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The Health Benefits of Mushroom Coffee
Mushrooms have long been touted for their ability to balance hormones, reduce stress, improve sleep and focus and boost immunity – qualities which coffee drinkers can experience without experiencing caffeine jitters. By adding mushrooms to coffee drinks, customers can reap these benefits without experiencing its side effects.
Hultin stresses the importance of speaking to their healthcare provider before including mushroom coffee in their diets, since certain mushrooms could interact negatively with medications they’re currently taking.
1. Increased Energy
While mushroom coffee may be relatively new, mushrooms have long been used in traditional Chinese and shamanic medicine to promote health. Today’s mushroom coffee blends often include Reishi, Chaga, Lion’s Mane and Cordyceps mushrooms that offer different potential health benefits.
Reishi may help regulate stress and strengthen immunity; Lion’s Mane may promote nerve growth to enhance focus and concentration; cordyceps is said to oxygenate and promote energy production within the body.
Mushrooms contain antioxidants like polysaccharides, ergothioneine, glutathione and phenolic compounds to protect cells from damage and delay premature aging. These anti-oxidants may even aid in relieving symptoms associated with stress.
Though mushroom coffee may offer numerous positives, more research needs to be conducted into its actual benefits. Before trying mushroom coffee if you have an existing medical condition or take medications; mushroom coffee’s higher caffeine content requires extra caution from you to stay safe.
2. Reduced Stress
While mushroom coffee may not provide an instant cure for stress and anxiety, it can provide some relief by using less caffeine – a factor which may make some people jittery or restless when consumed regularly.
Mushroom extracts in this blend provide stress-reducing adaptogens that can balance hormones and reduce levels of anxiety, as well as providing nutrients that may improve brain health, boost focus and mood, promote immune health and support an overall healthier immune system. Reishi, Lion’s Mane and Chaga mushrooms are typically included.
As a registered dietitian, Hultin warns clients not to see mushroom coffee as a replacement for healthy diet and lifestyle habits. She recommends seeking medical advice before making any dietary changes like adding mushroom coffee as it could interact with medications and cause unexpected side effects. She emphasizes the need to limit how much of this “superfood” they consume as excessive consumption could result in overdosing on vital vitamins and minerals.
3. Better Sleep
Mushrooms have long been promoted by wellness gurus as an aid for improving overall wellness, and have long been used in beverages like matcha lattes and teas, but the latest way to incorporate mushrooms into our daily lives is with mushroom coffee – an infusion of ground java beans combined with adaptogenic mushrooms such as cordyceps, chaga, reishi and lion’s mane that boost energy, combat fatigue, reduce stress levels and enhance cognition, sleep quality and immunity.
Sleep issues affect millions of us every night, taking a significant toll on both physical and mental wellbeing. From difficulty falling asleep or early wakeups, to difficulty getting quality restful restful zzzs. Without adequate restful zzz’s it can be tough getting through each night without feeling exhausted the following morning.
Attracting support from everyone from Meghan, Duchess of Sussex and Taika Waititi promoting mushroom coffee to consumers across the board, INTEGRIS Health On Your Health examines this new trend to see if it really can transform health outcomes.
4. Reduced Blood Pressure
Mushroom coffee is an earthy, bitter beverage combining traditional coffee’s earthy bitter flavor with medicinal mushrooms like cordyceps and lion’s mane for maximum health benefits, including increased energy and stress relief, improved focus, immune system support and slowing the effects of aging. Mushroom coffee has gained widespread attention as an energy and stress relief solution, and increasingly popular due to its purported health advantages like increased energy and stress relief as well as potential focus boosting properties and immune boosting potential.
Though its benefits have yet to be scientifically established, mushroom coffee shows some promise in lowering blood pressure and cholesterol levels, as well as decreasing anxiety levels. Furthermore, due to being low-caffeine it provides an alternative for people with sensitive digestive systems who wish to try it as an aid for relaxation.
Mushroom coffee products typically come in instant powder form that you combine with boiling water or brewed grounds in the same manner as regular coffee, such as Four Sigmatic’s product. Other choices such as Laird Superfood’s focus coffee and Clevr Coffee’s Mood-boosting Coffee provide various mushroom combinations with health claims such as stress reduction, increased focus, or improved immune system functionality.
5. Lower Cholesterol
Mushroom coffee has quickly become a go-to drink among those looking to cut back on caffeine or boost their immune systems. This unique beverage combines medicinal mushrooms such as cordyceps, chaga and lion’s mane with ground coffee beans in one drink.
Mushroom coffee may provide health benefits that include helping to lower cholesterol and relieve stress, in addition to providing powerful antioxidants that protect cells and tissues against damage caused by free radicals.
Medicinal mushrooms have long been recognized for their therapeutic effects on hormone levels, particularly cortisol – the stress hormone. Mushroom coffee contains less caffeine than traditional coffee and may therefore help relieve some stress or jitteriness; however, mushroom coffee should only be taken in moderation to avoid potential side effects of adding too much acidity to it. Mushroom-infused drinks and powders should never replace regular beverages like regular coffee; their consumption should always be restricted accordingly.
6. Enhanced Immune System
Mushroom coffee can provide your immune system with an amazing boost, not to mention other great benefits like reduced caffeine, antioxidants and prebiotics. Common types used include lion’s mane, chaga and reishi mushrooms.
Mushroom coffee offers numerous health advantages due to the medicinal properties of its constituent mushrooms. Medicinal mushrooms provide essential nutrition, such as protein, fats, minerals and vitamins; Chaga mushrooms in particular boast abundant antioxidants which fight oxidative stress that weakens immunity systems; they can even regulate cortisol levels (which act as the body’s main stress hormone) so you remain healthy enough to cope with daily challenges more easily.
Some mushroom coffee products are packed with prebiotics that promote the growth of healthy bacteria in your digestive tract, providing protection from inflammation conditions while improving gut health. Furthermore, certain mushrooms act as natural immunomodulators to stimulate immune responses in those suffering from autoimmune disorders; specifically shiitake mushrooms have been proven to significantly decrease inflammation caused by autoimmunity diseases.
7. Reduced Risk of Cancer
Mushroom coffee has quickly gained a following due to its purported health benefits; however, these claims require further research. Mushroom coffee brands typically incorporate multiple species with well-known health properties as ingredients in their blend, including shiitake mushrooms (used traditionally by Eastern medicine to support metabolic and immune system functions; Ryze Super Foods offers this). Other ingredients might include turkey tail (known for antimicrobial properties); while Chaga (a dark and chunky fungus found on the bark of Birch trees that resembles chunky charcoal according to Healthline), is another common component.
Ergosterol peroxide in these mushrooms may aid colon cancer chemoprevention by inhibiting the growth of colorectal cancer cells. Lion’s Mane, a shaggy-furry mushroom that thrives in clusters on hardwood trees (according to Four Sigmatic), may also be found in certain blends and is thought to improve focus and cognitive function by stimulating nerve growth factors production.
8. Reduced Risk of Diabetes
Mushroom coffee contains medicinal mushrooms known for increasing energy and strengthening immunity. Common adaptogenic herbs in mushroom coffee beverages include Reishi, Chaga, Lion’s mane and Cordyceps – each rich in polysaccharides known for enhancing immune health as well as antioxidants that support heart wellbeing.
The turkey tail mushroom has been extensively researched, and its health benefits are well documented – everything from lowering cholesterol to balancing gut microbes have been linked with it. Vegans will especially find this non-meat source useful as it can improve mental clarity and focus.
While evidence for mushroom coffee may be encouraging, its effects will differ for every person. As with any change to diet or supplement routine, consulting a healthcare provider before making significant modifications is highly advised if you have preexisting conditions or take medications (i.e. certain mushrooms have blood-thinning properties which could impact certain medications) such as blood thinners; furthermore it’s wise to avoid drinking mushroom coffee if known allergies exist for its ingredients such as mushrooms.