According to ancient medicine in China, Cordyceps sinensis can "live like an old silkworm in winter, move its hair, be unearthed in summer and be turned into grass", and it can "be born with yin and yang", which really turns decay into magic! Then eating this magical thing can naturally transform magical power into the human body and treat many diseases, just like magic. Cordyceps sinensis was not famous before the Qing dynasty, and not many Chinese medicine practitioners used it as medicine. It was not until the Republic of China, especially in the last ten years, that Cordyceps sinensis quickly caught fire and became a tonic medicine, which was more expensive than gold. Herbal Supplement says that Cordyceps sinensis can "protect lung and kidney, replenish essence, stop bleeding and eliminate phlegm, and treat diaphragmatic fatigue". Now Chinese medicine believes that Cordyceps sinensis is mainly used for "impotence and nocturnal emission, soreness of waist and knees, chronic cough and asthma, cough and phlegm blood".
So, is Cordyceps really effective?
There are really many scientists who have studied Cordyceps sinensis. Many people think that nucleoside substances such as adenosine and cordycepin are one of the main effective components of Cordyceps sinensis, and adenosine is also used as the quality control index of Cordyceps sinensis in China Pharmacopoeia.
Ironically, however, adenosine is an endogenous nucleoside widely existing in organisms. It is not surprising that the content of adenosine in pork and beef far exceeds that of Cordyceps sinensis. If adenosine is used as the active ingredient of Cordyceps sinensis, it is better to eat pork.
The rest of cordycepin is worth mentioning.
At present, there are many studies, which mainly think that it can resist tumor and reduce blood fat. Of course, some people say that liver cirrhosis can be treated. In fact, it was only published in the journal China Forest by-products, which was not a medical journal at all, and the result was completely insignificant.
Then let's focus on its anti-tumor and hypolipidemic effects.
Let's talk about the anti-tumor effect of cordycepin.
Cordycepin, also known as 3' deoxyadenosine, is a nucleoside analogue that can interfere with RNA transcription and synthesis. In vitro experiments have found that it may have an effect on leukemia. Compared with other curative effects, the evidence is more sufficient, but it only reaches the I/II clinical trial. The clinical trial ended eight years ago, so far no papers have been published, and the results are unknown. Interestingly, cordycepin is easily degraded by adenosine deaminase in the body and becomes a useless metabolite. Therefore, in order to play an anti-tumor role, Cordyceps sinensis must be taken together with "adenosine deaminase inhibitor", but there is no such thing as "adenosine deaminase inhibitor" in Cordyceps sinensis.
Because the clinical trial results have not been published, it is impossible to know the dose used in the trial. However, there are some animal experiments that we can convert into corresponding doses for adults. Some people have studied the effect of cordycepin on S 180 tumor in mice. Taking 30mg/kg cordycepin for 9 consecutive days can inhibit tumor by 45%.
So what is the content of cordycepin in Cordyceps sinensis? It is 5.4 ug/g, which means that a 60kg adult needs to take 270 18g of Cordyceps sinensis every day if he wants to play a role in inhibiting tumors. I searched on Taobao for the best-selling Cordyceps sinensis, and the price per gram is 188 yuan, which means it costs 5.08 million yuan to buy Cordyceps sinensis every day! I want to eat for 9 days in a row!
How to reduce blood fat?
Someone has done experiments with hamsters. Converted, a 60kg adult needs to take 37,537g Cordyceps sinensis every day, and it costs 700,000 yuan to reduce blood fat!
The content of cordycepin in Cordyceps sinensis is not as good as that in cultured Cordyceps militaris. Cordyceps militaris 20-30 yuan can buy 100-200g, which is very cheap. But I still don't recommend you to eat Cordyceps militaris.
What are the active ingredients of Cordyceps sinensis?
Whether it's spending 5.08 million yuan a day to fight cancer or spending 700,000 yuan a day to reduce blood fat, it's just an IQ tax. Moreover, reports of heavy metal content exceeding the standard and heavy metal poisoning in Cordyceps sinensis are endless. Spending a lot of money on this useless "health care product" for parents may be harmful to health. Is this filial piety?