more powerful cures like prednisone or broad-spectrum antibiotics for what often is only a 'simple' ailment. More often than not these power-pharmaceuticals have severe side effects, and besides that, how long will it take before those pathogens become resistant to them as well ?

Pharmaceuticals often work as follows: the exact profile of the enemy ( a virus or other pathogen ) has been established and a chemical substance has been tailor-designed to deal with that. But… as soon as the enemy changes a bit ( and these pathogens are true living organisms with the ability to change and adapt, often very fast ) the chemical agent becomes useless: its outlined enemy does no longer exist and it cannot adapt to the new situation.

Natural products can. With a few exceptions, we are only selling so-called 'adaptogens'. These are without doubt the most powerful of all natural healers. They tune and balance the body as a whole, instead of dealing with isolated events.

• - An adaptogen is non-toxic and non-habit forming.
• - An adaptogen aids in normalization of the body chemistries.
• - An adaptogen increases your body's ability to cope with physical stress, emotional stress, stress related imbalance and environmental pollution and their after effects.
• - An adaptogen works in a synergistic manner increasing your body's own ability to fight off illness before it sets in, in direct contrast to modern drugs which attack 'specific' disease symptoms after you are thoroughly sick.
• - An adaptogen works not only when you take it, but for a sustained period of time and becomes increasingly active the more your body needs it.

So, they do not work in a static way like most pharmaceuticals, but are dynamic, only getting into gear when it is needed and only to the extent that is needed. And they can adapt to the ever-changing enemy.

These adaptogenic properties (like immune balancing) are still not fully understood by science. Please have a look at our 'resources' page, where you'll find a large collection of scientific publications about this and related subject matter. We are also preparing a small PDF with an in-depth analysis of adaptogens. Register for our newsletter and stay informed about this and other developments.

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During the past decades a tremendous amount of research was undertaken to verify the claims made by herbalists and traditional systems, like Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine. In general, the outcome was very positve or promising, at least. No wonder - if it wouldn't work at all, people would have stopped using it centuries ago.

There is a special journal dedicated to the mushrooms, e.g.: International Journal for Medicinal Mushrooms.

This link will show you an overview of recent publications dealing with the Agaricus blazei.

This link and also this one gives an overview of recent scientific research about Chaga.

Mumijo / Shilajit is a mythical substance referred to as 'Nectar of the Gods' in the Ayurveda (3000 years old) and Central-Asian folk medicine. Aristoteles mentioned it, 400 years B.C., and even wrote some instructions regarding its use.

This alone already made it worthwhile to investigate: what was true and what was pure myth ? In particular in India and Russia a lot of research was done, with positive and often surprising outcomes.

Herbal medicine is as old as humanity itself. Medicinal-philosophical systems have been developed like the Ayurveda and Traditional Chinese Medicine, both 1000s of years old, each with its own point of view, the core of which is restoring the balance between the body's elements. Then there is pure folk medicine, in general based on simple trial and error, often after observing animals and their behaviour when sick or wounded. Medicinal herbs and mushrooms are the core of all these approaches. Modern western medicine as we know it today started about 150 years ago. The first drugs were herbal-based and the first antibiotics ( like penicilline ) were derived from fungi. Until today science still does not know exactly what makes an aspirine work, but that it works is clear.

Still, despite all the positive results there is a lot of distrust and paranoia, in particular in the West. It is speculative, but in our opinion religion is partly to blame here ( witches use herbal mixes, do they not ? ) and mushrooms do also kill... so beware! Nowadays science is a new form of religion, with the men in white coats as its priests. They have their own motivation when mocking 'alternative' medicine. Financial interests e.g. - after all, you cannot patent a plant or a mushroom, only pharmaceuticals.

Please also have a look at our 'resources' page, where you'll find a large collection of scientific publications about this and related subject matter.

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Our mushrooms extracts have no side effects and can be used safely by everyone, unless you happen to be allergic to mushrooms. However, immuno-modulating substances should be used with extreme care or avoided completely in organ-transplant patients utilizing immuno-suppressive agents. Pregnant and breastfeeding women should also be cautious, as no research has been done on the effect of adaptogenic mushrooms on their situation. Better to stay on the safe side and refrain from using it.

Our herbs in general have no side effects either, unless you happen to be one of those few that are allergic to a specific plant or component of a plant. Please read the leaflet that is included with every order for details.

As for Mumijo, there are no known side effects, but there are some contradicting reports about using it when you have kidney stones or when you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Some sources state it has a positive effect in those cases, whereas others say exactly the opposite. To be on the safe side, we recommend to be cautious in these instances and not to take Mumijo internally. Do not use Mumijo together with alcohol, it will kill a lot of its healing potential.

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Our mushroom extracts have the highest possible concentration of active ingredients (polysaccharides, phytosterols) and contain no additives at all. They are 100% natural. Always look at the percentage of polysaccharides, the main active ingredient. When this is not listed, avoid the product. It is probably just dried and ground mushroom.

The term 'extract' is often used quite loosely - dried and powdered mushrooms are also advertised as 'mushroom extract'. Hot-water extraction is needed to free the active ingredients from the cells in which they are contained. These cells are made of chitin, an largely indigestible substance for humans. Most of the active components will be flushed down the toilet if you choose the cheap 'extracts'. Read this brief explanation, drawn up by the Canadian ProMedics laboratory.

We are using a state-of-the-art extraction and distillation process to get rid of useless chitin and fibers and set the active ingredients free. The final product has a constant pharmaceutical level of quality. Also read: Why is certification important?

To reach the same protective and healing effect by eating fresh mushrooms you'd have to eat kilo's daily, which is undoable.

10 grams of fresh mushroom equals e.g. 1 gram of dried mushroom, and most of the active ingredients cannot be digested, locked into chitin cells as they are. You do the math..

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Our Agaricus blazei mushrooms are being cultivated in greenhouses located in a rural area, without polluting industry or traffic nearby. No pesticides are used.

Chaga cannot be cultivated. Our Chaga is harvested in the coldest region of N-Siberia, where no industry or agriculture worth mentioning takes place, since the population density is very low. No pollution and clean groundwater. Chaga's purity can be guaranteed.

Both mushrooms are processed in a state-of-the-art pharmaceutical factory, fully certified according to ISO 22000:2005, GMP for pharmaceutical products, en HACCP. These are the most strict international standards. Also read: Why is certification important?

Our herbs are collected on the Plateau Lago-Naki (see picture) in the Republic Adygea. A rural area, 40% is covered with centuries-old forest. The selection and processing is done by a trained and certified pharmacologist, specializing in phytotherapy and already the third generation in her family dealing with this.

Mumijo is a rare natural product, found between 1000-5000 m above sea level in remote mountain areas. For many centuries it has been collected on the mountains, cleaned from grasses and stones and then used, as is. Both literature research and personal experience have not shown any negative side effects. It is perfectly safe to use, both internally and externally.

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Polysaccharides are a type of complex carbohydrates. They contain the main active ingredients of medicinal mushrooms and other fungi.

Beta-glucans are a specific type of polysaccharides.

The most important ones are the (1->3) and (1->6) Beta-D-glucans. According to scientific research these are responsible for the adaptogenic, immune balancing effect of medicinal mushrooms. The precise mechanism behind this is still not fully understood by science. But they sure wished they could!

An example: in a laboratory an 'in vitro' test (= taking place in a test tube) was performed with an extract from Agaricus blazei and tumor cells. No effect was found. The same test was repeated, this time 'in vivo', with a mouse having the same tumor from which the cells were taken in the previous test. This time the effect was remarkable, causing a shrinkage of the tumor within 36 hours and an increase of NK (natural killer) cells. In some way the immune system of the animal was triggered and started fighting the cancer.

A brief summary of an article can be found here.

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Please go up and read the first entry in this FAQ.

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Yes. Psoriasis is basically an auto-immune disease. Chaga is in the core an immune-modulator.
In the early 70s a case study was performed in the USSR, investigating the effect of a traditional Chaga preparation (Befungin ®) on psoriasis. The outcome was excellent.

Fifty people were involved, 14 women and 36 men, aged between 6 - 55. The majority were suffering from serious psoriasis for over 10 years. The therapeutic effect of the Chaga manifested itself slowly, after 2-3 months. Continued intake led to complete dissapearance of the psoriatic rashes. Only 4 patients did not benefit from Chaga, but this was probably because of severe alcohol abuse and not following the instructions. The Chaga intake should be continued for the rest of their lives, because rashes would reappear when the intake was concelled.

Befungin ® is a Russian preparation based on Chaga, originating from the 50s. Modern Chaga extracts are much more powerful and more easy to administer. Three times two capsules of the Oriveda extract per day will do. After the first results are obvious, one can experiment with the dosage and find the perfect balance. After all, every person is different.

The article is in the PubMed database, but it is in Russian. We have translated this article into English - you can download it here.

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Since Mumijo is a sticky paste it can be quite difficult to manipulate and to measure accurately.

We do recommend to make a 30% water solution right away - 30% Mumijo with 70% of distilled water. This solution has an unlimited shelf life, just like the raw paste.

It should be kept in a well-closed container in a dark, cool spot, like in the refrigerator. A more extensive explanation including detailed measuring schemes are in the enclosed leaflet.

For accurate administration use a set of kitchen measuring spoons - 1/4 of a teaspoon = 1.25 ml of solution, the daily dose for an adult with a body weight of 80-90 kgs.

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