Whenever I think of mushrooms, my mind is either on ordering a pizza or a random psychedelic camping trip. Previously unbeknownst to me, mushrooms have been used as and in medicines for thousands of years. Those mushrooms on your pizza don’t have the immune system activating beta-glucans as well as other polysaccharides such as starch, glycogen, and dextrans like medicinal mushrooms, though. The uses over the years for various fungi include antibiotics, anticancer medicine, cholesterol inhibitors, psychotropic drugs, immunosuppressants, and fungicides.
In 1928, Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, and there have been many creations since then. These have been labeled “medicinal fungi,” which means fungi that use biotechnology to produce medically significant metabolites. These are slightly different from the natural mushrooms that ancient Chinese and Egyptian cultures utilized as their medicine described below.
And I know, this sounds like a chemistry lesson, but read on for the top 4 medicinal mushrooms throughout time.
Chaga
The chaga strain of fungi is mycelium based and has been around for centuries as a medicine. It primarily grows in birch trees in very cold locations such as Russia and Canada. It has been (and still is) used as an anticancer, antiviral, and to repair damaged cells.
Cordyceps
Cordyceps have been used as a tonic herb in Chinese and Tibetan medical culture for thousands of years. This shroom is fantastic for athletes as it can help them train better due to its cell revival and treatment of asthma. Other uses for this strain are to treat diabetes, cancer and it can also be used as an immune system enhancer, anticancer, and an immunomodulatory.
Lingzhi (also known as Reishi):
Lingzhi has been used in China medicinally for 2000 years. This is called the ‘Supernatural’ or ‘Spirit Mushroom’ as well as the ‘Mushroom of Immortality’ due to it being amazing at curing the sick and staving off illness. It plays a very large and important role in Daoist medicine. This is also a tonic herb, meaning that it can be eaten in large quantities regularly with no negative side effects.
Psilocybin
Probably the most well-known strain of fungi, these are the ‘magic’ mushrooms that many people experiment with at desert parties. It’s fairly common, found in over 180 species. It has been used in shamanic rituals and healing ceremonies, something that continues to this day. There are even experimental studies currently going on to help people overcome depression and PTSD. A close friend of mine went through this trial (it’s crazy expensive), and for three weeks afterward, he wasn’t depressed, was out with friends way more, and his little anxieties disappeared. Just like any medicine, though, it too wears off.
Mushrooms are a very cool creature, neither plants nor animals, yet sharing more DNA with animals than with plants. Sure, they don’t necessarily taste the greatest, but the positive effects greatly outweigh their blandness. Just throw a scoop of some cordyceps into your morning protein shake and feel the flora spread positively through you. Be careful and make sure you get someone to identify any shrooms you may pick; there are a lot of poisonous mushrooms out there.
