You may have previously learned that many mushrooms boost your immune system. This can help to prevent or help you get better from any illness. But for this article, we will be focusing on mushrooms that have been scientifically proven to be anti-viral.
The flu season has been unusually bad this year with as many as 45 million people catching it, and as many as 46,000 deaths from it. Those alarming facts were sourced from the CDC. The COVID-19 coronavirus has also reached the U.S. with many schools and public institutions closing (including my school).
Where We Found Our Data
We pulled our list of antiviral mushrooms from Mycelium Running by Paul Stamets.
Cordyceps
The cordyceps mushroom is the first on our list.
About the Cordyceps Mushroom
Some strains of this mushroom grow on bugs and basically turn the bugs into zombies. It’s pretty cool.
What Research Studies Say
Check out this study! They proved that cordyceps were effective against viruses like Influenza. They say, “Several research groups have reported that cordycepin has antiviral activity against several viruses including influenza virus, plant viruses, human immunodeficiency virus(HIV), murine leukemia virus, and Epstein-Barr virus (EBV).”
How to Consume
Cordyceps is most commonly consumed in a tincture or powder.
How to Buy
We don’t grow these but a bunch of other companies offer powder, supplements, or in pill form. Some of these providers include Fungi Perfecti, The North Spore, Freshcap Mushrooms and many more.
Reishi
About the Reishi Mushroom
Also called the mushroom of immortality by the Japanese, Reishi mushrooms are a great immune booster.
What Studies Say
Check out one here. If you scroll down a bit, it says “Several triterpenes from Ganoderma lucidum (M. A. Curtis: Fr.) P. Karst. [i.e. ganoderiol F (6a), ganodermanontriol (7a), ganoderic acid B (8a)] are active as antiviral agents.”
How to consume
These are brittle and don’t taste very good, but they do taste really good in tea, tinctures, and powder.
How to Buy
We are not currently growing these, although we plan to in the future. Some places you can get these are Fungi Perfecti, The North Spore, and Real Mushrooms.
Oyster!!!
About the Oyster Mushroom
The Oyster Mushroom is a well-known gourmet mushroom, but it is not widely known to be a medicinal mushroom. It lowers cholesterol and it is antiviral, among other things.
What Studies Say
This study was examining if the dried oyster mushroom boosted your immune system. In this it says, “Here we report that in oyster mushroom (Pleurotus ostreatus) mycelia cultivated in the dark, stimulation with blue light-emitting diodes induces the accumulation of shikimic acid.” Shikimic acid is a very important ingredient in Tamiflu.
How to Consume
Available fresh or dried.
How to Buy.
We are still in the testing phases of growing it, but we hope to sell it in a powdered form by mid-to-late June of 2020. Note: We only sell fresh mushrooms in our local area. No companies offer it in a powder form that I could find, but Far West Fungi offers dried oyster mushrooms.
Thanks, and stay healthy!
Graham
This was so interesting. I had no idea about the cordyceps! Wow! Thanks for all of the great info!
You are welcome! For more info on Cordyceps, check out our mushroom profiles, which are coming soon.