Plants have been used by humans to treat illness and disease for a very long time. In fact, most pharmaceutical drugs are derived from plants. Mushrooms are from the fungi group, form from the fruiting body of spores, and are important because they are both a food and medicine. For instance, commonly used antibiotics are from fungi. Mushrooms have been shown to fight various cancers and stimulate the immune system(1). I have too many friends fighting cancer right now and adding mushrooms to my supplement regimen is something I have adopted in response. I cannot claim that taking mushrooms prevents cancer, however research shows that certain mushroom’s can positively influence immunity. 

The medicine in mushroom’s can be found in their cell’s wall. These are called polysaccharides and are basically long chains of sugar. Most research focuses on beta glucans, a type of polysaccharides. Beta glucans stimulate the immune system, inhibit tumor growth, and protect against cancer forming toxins (2). Below are some examples of medicinal mushrooms and their evidence. 

Shiitake 

Eating shiitake mushrooms daily for one month improved immunity and decreased inflammation. About 50 subjects, around 20-40 years old, ate 5 or 10 grams of shiitake mushrooms daily and their blood was taken before and after the one month period. After one month of shiitake munching, the amount of cancer fighting cells (3,4,5) increased, as did their ability to function. 

Reishi 

There is no shortage of literature supporting the benefits of regular reishi intake and immunity. Mice fed reishi mushrooms for 14 weeks caused important changes in their immunity and tumor growth was inhibited!  The authors concluded that diets rich with beta glucans cause a shift in immunity to restrain tumor growth (6). In a randomized clinical trial looking at children aged 3-5, 12 weeks of oral supplementation with reishi caused an increase in immune cells in the blood; these same immune cells are critical for defense against infections (7).

Turkey Tail 

One of the most investigated mushrooms, turkey tail has been shown to target a number of cancer types including: breast, lung, melanoma, prostate, and ovarian to name a few. The polysaccharide in this medicinal mushroom basically disrupts the cancer cell progression and programs cell death. Studies on both animals and humans demonstrate immune enhancing effects (8).

We can all increase our intake of mushrooms by adding them to our food; I love most mushrooms cooked in some butter and salt. This week I added them to a curry I made. When shopping for supplements, choose hot water extracted products because this best pulls out the polysaccharides from the mushrooms. Polysaccharides are the medicine responsible for immune stimulation and tumor inhibition. I recommend Paull Stamets company Host Defense Mushrooms. I am currently taking his Comprehensive Immune Support formula which can be purchased through my online pharmacy for 10% off. 

Thanks for reading.

Resources 
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ecam/2018/7271509/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17895634/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25866155/
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41423-020-0504-x#:~:text=Many%20studies%20with%20in%20vitro,or%20contribute%20to%20tumor%20regression.
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/19055947/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29953399/
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/30317947/
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC7277906/