Making the Most of Medicinal Mushrooms

Ever since Alexander Fleming discovered penicillin, a fungal extract, scientists have realized what ancient Asian culture always knew—mushrooms are medicine.

The medicinal use of mushrooms in Asian culture is one of the most well recognized use of this extraordinary plant. Shutterstock

If you think mushrooms are just a way to add flavor to pizzas and stir-fries, then you’re missing the bigger picture. The medicinal use of mushrooms in Asian culture is one of the most well recognized use of this extraordinary plant. There’s a reason the mushroom is bearer of the title “MycoMedicinals” a unique class of natural products that includes all types of mushrooms and their extracts or powders.

So what is it about fungi that promotes healing?

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Research has shown that medicinal fungi:

1. Induces Apoptosis—the death of cancer cells;
2. Regulates Autophagy—the process by which a cell breaks down and destroys old, damaged, or abnormal proteins and other substances in its cytoplasm;
3. Suppresses Angiogenesis—the development of new blood vessels that tumors need in order to grow and metastasize.

In addition, studies are underway to determine exactly how MycoMedicinals work to reverse multidrug resistance, one of the most significant causes of [traditional] cancer treatment failure today.

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Mushrooms contain zero cholesterol, are low in fat, sugar, sodium, and calories, and are gluten free, but if those are all the health benefits you think they possess, then you’re selling them short.