Medical research and technological innovations lead to new discoveries in health and nutrition. Their findings are often surprising and unexpected. One example is the study conducted on snake venom. Some research shows that when it is administered as medicine, it may be able to cure arthritis and other diseases. There’s also research on medicinal herbs that can curb the effects of aging.
One exciting frontier of nutritional research is on mushrooms. You may have seen some of them in your backyard or out in the wild. Mushrooms are well-known but are often misinterpreted by many. With their peculiar appearance, sprouting everywhere, not many people are curious to try them. Some are even better left alone because they’re poisonous.
However, many kinds of mushrooms are edible and are proven to be helpful for your health. Learn more about edible mushrooms by checking out their health benefits.
Mushrooms Can Help Enhance Memory
The World Mushroom Society, a society with members full of medicinal mushroom enthusiasts and health professionals, intends to educate people about the benefits of mushrooms to a person’s wellness. You can find more literature on their website. One of the benefits they’ve discussed is mushrooms’ ability to enhance memory.’
Memory plays a big role in our everyday activities. Sometimes, even younger adults experience memory impairment due to stress, poor diet, or some form of trauma. We should be more intentional with our diet to prevent memory loss. One way to do it is to eat more edible mushrooms.
Lion’s Mane, also known as ‘Hericium Erinaceus,’ a kind of mushroom, was tested on mice and the results showed that the mushroom improved mental functioning. To further examine if the mushroom is practical in helping a person’s brain health, health professionals performed clinical trials on 77 women. These women had to take three capsules of Lion’s Mane every day for eight weeks. Findings suggest that there was an improvement in the women’s brain health and sleep after taking Lion’s Mane.
Mushrooms Help Curb the Effects of Stress
A person can be prone to stress anywhere, every day. Tasks that you need to do daily under pressure can make you feel exhausted. Stress can change your mood and behavior. If left untreated, it may lead to mental disorders.
Aside from taking a break, consider eating mushrooms to help you recover from stress. You can find Niacin and Copper in mushrooms, which are helpful to keep the nervous system healthy. They also contain Vitamin B5, suitable for producing hormones that promote the effective functioning of the brain, like dopamine, a sensation hormone. Chaga Mushrooms, also known as ‘Inonotus Obliquus,’ were used by scientists to examine the effectiveness of the mushroom in mental fatigue. Results show that they’re more energetic than other mice who didn’t consume Chaga.
Another study conducted in Singapore supports these findings. The trials were conducted for six years, featuring around 600 adults. The results show that the consumption of mushrooms can help increase mental capacity and lessen mild cognitive impairment by 43 percent.
Mushrooms Can Help Lessen Blood Pressure
Mushrooms are rich in potassium, a nutrient that can limit sodium’s harmful effects on your body. Your body needs some sodium to balance water and minerals and relax your muscles, but you may only need around 500 mg of sodium per day for these functions. One can find sodium in pizza, tacos, sandwiches, and chicken. Too much sodium can increase your blood pressure, making you more prone to stroke, heart attack, and other diseases. Potassium lessens the tensions in your blood vessels, helping your body regulate your blood pressure.
In addition, a separate study highlights the effectiveness of mushrooms in preventing hypertension. The trial asked the participants to consume mushrooms instead of beef for a period. Afterward, the results show improvement in their BMI (Body Mass Index). Mushrooms’ antioxidants can help improve a person’s metabolism and weight loss, burning fats that cause high blood pressure.
To improve your blood pressure, consider making changes to your diet and incorporating more edible mushrooms. After all, mushrooms are appetizing as a diet too. Some mushrooms have a meaty, earthy flavor, while others may taste like seafood. Lion’s Mane tastes like crab or lobster. Mushrooms serve as a substitute for meat for vegetarians, too.
Mushrooms are fungi. They get nutrients neither from the sun through photosynthesis like plants nor eating then digesting food internally like animals. Instead, they obtain nutrients with the help of mycelium, digesting food sources with enzymes externally and then absorbing them.
Mushrooms Can Help Improve Your Immune System
Your body’s immune system consists of a network of cells capable of fighting off microbes such as bacteria and viruses. They are adept at identifying foreign substances that appear harmful, terminating them, and even monitoring and eliminating old or damaged red blood cells. Your immune system serves as your body’s defense against disease.
To maintain a healthy body, we must be careful not to overwhelm our immune system by introducing highly inflammatory foods to it. Some of these are excess sugars, refined carbohydrates, and processed meats. Chronic inflammation can trigger your body to attack healthy organs and tissues. To avoid this, you must consume anti-inflammatory food.
Studies show that mushrooms are full of anti-inflammatory properties. Mushrooms can help stimulate macrophages, a kind of white blood cell, improving their ability to ward off harmful microbes and dead cells. Reishi Mushrooms, also known as ‘the mushroom of immortality,’ were found to potentially fight infections and even cancer. For example, one study shows that out of 4000 breast cancer patient survivors, 59% of them consumed Reishi mushrooms.
Conclusion
Mushrooms are fungi that have many health benefits. They can improve your memory, immune system, and blood pressure. Aside from this, they are flavorful and can serve as an alternative to meat and other kinds of food that you are used to. Though not all of them are edible, many kinds of mushrooms like Lion’s Mane, Chaga, and Turkey Tail can be your new favorite. Enjoy mushrooms’ wellness in earnest and enjoy their health benefits.
