Support Your Immune System With Mushrooms
What is the Immune System?
The immune system of the human body is our security system, our army against infections, viruses, parasites, and dangerous illnesses. Without our immune system, our bodies would be unable to combat these intruders and break down. Our immune system keeps us healthy, and it discerns the equilibrium between pathogens, maintaining our essential everyday health.
Our immune system involves many types of cells, organs, and tissues present throughout our entire body. The immune system also removes dead cells and the extraneous matter. In short, without an active immune system, we would die.
Mushrooms for Immune System Protection?
Of all things! Yes. Mushrooms have been known for centuries to be great boosters of immunity, and that is not just the word of the local hippie down the street.
Asian practitioners have used medicines and culinary flu fighters for ages. They are using consumable mushrooms as immune-boosting super fungi for many years. Now you too can use the right mushroom to make sure that your body’s fighting mechanism is at top speed.
Before you dive into the dark dirt of the mushroom patch, please remember that not all mushrooms are edible, and it would be sound advice to obtain yours from a reputable source instead and not Aunt Kathy’s English garden.
Top 5 Most Potent Mushrooms
Let’s look at a shortlist of the best choices in mushrooms that promote a healthy immune system:
1. Maitake Mushroom
Maitake is also known as ‘Hen of the Woods,’ the maitake mushroom possesses the power to balance your body’s blood sugar and reduce blood pressure. A specimen from Japan, the Maitake has antiviral properties that, in turn, makes for a powerful antioxidant that promotes a robust immune system. It helps your body fight infections and serves as an anti-inflammatory on a cellular level.
2. Turkey Tail Mushroom
Next is a mushroom that fights cancer cells by urging our bodies’ cells to kill them off. In general, this is known as the Turkey Tail – because it looks like a Thanksgiving turkey’s fanned tail – and it stimulates immunity as well as shrinking tumors and reduces the side effects of cancer treatment. The Turkey Tail mushroom is best taken as a daily tea brew or in a capsule.
3. Caterpillar Mushroom
The Caterpillar mushroom is another top contender for enhancing our immune systems. Healers from all over the world had used it to combat asthma, cold and flu, symptoms of diabetes, and even cancer. It is mostly available in health food stores and can be used in tea or as a soup ingredient with an anti-inflammatory punch.
4. Tremella Mushroom
In addition to the above, there is also the Tremella mushroom, which is high in fiber, protects the liver, and is rich in vitamin D. These mushrooms as immune regulators that fight infections. More so, the Tremella mushroom has anti-aging properties, which is usually present in nutrients that fight free radicals and promote healthy water content.
5. Shiitake Mushroom
Another Japanese native, Shiitake mushrooms are especially beneficial for the immune system, as it is a natural antibiotic that is said to prevent malignant tumor growth. The most fascinating about this mushroom is that it can serve as an anti-bacterial agent without killing good bacteria (something antibiotics cannot boast). Therefore, this is one of the best mushrooms to use for boosting your immune system.
Shiitake mushrooms can be bought dried and fresh at supermarkets and health food stores. Like the Maitake, they are favorable to the palate and can readily serve them in dishes.
How do Mushrooms Work?
Especially concerning your body’s immunity, mushrooms contain potent compounds that improve your body’s ability to fight Phytogenic attacks, bacteria, and parasites that might find their way into your body. Mushrooms are full of anti-inflammatory properties and antioxidants, which deliver a substantial blow to colds, flu, and more severe conditions brought on by infections.
But how exactly do they do this?
Cytokines suppress white blood cells, inflammatory agents that break your walls and ready the enemy for an attack. In other words, they weaken your immune system enough to make you sick. Enter the mushrooms that modify these cytokines to impair their potency.
Mushrooms also contain Polysaccharides, which maintain the structure of the cells in your body. Strong wall, weak enemy, see? For instance, where chemotherapy suppresses bone marrow – impeding the cells responsible for immunity – the abovementioned compounds in mushrooms dramatically reduces the side effects and counters the impact on thee debilitating factors, increasing the positive impact of the chemotherapy.
As mentioned before, the nutrients and compounds in mushrooms have proved to aid in shrinking tumors. As well as carrying fresh oxygen for normal blood clotting, imperative to help combat the attack on the immune system of patients.
Options for Mushroom Alternatives
With autoimmune diseases at an all-time high, it is essential to note that our eating of processed foods has damaged our gut health. This type of diet is where almost 80% of our common immune system problems come from, so eating mushrooms might be a good idea, although they are not all best as part of a recipe.
When it comes to the consumption of mushrooms, there are options to optimize potency or flavor. For instance, Shiitake and Maitake are pleasing to the tongue. They have a great taste that favors dishes like soups or pizza toppings, but others, like the Turkey Tail or the Tremella, are less likely to taste good. The latter is not that tasty, and they are a bit hard to find in the produce at your local store, but you can obtain powders and supplementation if you still want to add them to your diet.
Warning on Mushrooms
Now, as mentioned before, make sure that the mushrooms or supplements you purchase are certified organic. When mushrooms grow, they take up all the compounds of the matter in which they are growing. This absorption can be useful but could also be harmful. Certified organic, however, will assure a high-quality product with no pesticides or herbicides.
To best support your immune system with mushrooms, supplement with powdered extracts that incorporate a variety of types to optimize the effects on your immune system better. In this case, more is better.
[sc_fs_multi_faq headline-0=”h2″ question-0=”What is the Immune System?” answer-0=”The immune system of the human body is our security system, our army against infections, viruses, parasites, and dangerous illnesses. Without our immune system, our bodies would be unable to combat these intruders and break down. ” image-0=”” headline-1=”h2″ question-1=”Can you use mushrooms to boost your immune system?” answer-1=”Asian practitioners have used medicines and culinary flu fighters for ages. They are using consumable mushrooms as immune-boosting super fungi for many years. Now you too can use the right mushroom to make sure that your body’s fighting mechanism is at top speed.” image-1=”” headline-2=”h2″ question-2=”What are the most potent mushrooms? ” answer-2=”
1. Maitake Mushroom
2. Turkey Tail Mushroom
3. Caterpillar Mushroom
4. Tremella Mushroom
5. Shiitake Mushroom
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