Mushroom coffee has quickly become a social media-favorite beverage in recent months. The drink combines mushroom powder, extract or tonic with ground coffee as an inexpensive low-caffeine alternative to traditional coffee beverages. Mushroom coffee is widely touted to have various health benefits that include strengthening immunity, improving mood and aiding with digestion.

Mushroom coffee has quickly become a trend due to the many beneficial properties mushrooms possess for improving immune and anti-inflammatory health. Popular choices of mushrooms used in mushroom coffee are chaga, turkey tail, reishi and cordyceps as they contain compounds with both immuno-boosting and antioxidant effects.

Though many have experienced positive effects from drinking mushroom coffee, it should be remembered that human research on it remains limited. Since many mushroom coffee blends are proprietary and therefore it’s impossible to know exactly how much of each ingredient is included in one serving – making it impossible to accurately determine whether a dose of mushrooms is actually effective.

Mushrooms are packed with nutrients, particularly vitamin B2 (riboflavin), niacin and folate (also known as folic acid). Furthermore, mushrooms provide minerals such as potassium, zinc, copper, selenium and phosphorus – these elements help improve brain function, reduce anxiety and depression levels, promote bone and tooth health, facilitate protein synthesis as well as helping manage blood pressure according to The Cleveland Clinic.

Mushrooms contain many vitamins and minerals, but also contain phytochemicals which have cancer-fighting properties and can support immune function, according to the Institute of Medicine. There is some evidence suggesting reishi and chaga may aid in treating certain conditions including cancer, diabetes and heart disease.

One of the main claims made about mushroom coffee is its purported ability to reduce bloating, though this effect has yet to be properly studied. Cording suggests that any discomfort experienced after drinking mushroom coffee may be related to its high fiber content – though she says coffee alone — not mushroom coffee specifically — might provide relief in most instances.

As with any food or drink, mushroom coffee may pose certain health risks if you’re predisposed to kidney stones. Chaga mushrooms contain high concentrations of oxalates which may contribute to this issue in certain people and shouldn’t be consumed if this is your situation. Not all mushroom coffee contains chaga however and checking its ingredients list if you suffer from kidney problems or allergies is important if possible. Furthermore, while many products claim no caffeine presence, there may still be trace amounts present depending on its ingredients such as matcha or turmeric that might contain caffeine levels which raise your heart rate and blood pressure further; something which shouldn’t happen when combined with kidney disease or diabetes complications.