Medicinal Mushrooms

Mushrooms have been human's allies for a long time. Quite possibly since 18,700 years ago, when a Magdalenian (hunter-gather society) ceremonially buried a seemingly important individual, dubbed The Red Lady due to the blanket of lavish ochre dust (hematite) that coated the ancient artifacts. Two varieties of mushroom spores were found inside of her teeth -- agaric and bolete spores. It is thought the bolete was certainly eaten as subsistence, but it remains a speculation as to what the agaric mushroom could have been eaten for -- perhaps for entheogenic purposes. Besides, to many of us, all mushrooms are "magical" and many edible mushrooms coincide with medicinal benefits. There are a few reasons why somebody would ingest a mushroom.

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About 2,000 mushroom species are considered edible, at least 200 or more are collected for food and medicine, and it is estimated there are over 130 mushrooms with medicinal qualities (Wasser 2017). These medicinal functions include anti-tumor, immune-modulation, anti-oxidant, anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-parasitic, anti-fungal, anti-diabetic, anti-obesity, anti-inflammatory, neuro-protection, neuro-regenerative, radical scavenging, cardiovascular, and cholesterol lowering benefits.

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Primarily, medicinal mushrooms are sources of polysaccharides (including beta-glucans), and constituents including triterpenes, lectins, ergothioneine, trehalose, minerals, vitamins, indoles, statins, polyphenols, ergosterols, enzymes, and numerous alkaloids in both the fruiting bodies and mycelium.

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Though many mycologists claim the mushroom exists solely for reproductive purposes, I believe there's more to it than this. % of medicine that exists in mushroom fruiting body vs. mycelium? WIth reishi it differs, with __ it differs, ... essentially there is most in the mushroom body though. Perhaps the mushrooms have a higher percentage of medicine because mushroom fruiting bodies are sometimes composed of multiple classes of hyphae?? (_, _, and _.).

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In my experience of studying mycology as a holistic field -- one that isn't as much of an independent science as it is a perspective, a medicine, and a language -- I've experienced many openings and transformations in the way I view life, death, and this planet. Through experiences directly or tangibly related to fungi, and simply referred to as life. One of my most profound realizations is that as much as we humans enjoy and excel at making and taking medicine, one of the universal experiences is decay, which includes illness and death. As fungi are some of the most potent forms of medicine -- biological, ecological, spiritual, and cultural -- it is with respect that we remember the honesty of suffering in this world of change. All too often, the medicinal mushroom realm acts as just another antidote that will cure all of your problems.

Fungi are spreading their spores in our cultural awareness -- which is incredibly wonderful. Part of why I do what I do is to integrate the various themes of fungal language and wisdom into culture because I find them helpful, connective, and restoring. I do, though, believe that, as with almost anything, there are current waves of commercial commodification that have to do with the possibility of a new horizon -- an age where we don't get cancer, don't get wrinkly skin, and don't get sick. A new study to chase after. While I believe the study of fungi receives outlandishly little attention and funding, I find it important to. It is easy to get fixated in the mentality that soething is the answer, and that fungi will fill the void. As fungi are so intimately tied to realms above and below, to regeneration and degeneration. Participating in complex and foundational roles; they are in-betweeners of life and death. It is in this space of the unknown that we walk with the fungi. I do believe fungi have a lot to teach to us and many avenues of medicine to share. For instance, heart disease has reached epidemic levels as the most common cause of death worldwide.

Above all, the medicine of the fungi share to be filled with presence -- to be richly living our true beingness in each moment, for this is where the transformation is taking place. This is where we co-exist and fuse hyphae. As wonderfully medicinal as mushroom tinctures, teas, and antidotes may be, the greatest medicine lies inside of ourselves. And thank you, fungi, for helping guide us into this place of connectivity, with the world and with ourselves. We appreciate your help.

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More than 650 species with polysaccharides show anti-tumor activity (Reshetnikov & Tan, 2001). 

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What hopes can medicinal mushrooms provide?

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