Functional Mushrooms: Hogwash or Here to Stay?
2 minute read
Topics: Immunity, immune system, inflammation, adaptogens, functional food
We’ve all seen health fads come and go. So it’s reasonable to raise an eyebrow at functional foods, which are gaining attention in popular culture. Should we be circumspect or is there credibility in functional food like edible mushrooms? If you can handle a few technical terms you’ll get to an answer here.
What are functional foods?
Here’s a useful interpretation of functional foods, from the Mayo Clinic website:
“Functional foods are foods that have a potentially positive effect on health beyond basic nutrition. Proponents of functional foods say they promote optimal health and help reduce the risk of disease.
A familiar example of a functional food is oatmeal because it contains soluble fiber that can help lower cholesterol levels. Some foods are modified to have health benefits. An example is orange juice that's been fortified with calcium for bone health [1]”.
The grey area
Granted, the line between healthy and functional food is blurred. Is avocado healthy or very healthy and functional? Labels like “super foods” don’t help either since there are no standard criteria. Ultimately though, you might be interested in any food that supports good health and therefore consider those called functional food.
Mushrooms as functional food
There is a lot of coverage of mushrooms as functional food. Are edible mushrooms a fad? It’s actually a case of ‘back to the future’: medicinal or functional mushrooms have been a staple in the Eastern diet for thousands of years.
In mushrooms terms, however, that’s recent history. They’ve been around much longer. Now, attention is turning back to the world of fungi and how they help us live today. This is explored in Paul Stammet’s ‘Fantastic Fungi’, a documentary which reveals the world of mushrooms and mycelium - collectively the largest organism on earth [2].
To be clear, functional mushrooms do not include psilocybin ‘magic’ mushrooms. The latter have psychedelic properties with benefits of their own and are being explored in a resurgent wave of research.
Mushrooms function by helping your body adapt
Getting back to the point: functional mushrooms fall in the domain of health and wellness. Some of the edible varieties are especially beneficial - different varieties have particular benefits. In general though, they share an adaptogenic quality - they help your body adapt to what it needs. Here’s the first technical bit: adaptation occurs (mainly) due to a complex carbohydrate called Beta-glucan [3].
Adaptation is how functional mushrooms earn their stripes - they modulate your immune system, adapting to environmental and psychological stresses. A weak immune system is susceptible to attack. An over-stimulated immune system becomes inflamed and harms the body (as with Covid-19 virus). Functional mushrooms have a special ability to keep your body in balance.
As the functional medicine practitioner, Erica Steele, says on the website Greatist [4]:
“If the person is too manic or frantic, it will help ground them, and vice versa—if the person is sluggish, tired, or fatigued, they can help stabilize the body. I view them as a strong stabilizer in our hectic, sometimes unpredictable world.”
Why all the fuss?
Talk of immunity and the immune system is so common that it tends to wash over us. Here’s a reminder of its importance: your immune system is vital to keeping you healthy.
“As long as your immune system is running smoothly, you don’t notice that it’s there. But if it stops working properly …, you get ill” [5].
If you can handle more detail, here’s an interesting point. There are two parts to immunity: the humoral and cell-mediated systems. Mushrooms, such as Lion's Mane, have the ability to support both these systems [6].
Functional mushrooms will stick around
Historical use, growing popularity and continued research suggest that functional mushrooms will become commonplace in western culture. The studies referenced link mushrooms to immunity but there are many other areas of mushroom inquiry.
Closely related is the topic of inflammation which functional mushrooms combat. The harmful effects of inflammation warrant a separate blog post. Suffice to say that research shows that functional mushrooms have anti-inflammatory effect.
Their benefits also include mood stabilizing, anxiety reduction, blood sugar stabilizing, cholesterol, chronic fatigue and potentially cancer fighting.
To end, we return to a recommendation from Katherine Zeratsky at the Mayo Clinic:
“If you want to try functional foods, choose wisely. And keep in mind that while functional foods may help promote wellness, they can't make up for poor eating habits” [1].
This is it
Moksha
Disclaimer: The findings collated here are for your information but aren’t intended to diagnose, cure or prevent any disease. Always consult a qualified medical practitioner for advice. Please remember: do not eat mushrooms unless you know they are safe to consume.
Sources
Zeratsky K. Functional Food. Mayo Clinic
Volman JJ, Helsper JPFG, Wei S, Baars JJP, van Griensven LJLD, Sonnenberg ASM, Mensink RP, Jogchum Plat. 2010. Effects of mushroom-derived beta-glucan-rich polysaccharide extracts on nitric oxide production by bone marrow-derived macrophages and nuclear factor-kappaB transactivation in Caco-2 reporter cells: can effects be explained by structure? Molecular Nutrition and Food Research.
Romine C, Steele E, 2018. What Are Medicinal Mushrooms—and Should You Be Eating Them? greatist.com
How does the immune system work? 2020. Informed Health.
Lull C, Wichers HJ and Savelkoul HFJ. 2005. Antiinflammatory and Immunomodulating Properties of Fungal Metabolites. Mediators of Inflammation.