What are the Best Medicinal Mushrooms?
Mushrooms have been used as medicine for many thousands of years—tens of thousands in all likelihood—because they are readily available, generally simple enough to cultivate, and, most importantly, effective. There are numerous medicinal mushrooms benefits including for medicinal mushrooms of the psilocybe cubensis variety type.
The benefits of medicinal mushrooms varies from one fungi to another, of course, but these ancient healers have been shown to provide support to the immune, nervous, and circulatory systems, yield anti-inflammatory effects, increase energy, maintain a healthy blood sugar, and even improve neurological health and overall cognition.
All that’s without even taking into account the many benefits of cubensis, the special compound in “mushrooms.”
If you’re a regular reader, you’re not surprised to hear that. Here on the Quality Spores blog, we’ve been singing the praises of cubensis-assisted treatments for a variety of ailments for a long time… right alongside the mainstream medical community.
That’s why we’re going to start this conversation by briefly discussing medicinal mushrooms before getting into the non-psychoactive (but very effective) other kinds of fungi.
It’s Going Mainstream: Medicinal Mushrooms (Psilocybe Cubensis)
To our knowledge, this is the first time mushroom has been included in an article about medicinal mushrooms, which usually focus on some of the usual suspects we’ll get to in just a moment.
Consider for a moment that research, much of which that has been conducted in just the last 10 years, has revealed that mushroom and other so-called mushrooms are capable of helping victims of depression, PTSD, OCD, alcoholism, obesity, anxiety, and so many other mental and physical health issues that we couldn’t possibly discuss them all here (although have a peek through our website and you’ll find plenty of talk on the capabilities of cubensis).
This is likely thanks to the neuroregenerative properties of cubensis. In very simplified terms, cubensis can “reroute” one’s neural pathways, helping them to break habits or negative thought patterns and form new, positive ones. Research is still in the relatively early days, but clinical trials are taking place nearly everywhere in the world.
mushroom mushrooms aren’t the only fungi that can help neurological functions—it’s well known that the next medicinal mushroom on our list will help support good brain health: Lion’s Mane mushrooms.
Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Can Support Healthy Neurological Functions
Lion’s Mane has been used as a medicinal mushroom for perhaps longer than recorded history; we now know that its efficacy is thanks largely in part because of its high beta-glucans, or beta-d-glucans, a polysaccharide linked to enhanced immune response and tumor-fighting properties.
Beta-glucans have been studied at length by the scientific and medical community and many speculate that this compound will soon be commonly found in isolation in any number of modern pharmaceuticals. However, if you’re a believer in the benefits of whole-fungi therapy, another topic we’ve discussed at length here on the blog, you’ll likely want to get “the real thing.”
Lion’s Mane has a very unique appearance. Rather than a traditional conical-shaped cap, it has long, shaggy protrusions (called spines in mycology). It looks like a lion’s mane, but has also been compared to a waterfall, or dripping wax.
Reishi Mushrooms Won’t Make You Immortal, But They’re Fantastic at Supporting Your Immune System
Most readers will have heard of reishi mushrooms, the dark, bitter-tasting fungi. But did you know that these were once considered a “superior herb” in ancient Chinese medicine, and even called the “mushrooms of immortality”?
While they’re not quite that good for you, reishi mushrooms are excellent at providing your immune system with the support it needs to ward of illness, among a host of other benefits such as relieving stress and improving the quality of sleep.
As a quick side note, that latter bit shouldn’t be too easily glossed over—quality of sleep is extremely important to health, since it’s the time when the body enters a regenerative state. If you sleep well, and reishi can help you do that, you’ll find yourself having more energy, vibrancy, and a stronger immune system.
Chaga “Mushrooms” Aren’t Actually Mushrooms, But They’re Still Rich in Antioxidants
Chaga had an explosion in popularity a few years back when it entered the mainstream consciousness as a result of multiple holistic health YouTubers and other media figures mentioning it. This wasn’t the first time chaga became popular—it enjoyed a moment in the spotlight in the 1960s.
Popularity aside, chaga is often thought of as a mushroom or fungi, but despite very much looking like one, it isn’t. Chaga grows on trees in cold environments and is actually what’s called a sclerotium, kind of like a canker that grows on trees. We include it here because it’s so often considered a mushroom, and dispelling this notion is worthwhile.
Having said that, it’s well worth looking into the benefits of chaga: it’s extremely rich in antioxidants and has been shown to promote immune system strength as well as supporting liver and brain health.
Learn More About Medicinal Mushrooms at Quality Spores
Here at Quality Spores, we serve the amateur microscopy and mycology community by providing the best quality, viable, contaminant-free exotic mushroom spores—and that includes mushroom spores.
Magic mushroom spores are legal throughout most of the United States, because they don’t contain any active cubensis or psilocin. However, cultivating mushrooms at home or in your lab is illegal nearly everywhere at the time of this writing. Our spores are for research and taxonomy purposes only.