If you enjoy sipping on chai tea, why not add our mushroom blend? Packed full of healthful chaga, lion’s mane and reishi mushrooms – each offering their own distinct set of benefits – this addition to your beverage is sure to please.

Chaga Chai Tea offers many health-enhancing properties, such as decreasing the risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes as well as helping to reduce inflammation and improve digestion.

Chaga

Chaga mushroom, commonly used as an adaptogenic and healing plant by indigenous peoples in Russia, Northern Europe and Scandinavia for millennia as medicine, boasts powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. Used as medicine by these communities for thousands of years as antiviral, antibiotic, astringent and contains anti-inflammatory compounds as well as high antioxidant value which has been demonstrated to slow cancer development; furthermore it contains beta glucans polysacharides sterols and betulinic acid active components which all play important roles.

Tea is the easiest and tastiest way to enjoy this powerful mushroom, and is easily made at home or even enjoyed over iced drinks. Typically made by boiling chunks in water for at least fifteen minutes before straining out and making your tea. Powdered supplements may also be utilized with alcohol/hot water extraction processes required in order to capture all medicinal properties.

Studies have demonstrated the efficacy of chaga in protecting cells against UV radiation exposure, lowering blood sugar levels, and improving overall health. Diabetics may even benefit by needing less insulin! Chaga has also proven itself as a potency immunity-booster containing anticancer, antimutagenic, and antiinflammatory properties; in addition to helping lower cholesterol and increase energy.

One study revealed that Chaga extract could halt leukemia and breast cancer cell proliferation and also boost immunity in mice treated with chemotherapy; further investigation is necessary to understand its effectiveness in humans.

If you’re craving some mushroom chai, look for a blend that features chaga and other adaptogenic mushrooms like MUDWTR; its delicious flavor masks any strong mushroom taste while including reishi, lion’s mane and cordyceps mushrooms as well. Available online and select retailers, this tea makes an excellent beverage to drink before or during workouts and any time throughout the day! Plus its exotic taste will sure to please!

Reishi

Reishi (also lingzhi in Chinese and mannentake in Japanese), is an edible shelf fungus popularly used as an edible garnish in teas and other culinary preparations, known for its beautiful natural features. Used by cultures worldwide to alleviate stress and increase immune system functioning for millennia, Reishi has long been valued for its therapeutic effects on blood pressure and immunity.

Reishi mushrooms have been proven to increase energy, improve mental clarity, and assist the body in fighting disease. Their anti-inflammatory properties may help lower cholesterol and prevent heart disease while their ability to promote healthy sleeping patterns makes reishi an appealing choice for people suffering insomnia. Furthermore, these adaptogenic mushrooms may lower blood sugar and protect against insulin resistance.

Reishi contains polysaccharides with immunostimulatory, hepatoprotective and antioxidant properties that have been demonstrated through clinical research to treat liver and kidney disorders as well as decrease chemotherapy drug toxicity. Reishi has also been used to reduce fatigue and improve quality of life in cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy treatments; further research indicates it could help inhibit tumor growth while simultaneously increasing T lymphocytes, macrophages and natural killer cells activity.

Make an all-natural, healthful chai tea at home using organic ingredients of high quality and value, such as black tea, spices, ginger, cinnamon and reishi – or experiment with different flavor combinations by adding milk or natural sweeteners such as honey or stevia or even flavorful herbs such as mint or lemon balm for extra flair!

Retailers offer ready-made chai teas or blends. Selecting a brand that specializes in herbal beverages containing mushroom extracts may reduce potential drug interactions; just be aware of potential interactions if taking medication for depression, seizures or blood-clotting issues; taking reishi mushrooms should also not be done while pregnant or breastfeeding.

Lion’s Mane

Mushrooms are an integral component of a healthy diet, providing everything from antioxidant protection to digestive assistance. One mushroom variety in particular has been receiving increasing praise for its brain-enhancing effects: Lion’s Mane or Hericium erinaceus is particularly celebrated. This gourmet mushroom features baseball-sized or larger clusters of icicle-like spines on its fruiting body and has long been considered by Chinese medicine practitioners as an “anti-brain tonic.” Recent research supports this theory as potentially helping memory and cognitive functions.

Nutrients published a study that investigated the effects of lion’s mane extract on young adult cognition and mood. Participants received either placebo pills or three lion’s mane supplements daily for 28 days, after which a battery of tests including reaction time and heart rate measurements was administered to assess performance. Results were encouraging: Lion’s mane extract appeared to promote neural growth within the hippocampus – an area responsible for learning and memory formation in our brains.

However, further research must be conducted. A human trial should be undertaken in order to test the effects of lion’s mane mushrooms in people suffering from multiple sclerosis (MS), an incurable neurological disease which attacks and destroys nerves throughout the brain and spinal cord. Researchers believe erinacines present in lion’s mane mushrooms will stimulate nerve regeneration while helping prevent further damage to existing nerves.

Nutrients published a similar preclinical study which demonstrated how Lion’s mane can stimulate nerve growth and repair faster in rats with damaged brain tissue than control rats, thanks to its erinacine content. If these results could translate to human subjects, Lion’s mane could potentially become an effective treatment option for MS and other neurodegenerative conditions.

Although there has been promising research, dietary supplements remain largely unregulated and their effectiveness may differ between products. If in doubt, always consult your healthcare provider or registered dietitian nutritionist (RD or RDN) in order to ensure you’re consuming high quality, third-party tested supplements.

Cordyceps

Cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis), commonly referred to in Chinese as the “caterpillar fungus” or “winter worms,” is one of the world’s premier medicinal mushrooms. Also referred to in Tibetan as yartsa ganbu, this medicinal mushroom may possess immune-enhancing and antitumor properties; may reduce blood glucose levels and slow the clotting process; improve athletic performance by providing energy boost; boost endurance/strength training sessions; increase libido; assist with asthma/other respiratory related issues etc.

Cordyceps fungus can be found wild throughout China, Tibet, Nepal and Bhutan’s mountain ranges; however due to its rarity and limited harvesting season it has become quite costly; consequently, many cordyceps supplements sold today come from lab-grown cordyceps rather than wild harvest.

Lab-grown mushrooms are created using special medium that contains only sterile grain and no medicinal compounds; as a result, their effects are very similar but less potency or effectiveness than actual mushrooms.

Lab-grown mushrooms offer hope of relieving pressure on wild-harvested mushrooms while giving consumers access to this powerful source of nutrition. Sunshine Lake provides lab-grown cordyceps products at prices significantly less than what consumers pay for wild harvested products.

Fans of HBO’s series, “The Last of Us,” or Naughty Dog video games may find mushroom chai to be unnerving. After all, being exposed to cordyceps fungus poses one of the greatest threats in both worlds postapocalyptic settings; infection by it leads to global pandemics.