Mushroom Hx
Mushroom Hx
Dr. Claire Arcidiacono, ND
Omelets, risotto and even salads are all places you might find mushrooms. But did you know mushrooms are also an amazing supplement for our immune system? There are so many different types of mushrooms that sometimes it can get confusing. How do you know which mushrooms work best together? That’s a good question! Mushroom Hx is a combination of 8 different types of mushrooms that have been found in studies to promote health. Combining 8 mushrooms in 1 supplement makes it easy to add them into your daily supplement routine. But what exactly do mushrooms DO for us? Let’s do a review, shall we?
Studies have found that mushrooms are antimicrobial. This means that they actively help to kill off any pathogens or bad guys you come into contact with. Studies have also found that mushrooms help to modulate the immune system. Interestingly studies have found that mushrooms help to increase malignant – cell phagocytosis. This is a fancy way of saying that mushrooms help the immune system to go after malignant cells. (1)
Studies have found that one way that mushrooms stimulate the immune system is by actually binding to certain receptors that activate the immune cells. Another way that mushrooms appear to activate the immune system is by turning on certain genes that in turn activate parts of our immunity. (2)
I know what you’re thinking, Doc this is great BUT what the heck does it mean on a practical level? It means mushrooms help us to fight off pathogens such as colds by both killing the bad guys and boosting our immune system so that our body can go after the bad guys itself. In fact studies have found that mushrooms help to protect against viral infections and may even help to reduce cytokines, which are seen in the cytokine storm associated with COVID 19. (3)
In addition to helping fight off viral infections mushrooms have been found to potentially help with asthma symptoms as well as other lung infections. (3) By lung infections I am referring to more than just viral infections. Studies have found that mushrooms help to fight against bacteria such as those that cause pneumonia. In fact mushrooms have been found to help fight against drug resistant bacteria. When it comes to our lung health not only have mushrooms been found to help kill pathogens they can help to reduce the incidence of lung inflammation, which often occurs after a viral infection. (4)
Studies have also found that mushrooms can help to lower histamine (remember my blog on allergies and how important histamine is). As a consequence of lowering histamine mushrooms have been found to help to reduce the signs of allergies and even asthma. (5) In addition to helping fight off respiratory infections mushrooms have been found to help fight off other infections such as Human Papilloma virus. (6)
Now we all know inflammation is a huge risk factor for many different types of illness. Having high inflammation is also reduces how well our immune system works. Mushrooms have been found to help reduce inflammation which helps keep our immunity up. (7) Additionally mushrooms have been found to help with stress levels. Anyone who has ever had stress knows that during periods of high stress we are more prone to getting infections such as colds. Mushrooms have been found to help reduce stress and thus they can help protect our immune system and keep it working well when we are going through a stressful situation. (8)
In addition to helping our immune system, mushrooms have been found to have so many benefits it’s no wonder most people consider them to be a superfood! Overall I find Mushroom Hx to be an amazing supplement.
In our next blog we will be talking about a virus that is very serious in our society, COVID 19
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