Medicinal mushrooms are everywhere these days, from tinctures and pills to coffee and moisturizers.

One of the most potent effects of manymedicinal mushroomsis their strong antiviral and immune-enhancing properties.

How do mushrooms help our immune system?

Heather Moday, M.D.

These are four mushrooms I always reach for to boost immunity.

Interestingly, it was made evenmore powerful2when combined with shiitake mushroom extract.

Shiitake

Shiitake mushrooms are an Asian culinary staple and easy to find in supermarkets.

Researchers also tested anintranasal vaccine3of shiitake extract, which increased the survival of flu-infected mice.

Reishi mushrooms

Another antiviral powerhouse fungus is the woody, and therefore inedible,reishi mushroom.

Reishi has been recognized as a medicinal mushroom for thousands of years.

Reishi has the ability to combat many viruses, such as herpes, Epstein-Barr, and hepatitis.

Substances calledtriterpenesare one of the main beneficial compounds in reishi alongside the beta-glucans.

Triterpenes are very bitter-tasting, making reishi rather inedible.

But just because you could’t throw it in your stir-fry doesn’t mean that you should avoid it.

it’s possible for you to typically find reishi in capsule, powder, and tincture form.

Cordyceps are known for being antifungal and antibacterial, as well as improving fatigue and libido.

Originally cordyceps were only grown in the high altitude Himalayan mountains as a fungus that invaded certain caterpillars.

However, they are nowcultivated in the United Statesusing different techniques.

It has been shown toimprove exercise tolerance8in athletes when used both acutely and chronically.

This may be because they increase blood flow, enhancing oxygen use and acting as an antioxidant.

So they are great to use both when sick or just when working out.

How to choose the best mushroom products.

When evaluating a mushroom product, confirm that it is organically grown and verified.

This will allow for the best quality, safety, and efficacy.

The bottom line.

There are many ways to add mushroom medicine into your life.

Mushrooms are best used as a preventive measure to encourage immuno-stimulation against viruses and for their other wide-ranging benefits.