How Medicinal Mushrooms Can Help You

Medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional folk medicines in cultures that range from Siberia to China and Japan.  Mushrooms are enjoying recent popularity as many nootropic coffees and teas are now adding medicinal mushrooms to their ingredients.  While they look catchy on labels, what are some common medicinal mushrooms and how can they help you?

These mushrooms can boost the immune systems, hormones, antioxidants, sexual health, well-being, cognition, energy, and exercise performance.

One of the uniting benefits of most medicinal mushrooms is that most of them boost or stimulate the immune system.  Some of their immune system effects are due to their beta glucans, or polysaccharides; but often, medicinal mushrooms have unique constituents which modern medicine is beginning to identify and understand.

Most of the conclusive evidence about the benefits of medicinal mushrooms comes from studies conducted with animals or in-vitro research. However, a few medicinal mushrooms have undergone clinical trials with humans. It’s worth keeping in mind that some of the purported benefits on the newer products which are incorporating medicinal mushrooms may be based on an extrapolation of data and results from animal studies.

Some of the most common you may encounter are:  Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps Militaris, Chaga, and Reishi. 

Lion’s Mane Mushroom

• Well-known for its cognitive boosting properties
• Also used for promoting mood and wellbeing
• Believed to influence BDNF (brain derived neurotrophic factor) in preliminary animal studies

Cordyceps Militaris Mushroom

• Well-known for its effects on exercise performance
• Combats fatigue
• Boosts testosterone
• Promotes anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidant properties

Reishi Mushroom

• Well-known to support urinary health in males
• Boosts energy and mood
• Promotes antioxidant activity

Chaga Mushroom

• Supports energy levels
• Stimulates immune response
• Enhances memory

Traditionally, mushrooms were used in teas, but now they are available in powders extracted from dried mushrooms. Ensuring the legitimacy and purity of mushroom sources is crucial, given they’re fungus, requiring controlled and reputable growing conditions. In addition to sourcing and testing high-quality mushrooms, the growth medium significantly impacts their quality. For example, Reishi mushrooms cultivated on grain mediums may absorb starches, affecting beta-glucan levels—the primary active constituents. Reishi grown without grain, such as Nammex brand, may offer greater effectiveness.

These available from Noo-tropics.eu use the brand Nammex which uses 100% organic whole fruiting bodies of the mushrooms.  Nammex mushrooms are considered medical grade mushrooms, and if you’re beginning to explore the world of medicinal mushrooms, it is a safe way to get started.

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