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What is Mushroom Tea?
Mushrooms are chock-full of essential nutrients, from B vitamins to vitamin D, that can promote brain health and support your immune system. While there are various mushroom supplements on the market, mushroom tea offers one of the easiest and most convenient ways to add mushrooms into your diet and reap their full benefits.
Mushroom tea is produced by steeping dried medicinal mushrooms such as Reishi or Chaga in hot water until they absorb it fully, creating an infusion of both flavor and medicinal benefits from within them. As they soak up all that heat they release an abundance of medicinal qualities along with aroma.
Mushrooms not only add an appealing flavor to any beverage, they are packed with antioxidants which are great for supporting your immune system. Some studies have even demonstrated their anti-tumor and blood sugar-reducing abilities. Finally, mushrooms contain polysaccharides which activate cells crucial for immune health.
Though most people associate mushrooms with medicinal uses, culinary varieties also boast many of these same health-promoting benefits that make mushroom tea so appealing as an aid to strengthen immune systems and overall wellbeing.
However, mushroom tea consumption should be undertaken with caution and knowledge of any associated risks. For instance, some ingredients used to prepare mushroom tea could contain psilocybin mushrooms – a type of psychedelic drug which may cause hallucinations, altered perception of time, and an increase in creativity when consumed at high doses. Furthermore, it can lead to HPPD (Hallucinogen Persisting Perception Disorder) with flashbacks and persistent visual disturbances being symptoms.
Psilocybin-derived substances should not be taken by children or pregnant women, and one case saw a man hospitalized from taking recreational psilocybin mushrooms brewed for recreational purposes – leading to liver failure in him and ultimately hospitalization. Yet many still choose to consume these psychoactive mushrooms and mushroom tea on an ongoing basis.
One reason for this trend may be the rising emphasis on holistic approaches to wellness. People are seeking natural ways to reduce stress and support their immune systems; according to one recent study involving 100 participants, those who regularly consumed mushroom tea reported higher energy levels and improved immune functions than participants in the control group.
Research also indicated that those who consumed mushroom tea daily experienced a reduction in stress levels – an excellent indicator that mushroom tea may help enhance mood and overall well-being. People looking to try mushroom tea have several different options available to them, from herbal blends to gourmet loose-leaf teas. Popular choices among these include Happy Bones (containing shiitake, reishi and cordyceps for bone support) and Power Soup (8 mushrooms, turmeric, chaga extract, black pepper powder and kelp to boost immune support), while Lion’s Mane can enhance memory retention and mental clarity. Mushroom tea can make an excellent addition to your morning routine, yet its benefits only truly emerge with regular and consistent usage over time. Therefore, creating an effective daily habit and making mushroom tea part of that habitual routine is key for realizing all its potential.