3 Best Medicinal Mushrooms to Turbo-Boost Your Immune System This Winter

Winter is just around the corner and it’s time to warm up and prepare! We all know our immune systems can get compromised during this time, and there are things we can do to make our bodies more adaptable, strong, and ready to embrace the cold. Aside from getting a good night’s sleep, exercising, and eating well, there are other wonderful ways to boost your immune system in winter, like consuming medicinal mushrooms. They give the ultimate turbo-boost to keep your health and body in check even during the harshest circumstances.

Medicinal Mushrooms and Humans

It may be hard to believe, but humans and mushrooms share common ancestry with only slight changes in our DNA setting us apart. The genetic composition of mushrooms is much more similar to humans than plants. Because of that, we are susceptible to the same pathogens and diseases and hence, we developed similar immune systems to counter them. Fungi have developed powerful immune strength to fight illnesses, and by consuming certain mushrooms, we can strengthen and balance our own immune strength.

3 Best Medicinal Mushrooms for Immune System Health

Reishi Mushroom

Reishi has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for hundreds of years as the ultimate immune system booster. Having gained the nickname ‘mushroom of immortality’, it is now widely accessible all over the globe in a form of tinctures, powders, extracts, and capsules. Aside from boosting your immune system, it can also help with stress reduction, improving the quality of sleep, and lessening fatigue. It can even work as an alternative to histamines and help you by reducing annoying allergy symptoms. We wrote an article about that: do reishi mushrooms really work for allergies? Let’s find out!

Turkey Tail Mushroom

This fascinating mushroom has sparked a lot of debate regarding enhancing the success of certain cancer treatments since the release of a documentary called ‘Fantastic Fungi’. Until now, there have been several studies done with promising results showing that turkey tail mushrooms can greatly enhance the existing cancer treatments as well as support the immune system of the cancer patient that usually gets really weakened during the treatment. There are two important polysaccharides found in turkey tail mushrooms: PSP (polysaccharide peptide) and PSK (krestin); both provide powerful immune support that activates certain types of immune cells in the body while also suppressing inflammation. And of course, we have written an article dedicated to Turkey Tail Mushroom – click here to read it.

Chaga Mushroom

Chaga mushroom, also known as "the king of the mushroom world," is one of the most potent antioxidants and immune system boosters available. It has been shown to support healthy levels of both good and bad cholesterol, prevent heart disease, reduce inflammation in the body, help fight diabetes, and even boost your mood. Chaga stimulates white blood cells, which are essential for fighting off harmful bacteria or viruses.

Combining Medicinal Mushrooms

Surprisingly, not only do medicinal mushrooms work in synergy with one another and go well together but combining them is also a popular way to boost the immune system during winter months. But before you excitedly jump into combining all of them, maybe it’s a good idea to start with one only one of the medicinal mushrooms to notice the effects and benefits, and eventually bring in another variety to get the most out of their unique qualities.