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Mushroom Tea Side Effects
Mushroom teas are an increasingly popular choice among wellness and health enthusiasts, often noted to improve mental clarity and boost immunity systems. Their precise health benefits may depend on which mushroom variants are utilized during preparation processes.
Mushroom tea combines functional fungi like lion’s mane or chaga with other ingredients for a delicious beverage, popular among celebrities such as Gwyneth Paltrow.
1. Increased heart rate
Mushroom tea is a hot beverage made with functional fungi such as chaga, cordyceps, and lion’s mane mushrooms, blended together to form an energizing and relaxing beverage that supports cognitive function, enhances immune health and promotes relaxation. Many consumers report increased energy, stress relief and an overall sense of well-being following regular consumption.
Though mushroom tea offers many health advantages, it may cause side effects in certain individuals. These adverse reactions vary according to dosage and individual response; therefore, it is wise to consume this beverage with caution and speak with a healthcare practitioner prior to making changes to your diet or lifestyle.
Some side effects of drinking mushroom tea, including an increase in heart rate or blood pressure, could include an increase as a reaction to mushrooms or due to an underlying health condition. While such side effects are rare, it’s still wise to monitor your heart rate and blood pressure while drinking mushroom tea and seek medical assistance if required.
Mushroom tea may cause digestive issues, including stomachaches. Mushroom tea is typically made by steeping whole or ground mushrooms in hot water or dissolving mushroom powder in liquid, enabling your body to digest it more easily than when eating raw mushrooms; many find that their stomachaches don’t interfere as much when drinking mushroom tea instead.
Start slowly if you are new to mushroom tea; gradually increase the dosage each day to gauge your response and see if it fits with your wellness goals. It is particularly important for those with a history of hypertension to adhere to medical advice regarding monitoring of heart rate while taking mushroom tea, and follow any applicable recommendations from healthcare providers and providers as to dosing rates are monitored during consumption of mushroom tea. Incorporating other healthy habits like following a plant-based, whole foods diet as well as meditation or yoga practice into daily life are highly encouraged as this allows for an optimal experience when trying new things like mushroom tea can have an unexpected benefit that leads to positive outcomes for wellness goals.
2. Increased blood pressure
Mushroom tea offers numerous immune-enhancing effects to support a healthy lifestyle. Chaga mushroom tea helps the body fight oxidative stress while Lion’s Mane and Reishi mushrooms promote mental clarity and emotional balance while potentially increasing memory retention and slowing aging processes.
These functional mushrooms provide numerous other health advantages, including improved sleep quality, blood sugar regulation, and cholesterol regulation. More research needs to be conducted into the long-term health effects of mushroom tea.
Mushroom tea is a beverage created by infusing mushrooms or mushroom powder into hot water or another suitable liquid, then sipping on as tea or adding it to other drinks like coffee and iced tea. Sometimes combined with herbs and adaptogens for flavor enhancement and added health benefits; others offer no caffeine whatsoever which may be particularly helpful to people trying to cut back or reduce caffeine consumption.
Mushroom tea may offer additional health benefits beyond immune-boosting properties. Many varieties used are considered adaptogens and may help relieve different forms of stress; Reishi tea has been shown to alleviate anxiety and depression while Chaga tea may assist with sleeping issues as well as heart disease prevention.
Although mushroom tea’s benefits are impressive, more research must be conducted into their individual health properties and effects on our bodies. The type of mushroom used will have an impactful influence on both its taste and overall impact on us as individuals.
Chaga mushroom tea has an earthy or woody flavor due to its high concentration of antioxidants. On the other hand, Lion’s Mane mushroom tea offers more subtle flavours that even people with more sensitive palates can appreciate.
Mushroom tea may cause digestive and itchy skin symptoms due to increased nerve growth factor (NGF) activity caused by its adaptogenic properties.
3. Decreased blood sugar levels
Implicating mushroom tea into your daily routine is an excellent way to help regulate blood sugar levels. Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), one of the more popular culinary mushrooms, has been proven to offer diabetic benefits by improving insulin sensitivity and inhibiting gluconeogenesis (the breakdown of carbohydrates by our bodies).(3)
Mushrooms are known to promote energy levels naturally while simultaneously improving mental wellbeing. Starting your day right with a cup of mushroom tea could give you sustained energy throughout the day and keep blood sugar stable throughout the day.
Many mushrooms used to create tea are adaptogens, or agents that help our bodies respond to stressors more effectively. If you regularly experience high levels of anxiety or stress, drinking mushroom tea could help balance cortisol hormone levels to relieve fatigue and tension.
Some mushrooms commonly used to make tea are known for their detoxifying effects, including Reishi and Cordyceps mushrooms. Reishi is considered an antiviral, while Cordyceps has been shown to combat chronic fatigue and cell degeneration caused by excessive glucose in the bloodstream(4)
Mushroom tea may not only help balance your blood sugar, but its ingredients may also enhance insulin action within our cells and shield us from free radical damage. A cup of mushroom tea could even prevent hypoglycemia or diabetes complications that arise when artificial insulin is used to control their blood sugar.
Most mushroom teas contain a combination of different mushrooms to produce unique tastes and provide multiple health benefits. Combinations may also lead to synergistic effects where one mushroom’s unique qualities can be amplified by another mushroom’s presence.
Kombucha is an increasingly popular type of mushroom tea, using a SCOBY culture of bacteria and yeast to ferment a mixture of sugar and real tea leaves with limited amounts of mushrooms – though often labeled “mushroom tea.”
4. Mood swings
Some mushroom teas contain adaptogens to promote relaxation and ease the mind, such as chaga, reishi, cordyceps and lion’s mane mushrooms which have been proven to reduce inflammation, stress anxiety, fatigue and depression in humans. Therefore, these natural alternatives to caffeine provide a healthy way to wake up, get through your day and wind down at night.
Many people turn to mushroom tea for its cognitive-enhancing benefits. The lion’s mane mushroom in particular can aid cognitive health by supporting production of nerve growth factors and brain-derived neurotrophic factor, and regenerate myelin sheaths that protect nerve pathways in the brain, providing protection from memory loss and cognitive decline due to age. This may help alleviate some signs of aging such as memory loss and cognitive decline.
Studies published in the Journal of Affective Disorders have demonstrated that people who regularly drank lion’s mane mushroom tea were less likely to exhibit symptoms of depression. It’s thought this may be due to its high concentrations of ergothioneine, an amino acid which acts as an antioxidant against free radical damage and prevents depression from manifesting itself in symptoms.
Mushroom tea can also provide an effective energy boost without producing an unpleasant caffeine crash, thanks to its ability to improve mitochondrial function and help produce more energy and fight fatigue. Furthermore, this tea contains B vitamins and other vital nutrients which work towards improving energy levels.
Mushroom tea comes in various forms and can be enjoyed any time of the day, although we suggest enjoying it first thing in the morning when relaxed and focused, to maximize its health benefits. Sit back with your book or favourite show and make this part of your daily ritual to ensure a mindful start to each day in an inclusive and mindful way.