The 3 Best Medicinal Mushrooms for Stress and Immunity
Mushrooms. Everyone’s talking about them. Ten years ago, few people talked about mushrooms, even edible varieties like portobello and shiitake. But in the last couple of years, interest in mushrooms has exploded due to increased focus on immunity, cognitive function, and stress. Mushrooms are anything but new, and have been part of ethnobotanical practices around the world for centuries, if not millennia. There are several medicinal mushrooms everyone should know about to help support immunity and brain health due to their amazing health benefits!
1. Reishi – The world’s most popular mushroom, also known as the mushroom of immortality.
Reishi mushroom is potentially the world’s most potent immune response modulator. In other words, it sets in motion a whole host of immune cells, all while managing and balancing overall immune function. Reishi is also a top-notch adaptogen, supporting physical and mental endurance and building energy in the body over time. It helps us adapt to stress, reducing the fight-or-flight response, so we feel calmer without being sedated. It is also well-researched for supporting cardiovascular function and heart health, by promoting balanced blood lipid levels and cellular antioxidant activity. We can use it for respiratory wellness, gut health, and liver function. You can understand why it’s been touted as the mushroom of longevity throughout history!
2. Lion’s Mane – a tasty edible mushroom that can easily be incorporated into foods, and gives a brain boost, too.
Given the current global experience, memory, mood, and cognitive function need a boost after the last two years and research on Lion’s Mane demonstrates strong supportive activity in these areas. Finances, work, family, education, safety, grief… all of these and more have stacked up layers of stress on the vast majority of people around the world. Lion’s Mane also supports the nervous system and gut health, playing a dual role in supporting the brain. The intestinal tract is considered to be the “second brain,” which impacts mood, mental acuity, and cognitive function, positively or negatively, depending on the health of the gut. Lion’s Mane provides beneficial fiber and food for probiotic microflora, fueling lactobacillus and bifidobacterium microorganisms, supporting the immune system in the gut. Lion’s Mane mushroom is sometimes called the “smart mushroom,” and now you can understand why!
3. Turkey Tail – Another mushroom with research tied to immunity.
Turkey Tail mushroom has strong immune cell engagement action, potentially stronger than Reishi and Lion’s Mane. It appears to stimulate the immune response for a swift and diverse response and helps bring the immune system back to baseline when it no longer needs to be on high alert. Lion’s Mane has been extensively researched and appears to be both safe and effective for supporting the immune system when we need it most. It is an ideal mushroom for acute immune support.
Host Defense Mushroom products are available in single mushroom varieties, including Reishi, Lion’s Mane, and Turkey Tail, and also in specific targeted blends with other mushrooms and herbs to take advantage of the synergy of these combinations.
Host Defense utilizes both the mycelium (the root-like structure of the mushroom) and organic brown rice to grow it on. The mycelium ferments the organic brown rice and converts it into immune-supporting compounds. Published, peer-reviewed research on Host Defense products demonstrates a strong and complex immune response when consumed, and so we are confident they work safely and effectively. In addition to creating mushroom products that are tested for efficacy and safety, Host Defense is also developing sustainability practices. We actively reduce our carbon emissions, using 100% post-consumer recycled and BPA-free plastics, supporting reforestation projects, and participating in global Gold Standard carbon offsetting programs. We strongly believe that supporting the health and well-being of the Earth and our sister species is intimately tied to supporting the health and well-being of our fellow humans.