Used in traditional medical practices for centuries, medicinal mushrooms offer a wealth of benefits, from immune support to reduced cancer risk. Incorporating mushrooms into your supplement regimen can help you become your healthiest, most energetic self and even extend your life. Read on to discover five great mushrooms for health and longevity.
You can do so much more with mushrooms than add them to your spaghetti sauce and stroganoff. This superfood is one of the oldest mainstays in the human diet dating back to Palaeolithic times. Even the ancients knew mushrooms tasted great, but they also used mushrooms for medicinal purposes concerning their health and longevity. The morel dilemma is choosing the ones with the most benefits. Here’s our guide to how mushrooms can help you.
You May Also like:
Finding The Best Mushroom Supplements For Weight Loss
The Benefits Of A Chaga Mushroom Supplement
Health benefits of mushrooms
Dieticians have praised mushrooms because they’re low in calories and rich in antioxidants, but now doctors are recommending several varieties of mushrooms for health and longevity. These little fungi offer huge benefits like:
- Boosting your immune system: The antioxidants in mushrooms help produce the white blood cells that kill microorganisms that have invaded the body. They also can slow cell damage.
- Lowering your blood pressure: Mushrooms are rich in potassium, which eases the tension in blood vessels.
- Helping the body heal: Ergothioneine and other antioxidants are anti-inflammatories and can reduce swelling from injuries. Anti-inflammatories also help with autoimmune disorders such as arthritis and multiple sclerosis.
- Providing a source of vitamin D: Mushrooms are one of the few items in the produce department that are high in vitamin D – the same vitamin you get from sunlight. They can help make your bones stronger without exposing you to the harmful effects of ultraviolet light.
- Fighting heart disease: By lowering blood pressure as well as cholesterol levels, mushrooms promote health.
- Boosting digestive health: Mushrooms are prebiotics that stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria in the gut. They also contain polysaccharides, which pass through the stomach to encourage healthy bacteria in the colon.
- Decreasing your risk of cancer: Beta-glucans, the fiber in mushrooms, help the body fight many diseases, including cancer. Researchers found mushrooms are especially helpful in preventing breast cancer.
- Helping stave off Alzheimer’s disease and dementia: The antioxidant ergothioneine in mushrooms helps fight off cognitive impairment and memory loss.
The best mushrooms for health and longevity
Most edible mushrooms are beneficial, but when it comes to the best mushrooms for health and longevity, five stand out:
- Turkey Tail mushrooms: These get their name from their brown and tan rings that resemble the tail feathers of a turkey. You’ll often see them growing on dead logs. They’ve been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for years to treat cancer and strengthen the immune system.
- Reishi mushrooms: You’ll find these mushrooms growing at the base of live trees, especially in hot, humid regions. Reishi mushrooms are known for boosting the immune system and helping the body fight cancer. They can also aid in controlling blood sugar levels and boosting heart health. They’re used in Asia to increase energy and slow aging. Since Reishi mushrooms tend to be bitter, they’re most palatable in capsule or gummy form.
- Lion’s Mane: a medicinally potent mushroom; these white, shaggy fungi are so named because they resemble a lion’s mane. They are one of the best mushrooms for health and longevity because of their nootropic properties. They also help to treat gastrointestinal issues and fight inflammation. The ancient Chinese found the hericenones and erinacines compounds in Lion’s Mane mushrooms can stimulate the growth of brain cells.
- Cordyceps: There are hundreds of species under the genus ‘cordyceps,’ but only two are commonly used for medicinal purposes. It’s one of the most expensive mushrooms in the world, and it feeds on insects instead of dead wood. These mushrooms not only help fight cancer and autoimmune diseases, but they also provide an energy boost for exercise.
- Chaga: These mushrooms are loaded with antioxidants to help lower blood sugar and reduce inflammation. One recent study found that Chaga mushrooms can also reduce and slow the growth of tumors. They grow in colder climates and aren’t usually found in traditional grocery stores. Like Reishi mushrooms, they taste bitter, so you’re better off consuming them in a powder or gummy form.
How to reap the benefits of mushrooms for health and longevity
You don’t have to hunt down the best mycophile to enjoy all the health benefits of mushrooms or spend hours searching for mushroom recipes. Troop Mushrooms lets you chew your mushrooms in a delicious gummy form, which is a great alternative to some of the bitter-tasting choices.
Two Lion’s Mane gummies a day contain beta-glucans to give you a boost of energy, improve your mood, and help you think clearly. Furthermore, each serving has only 20 calories, which is fewer than a daily helping of the actual mushrooms. Troop Mushrooms also offers a Reishi gummy.
To experience all the benefits of the mushrooms we previously highlighted, Troop Mushrooms offers Super Troop gummies. This supplement combines the five great mushrooms for health and longevity mentioned above with a sixth beneficial mushroom: the maitake mushroom.
The league of “champignons”
It’s taken Western medicine ages to learn the benefits of Eastern and Ayurvedic medicine. But with the development of supplements like those previously mentioned, the ancient practice of using mushrooms for health and longevity has become popular. These fungi offer various health benefits and can help consumers to live healthier and longer lives.
Further Reading For Additional Reference:
Cleveland Clinic: “7 Impressive Reasons to Eat Mushrooms”
National Cancer Institute: “Medicinal Mushrooms”
UCLA Health: “7 health benefits of mushrooms”
Time Magazine: “Are Mushrooms Healthy?”
National Library of Medicine: “A Review of Mushrooms as a Potential Source of Dietary Vitamin D”
National Library of Medicine: “Higher Mushroom Consumption Is Associated with Lower Risk of Cancer”
Important Note: The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only and should not be construed as health or medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Before embarking on any diet, fitness regimen, or program of nutritional supplementation, it is advisable to consult your healthcare professional in order to determine its safety and probable efficacy in terms of your individual state of health.
Regarding Nutritional Supplements Or Other Non-Prescription Health Products: If any nutritional supplements or other non-prescription health products are mentioned in the foregoing article, any claims or statements made about them have not been evaluated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, and such nutritional supplements or other health products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.
