The Healing Power Of Medicinal Mushrooms
Reader's Digest UK|June 2021
When you think of valuable mushrooms, you might think of gourmet truffles or posh porcini, but mushrooms are more than just a risotto filling
Katie de Klee
The Healing Power Of Medicinal Mushrooms

Medicinal mushrooms are rapidly becoming part of the wellness movement, and their magical properties have nothing to do with psychedelic trips. Funghi make up an entire living kingdom, and modern scientists are starting to understand that mushrooms are closer in DNA to humans than they are to plants. They “breathe” oxygen and release carbon dioxide, they digest rather than photosynthesise, and mushrooms even produce their own vitamin D when exposed to sunlight.

Our ancestors were fascinated by mushrooms; the benefits of reishi mushrooms were recorded in texts as early as the 29th century BC and ancient healers brewed up chaga mushroom teas and used puffballs to treat wounds. Mushrooms are the original superfood; indigenous cultures have used these powerful funghi for thousands of years, but for a long time we have underappreciated their role in supporting life on earth. What we are only beginning to now understand is their mighty health-promoting potential— mushrooms can help us to fight illness, focus on work, alleviate stress and enhance our general wellbeing.

Adaptogenic mushroom tonics, elixirs, coffees and lattes are popping up in all the trendiest health cafes and stores. Companies like Four Sigmatic, Moon Juice and Sun Potion are helping us to appreciate the uses and doses of these powerful shrooms.

Mushroom powders are great additions to smoothies and superfood lattes, and are readily available as blends, capsules, teas and tinctures.

Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

Denne historien er fra June 2021-utgaven av Reader's Digest UK.

Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.

FLERE HISTORIER FRA READER'S DIGEST UKSe alt
EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME
Reader's Digest UK

EVERY SECOND COUNTS: TIPS TO WIN THE RACE AGAINST TIME

Do you want to save 1.5 seconds every day of your life? According to the dishwasher expert at the consumer organisation Choice, there’s no need to insert the dishwashing tablet into the compartment inside the door.

time-read
3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
May Fiction
Reader's Digest UK

May Fiction

An escaped slave's perspective renews Huckleberry Finn and the seconds tick down to nuclear Armageddon in Miriam Sallon’s top literary picks this month

time-read
1 min  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Wine Not
Reader's Digest UK

Wine Not

In a time of warning studies about alcohol consumption, Paola Westbeek looks at non-alcoholic wines, how they taste and if they pair with food

time-read
3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Train Booking Hacks
Reader's Digest UK

Train Booking Hacks

With the cost of train travel seemingly always rising, Andy Webb gives some tips to save on ticket prices

time-read
4 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN
Reader's Digest UK

JOURNEY TO SALTEN, NORWAY, UNDER THE MIDNIGHT SUN

Here, far from the crowds, in opal clarity, from May to September, the sun knows no rest. As soon as it’s about to set, it rises again

time-read
8 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
My Britain: Cheltenham
Reader's Digest UK

My Britain: Cheltenham

A YEAR IN CHELTENHAM sees a jazz festival, a science festival, a classical music festival and a literature festival. Few towns with 120,000 residents can boast such a huge cultural output!

time-read
6 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB
Reader's Digest UK

GET A GREEN(ER) THUMB

Whether you love digging in the dirt, planting seeds and reaping the bounty that bursts forth, or find the whole idea of gardening intimidating, this spring offers the promise of a fresh start.

time-read
6 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant
Reader's Digest UK

Under The GRANDFLUENCE Suzi Grant

After working in TV and radio as an author and nutritionist, Suzi Grant started a blog alternativeageing.net) and an Instagram account alternativeageing). She talks to Ian Chaddock about positive ageing”

time-read
3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World
Reader's Digest UK

Sam Quek: If I Ruled The World

Sam Quek MBE is an Olympic gold medalwinning hockey player, team captain on A Question of Sport and host of podcast series Amazing Starts Here

time-read
3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024
Stand Tall, Ladies
Reader's Digest UK

Stand Tall, Ladies

Shorter men may be having their moment, but where are the tall women?

time-read
3 mins  |
Reader's Digest May 2024