The Immune-Boosting Power of Mushrooms

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There is no shortage of products that claim to help people get through cold and flu season. For those who prefer scientifically backed natural medicines, mushrooms deserve a place in your medicine cabinet as an effective immune booster.

In some parts of the world, mushrooms have been used medicinally for centuries. However, many people in Western medicine are unaware of their healing and protective properties. I’ve personally seen these benefits, even in skeptical patients. One such case involved a 23-year-old college basketball player suffering from a three-and-a-half-week upper respiratory infection.

He had already completed two courses of antibiotics and was considering a third when I suggested trying a mushroom extract formula to support his immune system. Skeptical of natural medicine, he proceeded with another antibiotic. After seeing no improvement, he called me and asked about the “crazy immune-booster” I had mentioned. After four days of mushroom extracts, he noticed significant improvement and was well on his way to recovery.

History of Mushroom Extracts

The ability to isolate key medicinal compounds from fungi dates back to 1928 with Alexander Fleming’s discovery of penicillin. Derived from Penicillium fungi, penicillin revolutionized infection treatment in the mid-20th century. Today, we know that many other fungal extracts offer powerful health benefits.

What Mushrooms Can Do for You

Although research continues to uncover exactly how mushrooms support immunity, scientists know that mushrooms rely on powerful antibacterial and antifungal compounds to survive. Humans can benefit from these same defensive mechanisms. Mushrooms contain ergothioneines, antioxidants, anti-inflammatory sterols, lipids, glycosides, mycoflavonoids, and—most importantly—beta-glucans.

Beta-glucans are naturally occurring compounds that strengthen immune defenses by activating antibody-mediated pathogen clearance. They also enhance the activity of natural killer cells and macrophages, which help destroy microbes, abnormal cells, and cellular debris.

Classified as polysaccharides, beta-glucans stimulate immune function and may inhibit tumor growth. Although harmless, they effectively “train” the immune system by prompting a controlled immune response—keeping it alert and ready to combat real infections like colds and flu.

What Mushrooms Are Best for Immune Health?

Among the many mushroom varieties, three stand out for their immune-supporting research: shiitake, reishi, and maitake mushrooms.

Shiitake mushrooms are well known for both culinary and medicinal uses. A study published in the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that individuals who consumed shiitake mushrooms daily for four weeks experienced improved immune function, including enhanced T-cell activity and reduced inflammatory markers.

Reishi mushrooms, though bitter and rarely used in cooking, are among the oldest medicinal mushrooms. Research published in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine suggests that reishi’s beta-glucans are particularly bioavailable, making them highly effective for immune support due to their molecular structure and solubility.

Maitake mushrooms may offer the strongest immune-enhancing benefits of all. A study in Alternative Medicine Review reported that maitake’s uniquely complex polysaccharides significantly stimulate immune function.

Further research published in Annals of Translational Medicine showed that combining maitake and shiitake mushrooms provides even greater immune benefits, likely due to their complementary polysaccharide profiles.

The Best Way to Get Enough of These Mushrooms

Most people are unlikely to eat multiple varieties of mushrooms daily. Mushroom extracts offer a practical alternative, providing concentrated dehydrated powders that are approximately ten times more potent than whole mushrooms.

Supplements such as M/R/S Mushroom Formula by Pure Encapsulations and Mycotaki by Metagenics combine all three mushroom varieties in convenient doses. For those who prefer liquid supplements, Myco-Immune by Thorne Research is an excellent option.

I hope this article encourages you to explore nature’s remedies to reduce sick days during cold and flu season. If you have any questions, please contact our customer service team at customerservice@oakwaynaturals.com.

Until next time, stay healthy!

Yours in health,

Dr. Gregg Gittins

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The Immune-Boosting Power of Mushrooms

There is no shortage of products that claim to help people get through cold and flu season. But for those who like to focus on scientifically-backed natural medicines, consider making room in your medicine cabinet for an effective new immune-booster – mushrooms.

History of Mushroom Extracts

The ability to determine and use key active ingredients from fungi for medicine only goes back to about 1928 and the discovery of penicillin by Alexander Fleming.

Derived from Penicillium fungi, penicillin was widely used to treat infections starting in the mid-20th century. We now know that other types of fungi can be used to treat a wide array of health concerns.


What Mushrooms Can Do For You

Although there is still much to be learned about how exactly mushrooms help us avoid illness, scientists have found that since mushrooms require powerful antibacterial and antifungal compounds to live in their natural environment, we can benefit from the strong defenses that mushrooms have developed.

The most researched and well-understood immune-boosting component of mushrooms seem to be beta-glucans.

Beta-glucans are naturally-occurring molecules that increase immune defenses by activating the part of the immune system that helps antibodies clear pathogens from the body. Beta-glucans also enhance the function of natural killer cells and macrophages, which are component cells of our immune system designed to destroy cellular debris, foreign substances, microbes, cancer cells, and anything that doesn’t look like a healthy cell.

Beta-glucans are classified as polysaccharides, which are molecules that are known to stimulate immune function and inhibit tumor growth. Beta-glucans and polysaccharides are essentially like sparring partners for our immune system that, while posing no real threat, keep our immune system sharp and ready to go at the first sign of trouble.

Which Mushrooms are the Best for Immune Health?

There are three particular kinds of immune-boosting mushrooms that have plenty of research to back them up.

The first is the shiitake mushroom. Shiitake mushrooms are well-known not only for their powerful medicinal properties, but also for their role in popular Asian dishes such as miso soup and Buddha’s delight.

Another immune system-supporting mushroom to know is the reishi mushroom. Although its bitter taste keeps it from being a popular culinary ingredient, it is one of the oldest known mushrooms to be used medicinally. In addition to possibly helping with a wide array of conditions ranging from asthma to stiff shoulders and necks, reishi mushrooms boost the immune system through their superior beta-glucans.

The last mushroom to know for keeping away colds and the flu is the maitake mushroom. Maitake mushrooms are a widely-used ingredient in cooking, similar to shiitake mushrooms. It is believed that maitake and shiitake mushrooms contain different kinds of polysaccharides that work synergistically when paired together.

Most people probably don’t want to eat three different kinds of mushrooms nearly every day to keep their immune systems strong. Some people simply don’t like to eat mushrooms.

Fortunately, mushroom extracts contain highly concentrated dehydrated mushroom powder that is about 10 times as potent as the mushroom in its original state. So if you take a supplement with 1g of mushroom extract, it’s the equivalent of eating 10g of whole mushroom.

There is a supplement that conveniently supplies all three varieties that I discussed here in each capsule called M/R/S Mushroom Formula, by Pure Encapsulations, that makes it even easier to harness the immune-boosting power of mushrooms. Not only do you not have to worry about which kind of mushrooms to be eating, but it also gives you controlled, effective medicinal doses of mushroom that can keep you healthy and feeling vital.

For those who prefer liquid forms whenever possible, I recommend Thorne Research’s Myco-Immune for the same reasons.

We hope this slide show was helpful and informative. Should you have questions, or suggestions, please feel free to fill out our Ask the Doctor form found at the Doctors Corner.

 

Yours in health!

Dr. Gittins

 

* Percival, Sue, Ph.D., et al., Journal of the American College of Nutrition: Consuming Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) Mushrooms Daily Improves Human Immunity: A Randomized Dietary Intervention in Healthy Young Adults. 2015

* Chen, Shiu-Nan, Ph.D., et al., Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine: The Effect of Mushroom Beta-Glucans from Solid Culture of Ganoderma lucidum on Inhibition of the Primary Tumor Metastasis. 2014

* Akramiene, Dalia, Ph.D., et al., Medicina: Effects of beta-glucans on the immune system. 2007

* Vetvicka, Vaclav, Ph.D. and Vetvickova, Jana, MS, Annals of Translational Medicine: Immune-enhancing effects of Maitake (Grifola frondosa) and Shiitake (Lentinula edodes) extracts. 2014