{"id":4057,"date":"2016-05-12T21:30:39","date_gmt":"2011-05-12T21:30:39","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.edrugstore.md\/articles\/?p=4057"},"modified":"2011-05-12T21:30:39","modified_gmt":"2011-05-12T21:30:39","slug":"himalayan-caterpillar-fungus","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.edrugstore.com\/blog\/current-health-news\/himalayan-caterpillar-fungus\/","title":{"rendered":"Himalayan Caterpillar Fungus: The New Viagra?"},"content":{"rendered":"

By Dan Seitz<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/a>Recently, a new \u201cherbal\u201d erectile dysfunction treatment has been making the rounds, another entry in the herbal Viagra<\/a>.\u00a0 But what is it?\u00a0 Is it really a caterpillar?\u00a0 And, most importantly, does it work?<\/p>\n

Let’s start with what it is: cordyceps<\/em> sinensis, <\/em>and it’s actually kind of awful.\u00a0 It infects a specific species of moth found only in the Himalayas and surrounding area, generally called the \u201cghost moth\u201d.\u00a0 It usually attacks the larvae, kills them by filling its entire body with itself, and uses its body as a house to grow in right as the caterpillar dies trying to struggle to the surface.\u00a0 Oh, and it flowers by punching through the forehead of the dead caterpillar.\u00a0 In other words, it’s a great argument for paving nature right out of existence.<\/p>\n

Any claim you’ve heard that it’s been used by the Chinese for thousands of years are unsupported by any historical evidence, but it is common in Tibetan medicine, and has been documented in use as far back as the 1400s.\u00a0 The first evidence the Chinese used it comes from the 17th<\/sup> century, in \u201cBen Cao Yei Bao\u201d, a summary of available medicial substances and techniques.\u00a0 Before you ask, yes, it recommends you use the whole thing, caterpillar corpse and all.\u00a0 No, ketchup isn’t allowed. \"\"<\/a><\/p>\n

What did they use it for?\u00a0 A better answer is what they didn’t use it for.\u00a0 It’s been used to treat cancer, fatigue, and, yes, erectile dysfunction.\u00a0 But that’s just one of a long list of ailments the fungus is supposed to treat; it’s hardly unique in Chinese medicine in that respect.<\/p>\n

It first came to the West in 1993, when it was claimed to have helped a Chinese track team break several world records.\u00a0 When their doping records came back clean, they stated their unusual performance wasn’t due to steroids, but to the fungus, which their coach made them eat every day.\u00a0 It’s worth noting track team that would later suddenly drop out of several major contests when new doping tests were introduced, so it may not have been the fungus helping them out.<\/p>\n

The increased Western demand combined with the already high Asian demand has driven prices through the roof.\u00a0 It currently sells for $5000 a pound, and has pulled families out of poverty.\u00a0 It has to be located and picked by hand, adding to the price, and in the West, there’s also shipping costs.<\/p>\n

But does it work?\u00a0 Well, the fungus itself does have pharmacologically active ingredients, and scientific work has been done demonstrating that it can protect mice from radiation, might have a hypoglycemic effect, may have an anti-depressant effect, and might protect the liver.\u00a0 One thing it definitely does do is help fight cancer: cordycepin, developed from \"\"<\/a>several varieties of cordyceps, <\/em>has real promise in treatment of several cancers.<\/p>\n

In other words, there might be something to the health claims, but so far, nobody has tested the erectile dysfunction claims.\u00a0 It seems unlikely that the fungus will have any clinical effect: cordycepin has been shown to modulate the immune system and induce certain processes in cells, but neither of these are useful in treating erectile dysfunction.<\/p>\n

In short, it’s expensive, it’s gross, and it probably doesn’t work for erectile dysfunction.\u00a0 It’s best to stick with treatments proven in scientific research, which you know will work.\u00a0 Especially if the alternative is a creepy mushroom.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

By Dan Seitz Recently, a new \u201cherbal\u201d erectile dysfunction treatment has been making the rounds, another entry in the herbal Viagra.\u00a0 But what is it?\u00a0 Is it really a caterpillar?\u00a0 And, most importantly, does it work? Let’s start with what it is: cordyceps sinensis, and it’s actually kind of awful.\u00a0 It infects a specific species […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_autoblog_aioseo_focus_keyphrase":"","_autoblog_aioseo_title":"","_autoblog_aioseo_description":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[18],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-4057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-current-health-news"],"acf":[],"aioseo_notices":[],"aioseo_head":"\n\t\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t\n\t\t