Mushrooms: Immune-Boosting Remedy

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Some of the most potent immunosupportive agents come from mushrooms, and science is just beginning to tap into this vast natural medicine warehouse.

There are mushrooms that kill viruses, mushrooms that kill bacteria, and even mushrooms that kill yeast—which may surprise you, given they’re both fungi.

Some mushrooms destroy cancer cells, and others facilitate nerve regeneration.

Fungi are incredibly resilient, even surviving radioactivity. They can actually harness radiation to thrive, as was found by a robot sent to map the inside of the entombed Chernobyl nuclear reactor in 1999. The robot found a hardy fungus chowing down on 200 tons of melted radioactive fuel.

In addition to bringing us nutrition and powerful medicine, mushrooms offer great benefits for the planet.

You may be surprised to learn that mushrooms have the following green applications:

Eradication of carpenter ants by producing a pesticide that tricks the ants into eating it
Producing a low carbon footprint type of ethanol
Breaking down the neurotoxins in nerve gas
Producing a fully compostable fungal-based packing material that could potentially replace plastics and styrofoam
Bioremediation: Cleaning up waste from petroleum, toxic chemicals (PCBs, TNT), and bacteria such as E. coli

Of the 140,000 species of mushroom-forming fungi, science is familiar with only 10 percent, according to world-renown mycologist Paul Stamets in “The Most Powerful Medicine in Nature.” About 100 species are being studied for their health-promoting benefits. Of those hundred, about a half dozen really stand out for their ability to deliver a tremendous boost to your immune system.

I’d like to share some information with you today about a few of the rock stars of Kingdom Fungi. Some of these were discussed in my interview with Steve Farrar, who has worked and studied mushrooms professionally for the last 30 years. If you missed that informative interview, I highly recommend listening to it as well. But first, you need a little understanding about how mushrooms grow and what makes them so unique.

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Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may not reflect those of
Care2, Inc., its employees or advertisers.

Eternal G.

3:53PM PST on Mar 5, 2012

That I am convinced of!

send a green star

Lika S.

11:50PM PST on Feb 18, 2012

I love mushrooms, and regularly use a variety anyway. My favorite is Shiitake, but I do like portobellos also.

holly m.

2:01PM PST on Feb 16, 2012

interesting

Charlene T.

9:44AM PST on Feb 16, 2012

Great article. I love all types of mushrooms and to think they are good for you and could help during chemotherapy. Being a breast cancer survivor (7 years) it is good to know this information...Finally we find out about something that is "good" for us and not a "warning" for us NOT to eat...

J.L. A.

9:32AM PST on Feb 16, 2012

Wow! First such article that didn't include warnings about not trying to collect in the wild due to misidentification risks of some poisonous being very similar to the healthy kinds.

Lindsey W.

9:24AM PST on Feb 16, 2012

thanks.

8:35AM PST on Feb 16, 2012

I looooooooove mushrooms.

Megan S.

3:38AM PST on Feb 16, 2012

Thanks, shared with a friend )

Carole R.

9:46PM PST on Feb 15, 2012

Good information. Thanks!

Nimue P.