I am wondering if there are "real-world" beneficial health experiances
from consuming Ganoderma Lucidum (or Reishi) like the extract that is
in the Healthy Coffee People product at healthycoffeepeople.com

I know there are tens of thousands of pages on it when searching, but
I notice that they are mainly referring to far eastern countries.  Are
there any personal experiances from the use of this nutrient that
anyone would comment on?

Dear Straight, 

Several American universities have pages dedicated to Reishi and its
alleged health benefits:

"Most of the scientific studies using reishi have been done on animals
with cancer. Results of these studies have shown that reishi has an
anti-cancer effect when combined with chemotherapy and radiation
treatments. The studies have also shown that reishi increases the
number of Natural Killer cells (NK cells), which are responsible for
recognizing and killing off abnormal cells in the body. An increased
amount of NK cells means a decreased risk of developing a cancerous
tumor.

In test-tube studies, reishi has been shown to increase the rate of
cancerous tumor cell death. Studies have shown that this anti-tumor
action comes from either the fruiting body of the mushroom or the
actual spores."
(SOURCE:  Iowa State University Extension, "Reishi (Ganoderma
lucidum)", <http://www.extension.iastate.edu/nutrition/supplements/reishi.php>).

Also read: 
Cathy Sabota, "Maitake Mushrooms for Your Health",
<http://www.aces.edu/urban/metronews/vol4no1/mushroom.html>

Dylan Kosma, "The Miraculous Reishi: Mushroom or Medicine?",
<http://www.siu.edu/~ebl/leaflets/reishi.htm>

Healthnotes, "Reishi",
<http://myhealth.ucsd.edu/library/healthguide/en-us/Cam/topic.asp?hwid=hn-2156000>

"Reishi", Supplment Watch,
<http://www.supplementwatch.com/supatoz/supplement.asp?supplementId=376>

I hope this answered your questions. Please contact me if you need any
clarifications on this answer before you rate it. My search terms have
been: "Ganoderma Lucidum" health site:edu
<://www.google.com/search?hl=en&lr=&c2coff=1&q=%22Ganoderma+Lucidum%22+health+site%3Aedu&btnG=Search>

I have tried reishi for about two months, both broken spores and whole
plants. Her e is some personal experience.
I noticed my skin got smoother and lighter, on the hands and on the
face, 3 weeks into taking spores. Then I got encouraged and added
whole plants, which I crushed and boiled to make a bitterish drink.
Problem ensued. I got serious stomach upset and indigestion. I had to
stop taking the whole plant drink. I dumped a whole jar of it. I
continued with the spores to date. The effect on the stayed but the
change rate gets slower.
I still have stomach problem that I suspect comes from reishi: I have
good appetite but smaller capacity for food. I easily get full and
don't feel hungry. I am slightly under weight and wish to gain weight
and this is not helping. BTW, my total cholesterol dropped from 205 to
190 from one year ago, which I don't know is a result of reishi.