Mushrooms are one of those vegetables that people either love or hate.  In fact, I remember an IG/FB post from last summer in which I asked about proclivity toward mushrooms.  Answers were extremely divided!  I happen to be in the love ’em camp, but I know not everyone feels the same.  I’d like to make an argument for mushrooms though, especially the medicinal varieties.  They are serious superfoods!  There’s plenty of research to suggest multiple healing benefits, including balancing and boosting our best defense mechanism: the immune system.  They are also claimed to detoxify and cleanse, fight inflammation, reduce stress and anxiety, boost gut health, improve memory, enhance mood, and manage depression.  And even the National Cancer Institute recognizes medicinal mushrooms for their cancer-fighting abilities.  Pretty terrific, right?

And the awesome thing is that there are some incredible products on the market today that make it super easy to include them in your wellness and self care routines, even if you don’t like the taste of mushrooms.  They’re generally considered safe to consume for most people (save allergies, of course), though obviously eating too much of anything could produce negative consequences.  Most of the more exotic medicinal mushrooms are typically not eaten raw, but powdered, tincture, and capsule forms are widely available nowadays.

Let’s talk about some of the most popular medicinal mushrooms and their potential benefits.

Chaga.  Can boost immunity, lower inflammation, protect the liver, and stimulate white blood cells to fight off infection.  It has lots of vitamins and minerals, including ones that support hair, nails, and skin.  It’s also fairly high in manganese thanks to its 15% composition of ash, which is an important precursor to enzyme activation in our body.  Chaga can also lower blood sugar and help fight symptoms of Type II Diabetes.  Additionally, the high level of antioxidants can fight free radical damage and UV exposure damage, as well as lower inflammation.

Cordyceps.  Can help to maintain fitness level, energy, stamina, and sports performance by promoting blood flow.  This is the mushroom for athletes!  It can fight stress, support symptoms of fatigue, and boost immunity.  It can lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and promote heart health.  It’s known to be protective for the kidneys and adrenal glands.  Additionally, Cordyceps increases cellular oxygen absorption by up to 40%, which makes it a major potential cancer-fighter because tumors can’t thrive in oxygenated conditions.  It also increases natural killer cell activity (an important component of the innate immune system) by up to 400% in people who have cancer.

Lion’s Mane. Can support all things brain related, including cognition, memory, concentration, nerve cell renewal, and even depression and anxiety.  Lion’s Mane is loaded with antioxidants, which helps combat inflammation and free radical damage.

Maitake.  Can help to fight the symptoms of Type II Diabetes, lower cholesterol, and fight against cancerous tumors.

Reishi.  Can support the liver, aid in detoxification, protect against oxidative stress, and boost immunity.  It has also been shown to be a huge virus killer.  It may improve mood, offer sleep-enhancing and relaxation effects, and support symptoms of seasonal allergies.  It is considered to be a neuroprotective mushroom, supporting cognitive function.  It’s healing benefits also include being anti-cancerous, especially against estrogen-positive breast cancer.

Shitake.  Can boost immunity, aid in weight loss, reduce cholesterol, balance blood pressure, reduce allergy symptoms, and support heart health.  It is also thought to be anti-fungal and anti-cancerous.  Shitake is available in the produce section of many grocery stores!

Turkey Tail.  Can boost white blood cell count and immunity, which potentially makes it a serious cancer fighter.  In fact, it’s one of the main cancer fighting mushrooms used in many Asian countries and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM).  It can repair immune cell damage, help to heal infections, improve overall gut health (thanks to the presence of prebiotics), and reduce cholesterol levels.

White Button Mushrooms. Though maybe not considered medicinal because they’re a diet staple for many, they’ve been shown to suppress aromatase by 60%, which is a better performance than any other mushroom tested.  That’s important because aromatase is a necessary enzyme that estrogen-positive breast cancer tumors use to convert testosterone to more estrogen, in an effort to grow themselves.  What a fascinating way to inhibit the growth of tumors!

Talk about letting thy food be thy medicine!  There are so many praises for medicinal mushrooms.  Not only are they incredible immune boosters for overall wellness, the anti-cancer properties are recognized by many wellness professionals.  They are such a fantastic addition to a preventative lifestyle, and it’s really easy to get a daily dose.

I absolutely love Thrive 6 by FreshCap.  It is an organic powdered version of the six powerhouse medicinal mushrooms – Chaga, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Maitake, Turkey Tail, and Reishi.  Many people like to add a scoop (it’s tiny, promise!) into their coffee, but I prefer to incorporate my shrooms into my morning Matcha Latte.  Believe it or not, the powder has a chocolate-like flavor!  But, if you’re still weirded out by that, FreshCap offers capsules, as well as elixirs and mushroom coffee!  There are a variety of ways mushrooms can be worked into any lifestyle, and it’s so worth it given all of their healing benefits!