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Can I Add Reishi Mushroom Powder to My Coffee?
Mushroom coffee combines the energy-boosting properties of caffeine with medicinal mushrooms like cordyceps, lion’s mane and reishi to produce an energy-enhancing drink with adaptogen-rich adaptogenic components that may boost immunity, ease stress levels and enhance sleep. Plus, there are potential anti-cancer properties and immune-enhancing beta-glucans.
Reishi mushrooms (Ganoderma lucidum) have long been used in Eastern medicine as a preventative measure, helping the body better resist disease naturally and maintain long-term wellbeing. Reishi is popularly regarded as “The Mushroom of Immortality,” due to their high polysaccharide content which may offer cancer-fighting and immunostimulatory benefits.
Beta-glucans and polysaccharides produced by fungi can boost your immune system, encouraging white blood cells to identify and destroy abnormal cells including cancerous ones. They also support both cellular and humoral immunity systems to ensure homeostasis in your body is maintained.
Reishi mushrooms can be enjoyed fresh, but more commonly they’re available as nutritional powders and dietary supplements due to difficulty digesting their tough, chitinous tissue. To make reishi easier to consume, mycelium and fruit bodies grown on grain substrate are harvested then ground into capsules for easy consumption.
Reishi mushroom generally poses few side effects, though some medications may interact with it and increase the risk of bleeding for those taking blood thinners. Reishi may also interact with immunosuppressant drugs used for treating arthritis, IBD and psoriasis; and its use could possibly help lower blood sugar levels which is why it shouldn’t be combined with insulin or any medication to treat diabetes.