Inhabitants in the high mountains of Tibet and Nepal consume Cordyceps, claiming that it gives them energy and offsets the symptoms of altitude sickness. The proposed reason for the alleged in- crease in energy is an increase in cellular ATP, as previously mentioned; likewise, increased oxygen availability has been posited as the primary agent in combating the effects of altitude sickness.
In a placebo-controlled clinical study of elderly patients with chronic fatigue, results indicated that most of the subjects treated with C. sinensis reported a significant clinical improvement in the areas of fatigue, cold intolerance, dizziness, frequent nocturia, tinnitus, hyposexuality, and amnesia, whereas no improvement was reported in the placebo group.1,2,23,24,25 Another study in- volving healthy elderly volunteers, with an aver- age age of 65, tested the output performance and oxygen capacity of subjects while exercising on stationary bicycles. A portion of the volunteers