Mushroom Medicine
I love when a food is also a medicine. Because well.... I love food! In all seriousness, the more plant medicines you can include in your diet, the better. Including spices like ginger, garlic, onions, cinnamon, turmeric, and others provide a healthy advantage over a blander diet. But let's not forget about fungi. I feel like mushroom EVERYTHING is trending right now and for good reason. More than just a pizza topping, mushrooms are a potent medicine for our immune, cardiovascular, and cognitive health in particular and are quite deserving of a role of greater priority in our diets. I have always been fond of mushrooms. As a child they were and still are my favorite pizza topping. As a kid I would eat the canned ones right out of the can plain! lol I was always surprised when I would meet somebody who didn't like mushrooms and wouldn't eat them.
Mushrooms are kinda strange
I realized that there are some people who think that mushrooms are weird. Rightfully so I suppose, because mushrooms are pretty weird. They do not behave like plants or animals, two life forms we are most familiar with. Perhaps this is what led to some recent confusion at the pizza shop when the girl waiting on me listed mushrooms as one of their meat toppings! When mushrooms are exposed to sunlight such as during sun-drying they convert ergosterol into ergocalciferol (vitamin D2). This is similar to the process that occurs in our bodies when our skin is exposed to sunlight except that we product vitamin D3. This process does not occur in plants. Aside from fortified foods, mushrooms are the only non-animal dietary source of Vitamin D2. Very animal-ish of them.
Fungi are essential to life on this planet
Fungi are experts are breaking stuff down. Especially dead stuff. It's what they do best. There is a whole field of research going on right now that is dedicated to utilizing fungi to rehabilitate land that has become toxic due to chemical spills, heavy metals, or other pollutants. Fungi are able to break down substances that would otherwise take a really long time to break down on their own. They are also being studied for their potential use in breaking down plastics. This is great news for us all. I think eventually mushrooms are probably going to be responsible for saving our species from our own destruction. Although not a plant, they make plant life possible on Earth through a continuous process of breaking down what is old and dead and in turn, releasing the minerals and nutrients that will become the building blocks of new life. Animal life is dependent on plant life and so thus fungi are essential to life and the ecosystems that support the diverse lifeforms on this planet. They clean up, nurture, and renew the earth and, as our bodies are essentially a microcosm of the universe, they support our own bodies through similar processes internally.
Some of the most powerful medicines mushrooms offer are:
anti-cancer, anti-tumor
hepatonic (supporting the function of the liver in its role of breaking down and metabolizing ingested substances),
immunomodulating (regulating immune function to address true threats to the body without over-reacting and destroying healthy tissues as is the case with autoimmunity)
cardiotonic (supporting heart function protecting the heart from oxidative stress) and .
What the world needs now is love, sweet love mushrooms
On a symbolic level, I believe that all life forms are sentient and I believe the popularity of mushrooms right now is no accident. Mushrooms are bubbling to the surface of our consciousness because right now their medicine is what we so desperately need in our bodies as well as the world. Remember, mushrooms make new. They break things down so that new life can emerge. Cancer, heart disease, and diabetes are the greatest pandemics we face. The state of our health is a mirror of the state of the planet as we are all connected. We waste, we pollute, we abuse, we divide and oppress, we live completely out of sync with the natural order. We appear to be physically, socially, and spiritually on the brink. So mushrooms are like, "We got this, it's time to dissolve all of this chaos to make for what is new."
You can grow your own mushrooms at home!
I recently attended a workshop at Quiet Creek Herb Farm on mushroom cultivation. I learned so much more than I expected, it was actually mind boggling. If you follow me on Instagram you know that I was enormously pleased to return home with two logs, a jar, and two bags of myceliated substrate. May not impress the average gal much but I was stoked. Because I now have the means to grow 5 different types of mushrooms at home.
Here is what I brought home and the benefits of each:
Shittake - anti-tumor, antiviral, immune enhancing, lowers blood pressure and cholesterol, protects from liver damage, improves liver function, reduces bronchial inflammation, stimulates killer T-cells
Lion's Mane - inhibits cancer, protects against ulcers of the digestive tract, may protect against dementia, neuro-protective, neuro-regenerative, may reduce risk of cardiovascular disease, may help manage diabetes, reduces inflammation, may help ease anxiety and depression
Cordyceps - anti-asthmatic, anticancer, stimulates the endocrine system, improves liver function, improves circulation, lowers cholesterol and triglycerides, enhances immune function, enhances sexual function
Wine cap - still being studied for potential medicinal use but it does show promise in reducing blood sugar levels, lowering blood pressure and may be effective against cancer and HIV
Oyster - anti-tumor, may lower cholesterol and blood pressure, rich in iron
You can clearly see why I would be so excited to bring these guys home. I enjoy being a part of growing the foods and herbs I use and welcome the challenge and experience of learning about the lifecycle of different organisms in order to understand how best they grow. If you don't have the means to grow mushrooms you can certainly purchase them from grocery or natural food stores, farmers markets, or online. You can buy fresh mushrooms, dried mushrooms, extracts, pills, mushroom teas and coffees, mushroom infused honey and so many other things. I am currently toying with the idea of adding mushroom, or mushroom infused oils or extracts to some of my body care products. There is some research suggesting they may be useful in skin care applications.
What are your favorite mushrooms and how to do you like to use them?
References
Goldman, R. (2017, October 12) Are mushrooms good for you? Healthline. Retrieved December 7, 2020 from https://www.healthline.com/health/food-nutrition/are-mushrooms-good-for-you
Hobbs, C. (1986) Medicinal mushrooms: An exploration of tradition, healing, & culture. Botanica Press.
Julson, E. (2018, May 19) 9 Benefits of Lion's Mane mushroom (plus side effects). Healthline. Retrieved January 5, 2021 from https://www.healthline.com/nutrition/lions-mane-mushroom
Simon, R. R., Borzelleca, J. F., DeLuca, H. F., & Weaver, C. M. (2013). Safety assessment of the post-harvest treatment of button mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) using ultraviolet light. Food and chemical toxicology : an international journal published for the British Industrial Biological Research Association, 56, 278–289. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.fct.2013.02.009
University of Leeds. (2017, December 18). How fungi helped create life as we know it. ScienceDaily. Retrieved November 29, 2020 from www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2017/12/171218090640.htm