Medicinal mushrooms have exploded onto our health scene: they’re on the vitamin shelf, in our frying pans, and even in our morning cup of joe.
From sky-high nutritional benefits to their emerging role in mental health, we’re just beginning to grasp the amazing benefits of the fabulous world of fungi.
Stay tuned for part two of this series, where we’ll discuss the promise of psychedelic mushroom varieties. Before we take a deep dive into that hot topic, let’s look at some of the more common varieties you’ll find on grocery shelves.
Far from being just another fad, mushrooms are the real deal – they’re the most ubiquitous form of life on the planet, after all – and they’re here to stay.
Here’s why you should get on board.
A Quick Tour of the Top Five
With exotic names like turkey tail, chaga, and lion’s mane, medicinal mushrooms can seem mysterious and daunting.
It’s well worth your time to learn the lingo: with a list of benefits that reads like a superhero movie, we’re just getting started on the potential of these superfoods.
Here’s a quick tour of the Top Five.
CHAGA
Promotes Immunity
If you choose just one mushroom on this list, let chaga be it! The gold star of immune boosting superpower, chaga overflows with antioxidant and anti-carcinogenic properties.
How to Use It:
Chaga is the consistency of wood when it’s harvested from birch trees. Luckily for us, it’s readily available in supplement form. With its earthy, bitter flavour, it’s often ground and used as a coffee substitute.
LION’S MANE
Focus and clarity
Known as your brain's best friend, Lion's Mane has been used by Buddhist monks to help focus during meditation. It’s your go-to for creativity and productivity. Lion’s Mane doesn’t taste like coffee, but it acts in a similar fashion.
How to Use It:
This edible mushroom has a delicious flavour and a meaty texture; it’s an ideal vegetarian substitute in cooking.
REISHI
Relaxation & Sleep
One of the most common medicinal mushrooms, Reishi has long signified longevity in China.
With the ability to support stress and promote restful sleep, this is your mushroom if you have anxiety or trouble sleeping.
How to Use It:
Reishi has a bitter taste – take it as a supplement, or mixed with raw cacao, honey, and hot water before bed.
TURKEY TAIL
Digestion
Antioxidant (guards your digestive tract) and prebiotic (prompts your gut to get busy digesting).
How to Use It:
Best used as a tea or taken as a supplement because of its super chewy texture.
CORDYCEPS
Stamina
This mushroom is an athlete’s best friend, helping to increase endurance and energy levels. This is THE mushroom in Chinese medicine for vitality.
How to Use It:
Cordyceps is a long, stringy mushroom that can be boiled with water to make tea, added to soup, or taken in supplement form.
For further information on the Top Five, check out the Mushroom Academy’s short and sweet video series, with mini clips on each of the mushrooms featured here.
If you want to blow your mind, Fantastic Fungi, available on Netflix, is the most beautiful cinematography you’ll see this year (truly!). It may just whet your appetite for our second instalment, where we’ll get to the bottom of the micro and macro dosing movement.
Who said 2022 would be boring? 🍄
