Honestly, I use to eat very few mushrooms. It’s not because I don’t like them but for what reason ever I keep forgetting about them. Somehow, they seem to me inconsiderable and negligible. Admittedly, this was a huge mistake after I had found out about their virtually miraculous health benefits. Mushrooms play a significant role in maintaining cardiovascular health, controlling blood pressure, keeping the cholesterol level in balance, and improving oxygenation and circulation. Moreover, they provide your body with energy, support your mental alertness, boost your metabolism and improve digestion. However, beside these great health benefits there is something special that seems to make mushrooms unique among foods: Its ability not only to boost the immune system but also to make it react properly to invaders such as pathogens, toxins and cancerous cells by avoiding an overreaction that often leads to not only destroy dangerous cells but also killing healthy cells. This way, mushrooms can even lower significantly the risk of suffering from autoimmune disease. Read on to find out more about this much too long underestimated miraculous vegan food.
Ancient Medicine
Mushrooms have been used in Chinese medicine and other traditional healing systems for thousands of years. Early practitioners based their medicinal choices on trial and error and keen observation. Now, modern research is proving they were right.Medicinal mushrooms are rich sources of unique nutrients, antioxidants, and compounds that work in numerous ways to support health. One family of carbohydrates found in mushrooms is beta-glucans. Carbohydrates can fuel the body in many ways, but beta-glucans have a particular affinity for immune cells. They stimulate macrophages, lymphocytes, T-cells, and natural killer (NK) cells, among others. They are especially focused on our innate immunity, the immune system’s first responders.
But mushrooms do more than boost immunity; they seem to modulate it, essentially “training” immune cells to respond appropriately to pathogens, toxins, cancerous cells, and other dangers. We want the immune system to take care of the problem at hand without overreacting and killing healthy cells. Medicinal mushrooms are unique to this purpose, as they can both boost immunity and help calm an overactive autoimmune response. This combination can be quite helpful when addressing psoriasis, rheumatoid arthritis, lupus, and other autoimmune conditions.
If this were all mushrooms did, that would be more than enough. But they also offer a host of other benefits. For example, mushrooms can support cardiovascular health, reducing blood pressure, lowering cholesterol, and improving oxygenation and circulation. They can support vital energy, cognitive health, digestive wellness, metabolic efficiency, and more.Medicinal fungi can also fight cancer in a number of ways. First, as mentioned, they support the immune system’s ability to fight off developing tumors. But they also provide powerful antioxidant support, neutralizing free radicals, those aberrant molecules that injure cells and even damage DNA.
In addition, mushrooms are natural detoxifiers, cleansing the body of accumulated waste, dead tissues, potential carcinogens, and more. In the same way that fungi thrive on decayed matter, medicinal mushrooms seem to have an affinity for damaged areas of the body and work to help repair and rebuild these areas. They act like sponges for toxic materials, and with all of their other important benefits, mushrooms can be excellent aids in any detox program.
Recommended Medicinals
There are more than 270 types of medicinal mushrooms, so it’s important to differentiate them based on specific health needs. Here are some top recommended species:”
To read the rest of the article, check it out on the original source over at Rodale Wellness.
