Get in the Game with Team Mushroom!
Some of the oldest medical texts advocate for food as medicine. As far back as 1500BCE, the Ebers Papyrus cataloged ancient Egyptian remedies including herbs, spices, wine, beer, meat, fat, eggs, and fruits and vegetables. Adding good things to your diet results in good things for your body, and in a modern world where so many of us can't even pronounce some of the things in our food, or even be sure of its safety, it's hard to figure out what we ought to be eating. One of the simplest things to add to your diet is mushrooms.
Why mushrooms?
Mushrooms are some of the oldest medicinal foods, even going back to the Ice Age when Ötzi the Iceman used birch polypore fungus to treat infection and inflammation. In ancient China and Japan, mushrooms were a part of the pharmacopeia used by early physicians, and in modern times are used to treat cancer and help with post-chemo recovery. Hippocrates, the father of western medicine, wrote about the effectiveness of mushrooms and Native Americans used puffball mushrooms as wound coverings that also warded off infections. So, as you can see, mushrooms have a history reaching back to the dawn of civilization.
Yes, even those white button mushrooms in the supermarket have medicinal properties. They are a good source of vitamins B3, folate, and B5, vitamin D, and the trace minerals copper, selenium, potassium, and phosphorus. The humble supermarket mushroom may even protect against plaque formation in Alzheimer's disease. There are lots of other mushrooms with real health benefits to look into. Let's take a peek at just a few.
Team Mushroom All Stars!
These are just a few of the most popular mushrooms, prized for therapeutic value as well as culinary use. Originally found in the wild, these mushrooms were for those who knew how to find and use them, or for the use of the wealthy and nobility. Now most can now be propagated commercially or even in the home. Available fresh, dried, as powder or extracts, it's up to you how to use them.
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Chaga: Originally found on Siberian birch trees, Chaga is credited by institutions like the National Institutes of Health and Sloan-Kettering Hospital as being healthy and helpful for a multitude of issues from high blood sugar to cancer. Traditionally, it's used as a tea since it's quite bitter.
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Cordyceps: This may be the most popular mushroom that you've never heard of. Ubiquitous as nature's Viagra in 'male enhancement supplements,' it also has a lot of the same benefits for women, plus additional therapeutic properties including anti-fatigue, tumor-busting, reducing blood sugar, as well as liver and immune benefits. Classified as a drug in Traditional Chinese Medicine and accepted by the National Institutes of Health, this superfood should be on everyone's radar.
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Lions Mane: A mushroom that really does seem to do it all. With a long history in Chinese and Native American medicinal traditions, this mushroom relieves anxiety, stress, and depression, but also has abundant medical properties as an anti-infective, anti-metastatic, anti-proliferative, wound-healing, neuro-protective and cognition enhancing.
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Maitake: Also called hen-o-the-woods, this mushroom is under intensive preclinical study as to its benefits to breast cancer and myelodysplastic syndrome. It shows potential against tumors, parasites, and inflammation.
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Reishi: This potent adaptogenic mushroom is also called ling zhi in Chinese medicine and is one of the most popular mushrooms in culinary and medicinal use. It's given to post-chemo cancer patients in China, helps chemo and radiation to be more effective, and is considered highly beneficial to the kidneys. It may help men with prostate-related lower urinary tract issues such as infections, urinary urgency, and being up and down in the night to pee.
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Shiitake: One of the most popular and widely available mushrooms, this one can often be found right next to the brown and white mushrooms in the grocery store. As mentioned, even those little white button mushrooms have benefits, and shiitake is another all-star part of Team Mushroom. Shiitake mushrooms have an all-star team of effects, too, including anti-microbial, antiviral, liver-protecting, cholesterol-lowering, cancer-fighting, and antioxidant properties.
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Turkey Tail: Delicious and nutritious, this mushroom can even help to regulate the gut biome, which recent discoveries show can have effects on everything from dementia to cancer to autoimmune disease. Turkey tail also affects high cholesterol and can even protect the heart.
Adding mushrooms to your life
There are lots of different ways to add mushrooms to your diet. Mushrooms can be surprisingly easy to cultivate and can have a low footprint when it comes to space. Some mushrooms do require a wood growing medium and outdoor time, but many can be cultivated in the home with proper equipment. Fresh, delicious mushrooms right to the kitchen!
Mushroom powders can be blended into juices, your morning coffee, tea or hot chocolate, or your favorite training smoothie. Dehydrated mushrooms can be made into a tea, or fresh mushrooms are great in omelettes or soups as well as being keto friendly. The main thing to watch out for when using mushrooms as a supplement instead of a food is that supplements are so much more concentrated. As with all supplements, if you have a health issue - even if you are not taking medication or in active treatment - it is imperative to coordinate with your doctors. Consult them first, then add Team Mushroom to your care team.
By the way, one of the writer's favorite methods of getting with Team Mushroom is adding them to bone broth being made in her Nesco 18 quart cooker. You can use premade bone broth, then add fresh and dried mushrooms, and aromatics like celery, garlic, carrots, and onion. Adaptogens like ashwaganda, turmeric, burdock root, and ginger add a kick of flavor, and your favorite herbs like sage, bay leaf, rosemary, savory, and thyme add complexity. It freezes well, and a cup at a time gives you an afternoon boost without caffeine. It also makes a great soup base.
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