9 Medicinal Mushrooms With Incredible Health Benefits

You probably know that certain mushrooms have powerful healing properties. There are specific medicinal mushrooms that are considered superfoods and have herb-like benefits that have been used in folk medicine for centuries. Today, there are more research articles coming out with all the benefits medicinal mushrooms offer, from eliminating inflammation to balancing hormones. The following 9 mushrooms have been around since ancient times but are easily available in supplement form:

1.     Reishi Mushrooms

Known as the “mushroom of immortality,” Reishi mushrooms arguably have the most benefits. They are known to lower cortisol, the stress hormone linked to high blood pressure, lowered immune system, fatigue, and brain fog. Reishi Mushrooms are taken as soup, tea, powder, or pill form. They are a commonly used mushroom in herbal medicine due to their benefits on mental, emotional, and physical wellbeing. Other benefits include: 

·      Regulate immune system by increasing or lowering activity.

·      Decrease inflammation by the immunomodulation mechanism.

·      Nourish your brain with its antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties.

·      Improve liver function and protect against liver damage.

·      Increase the body’s own defense against cancer cells.

·      Reduce cholesterol, triglycerides, and high blood pressure by a compound called ganoderic acid.

·      Help counter allergic reactions by downregulating the immune response.

·      Treat urinary tract infections, sinus infections, and Candida with an antipathogenic response.

·      Lower blood sugar levels and increase insulin sensitivity.

2.     Turkey Tail Mushrooms

Turkey tail has major benefits when it comes to athletic and exercise performance, gut health, and immune system. Named after their resemblance to a turkey’s tail, these mushrooms are dried up and brewed to make tea, taken in capsules, or taken in powder form. Benefits include:

·      Treatments for cancer by their ability for fight off abnormal cells.

·      Optimize gut health by fighting off bad bacteria and are a source of prebiotic fiber.

·      Boost energy and fight fatigue during physical activity.

·      Lower blood sugar and reduce insulin resistance, helping to improve or prevent diabetes.

·      Reduce inflammation due to flavonoids, antioxidants that make up the fungi.

·      Help fight cancer by enhancing the body’s own mechanisms in immune response.

·      Include powerful antioxidants such as quercetin and baicalein that help fight free radicals and prevent oxidative damage to cells and DNA.

·      Boost your immune system, helping you to fight off colds and flus.

3.     Shiitake Mushrooms

You may have eaten shiitake mushrooms at an Asian Cuisine restaurant or seen them at the grocery store. Not only are they used in Asian cooking, but also in medicine systems all throughout Asia. Shiitake mushrooms help promote circulatory health and longevity. Major benefits of shiitake mushrooms include:

·      Lower inflammation by combating free radicals.

·      Boost collagen by providing copper.

·      Help prevent breast cancer, specifically ovarian cancer.

·      Promote balanced estrogen levels.

·      Increase bone density by providing copper, which is linked to higher bone density and osteoporosis prevention.

·      Block cholesterol absorption, helping to lower cholesterol naturally.

·      Activate immune system and kills cancer cells.

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4.     Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms literally look like oyster. They are white and grow on decaying trees. They have been used in China for centuries and contain loads of vitamins and minerals. Modern research has confirmed significant health benefits of these mushrooms including:

·      Lower blood sugar levels and improve insulin sensitivity.

·      Provide antioxidant support by countering oxidative stress and protecting cells and DNA against damage linked to cancer and other diseases.

·      Lower cholesterol by providing beta-glucans.

·      Lower blood pressure by relaxing arterial walls.

·      Reduce inflammation by modulating the inflammatory response in your immune system.

·      Lower the risk of heart disease by reducing cholesterol, blood pressure, inflammation, and oxidative stress.

·      Boost the immune system when it is low and downregulates when it is high.

5.     Lion’s Mane Mushrooms

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms get their name because of their appearance, white with a texture that looks shaggy, like a lion’s mane. They have a fishy flavor and help with physical activity in athletes and mental cognition in people with cognitive decline. Other benefits include: 

·      Fights anxiety and depression.

·      Reduces inflammation.

·      Improves mood swings, irritability, and anxiety in postmenopausal women.

·      Enhances mental function, promotes mental clarity, and helps reduce symptoms of Alzheimer’s disease.

·      Prevents stomach ulcers by stopping H. pylori growth and protecting the mucosal lining of your stomach and small intestine.

·      Strengthens the gut against stomach ulcers.

·      Reduces heart disease risk by lowering cholesterol and triglycerides.

·      Helps prevent blood clotting.

6.     Chaga Mushrooms

Chaga mushrooms are a strange fungus that look like charcoal. They are most commonly taken as tea or in powder form. Chaga mushrooms have powerful antioxidant properties that make them excellent for fighting free radicals and inflammation. They also have anti-aging properties due to their ability to combat oxidative stress. Benefits include: 

·      Slows the growth of cancer by increasing the body’s production of antibodies to fight pathogens.

·      Helps treat ulcers by destroying abnormal cells.

·      Topical treatment for swelling, rashes, and wounds.

·      Lowers blood sugar levels, thereby lowering risk of cardiovascular disease.

·      Lowers low-density lipoprotein (LDL), which is the “bad cholesterol.”

·      Anti-aging properties by their ability to fight off oxidative stress.

·      Reduces inflammation that can help to fight many chronic issues such as arthritis, allergies, psoriasis, and other inflammatory diseases.

7.     Maitake Mushrooms

Known to grow in big clusters the size of a basketball, this is one of the few mushrooms on the list that you can actually eat. Its known for its good texture, mild flavor, and great taste. Medicinal benefits include:

·      Anti-inflammatory and immune-boosting properties.

·      Decreases insulin resistance and resting glucose serum levels, resulting in anti-diabetic properties.

·      Fights cancer by a compound called D-Fraction, which was found to suppress tumor growth and spread. It stimulates the body’s production of “natural killer” cells, T-cells, and while blood cells that destroy cancer.

8.     Cordyceps Mushrooms

Cordyceps mushrooms is an extremely weird food to eat because it grows out of insects. If you can get past that, you can gain some of its major medicinal benefits that include: 

·      Helps shrink tumors and slows cancer by stimulating apoptosis, the process that gets rid of old and defective cancerous cells.

·      Increases energy and libido because of its stimulating properties

·      Increases testosterone and estrogen.

·      Increases blood flow due to its ability to utilize oxygen more efficiently.

·      Helps lower chances of high cholesterol and heart disease by dilating arteries.

·      Increases athletic performance and stamina in athletes.

·      Helps speed up muscle recovery by increasing ATP, the energy in the cells.

·      Improves lung function, reducing symptoms of respiratory ailments.

9.     Enokitake Mushrooms

Enokitake mushrooms, or Enoki, for short, are delicate white mushrooms with long, thin stems. They are commonly used in cooking due to not only their medicinal benefits, but great tasting flavor and nutritional benefits. Some of their benefits include:

·      Excellent and natural source of niacin

·      Helps improve immune system and reduces high blood pressure and high cholesterol.

·      Reduces body fat and increases metabolism because of the linoleic acid it contains and its ability to help you absorb nutrients.

·      Improves digestion because of its high fiber content. It also helps reduce constipation and regulates bowel movements.

·      Helps manage blood glucose and reduce symptoms of diabetes.

·      Improves memory function and cognition.

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Always consult with your doctor before taking any of these mushrooms if you are on any medications or pregnant. Incorporating these mushrooms into your “supplement” routine or into some of your delicious meals can help combat many modern disease and ensure you are getting the full benefits of these superfoods.

Written by Andie Ibarra, DC.