Medicine is in the FOOD, not another legalized substance.
I get it – the past research has shown that micro-dosing has had positive affects on the brain; but that has been marketed with virtually no connection to overall healthy lifestyle and diet. It’s also a campaign that is limited exclusively to neurological superfood/agent.
I hate that term. All foods are super. They are super suppliers of a set of nutrients they were designed to supply to the body.
There are some specific mushrooms – besides the formerly “illicit and illegal” magic ones – that do more than improve neurological function. Your body is more than just your brain. Turkey tails, for one, are excellent immune boosters and readily forageable in the spring from decaying maples, and those iconic brown/chestnut and cream stripes with the porous underside are hard to miss. Another cool mushroom has been the lion’s mane, with their unmistakable shaggy hair-like appearance, that sells at a premium at grocery stores and farmers markets, when they are in season. Oysters and Shitake is by far among the most accessible type of mushrooms that taste great and elevate so many dishes.
Did you also know that all mushrooms have one major thing in common? Vitamin D
Vitamin D is an essential hormone (not a vitamin!) that supports maintaining blood levels of phosphorus and calcium while also promoting bone mineralization and absorption of calcium. Ever look at the ingredient list of your calcium supplements and think, “bonus – I have vitamin D as well!”. Now you know why. Vitamin D is the common denominator when it comes to many illnesses from Cancer, to ricketts, Seasonal Affected Disorder (S.A.D), bone density issues, and hormone and emotional balances. Studies in 2016 showed that a depletion of vitamin D, mainly from the lack of sun will leave you vulnerable to all sorts of physical and mental illnesses or a slowness to recover from colds, flu, etc. Want some proof? Keep reading, links are provided to more studies below.
So how do I get vD besides buying it? Hack it. Well – sorta .. but more of a fun hack.
The most commonly available mushroom as a FOOD that can store the most vitamin D is shitake and oyster. There are others, but I’m trying to stay on track. They can be used to take care of ourselves overall, without the addition of a ‘magic’ suppliment. In a food form, it provides us with many more diverse benefits besides neurological function, that includes vitamin D, iron, copper, to state as a minimum. Let’s not ignore the obvious benefit of what it does for your dinner(s). If you’re bored of mushrooms, or your children are not receptive to them (mine hated mushrooms), I suggest you grow them. Yeah – those hippy boxes with bulbous mushrooms protruding in those ads that look so fake…except they work! Here is a scant list of Grow-your-own mushroom companies that are LOCAL that can also ship across the country, and I think ship to the US – you will need to confirm:
Nature Lion: This is a company, if my memory serves me correctly, started around 2016. I only retain this because while I was indulging my mat-leave time off, I went on a mushroom-growing bender and found their kits. They have since expanded their line of mushroom varieties from lions mane to 4 different types of oyster mushroom kits in pink, white, black and blue, as well a chestnut mushroom grow kit. They have also included an impressive coffee line called Shyne that includes mushrooms that are not sold as kits. The coffees are not comparable to the narc-identical jet fuel you find in a starbucks, but rather, organic, flavourful, caffinated and full of better brain-food such as lions mane, cordyceps, and turkeytails. There are others, but that depends on the coffee.
Happy Caps: I have had good success growing this, even hacked it to extend its growth. It was a great excercise and a propagation project that I enjoyed immensely. Happy caps features Shitake, Oyster, and Lion’s Mane kits. Happy Caps hail from the east coast of Canada and I would certainly classify them as local. Their kits are $30!
Forager’s Galley: I have yet to try Forager’s Galley. This is a west-coast based company that have also been available on their website and Amazon. The beautiful thing is regionality has very little to do with the success of your harvest when it comes to mushrooms kits, since the kits remain indoors and dependant on the correct environment YOU provide it. This company has specialized in Lion’s mane and five different oysters. The Golden oyster looks like sculpted butter while the Antler Reishi has incredibly striking architechture; I’m very curious to try them! Prices range from $31 for 3 to $34 for one. BONUS: They ship to the US!
Okay there are PLENTY more I can feature, but if I did that this post would be a list. Let’s talk about how to hack those babies to get the most vD for your buck!
It’s true – mushrooms can synthesize vitamin D from light exposure – as in UV from the sun. Interestingly, they can also do this with UV lamps too! Studies from Penn State Department of Food Science in 2008 showed that consistent exposure to light allowed mushrooms to store up to 1600% of our daily recommended value, depending on the mushroom. Oysters came in at 1618% with shitake in 2nd place (1200%). They will do this as they grow and even after you have cut them and left to dry in the sun or under that UV grow lamp. This is one science that labs didn’t fudge.
While you are growing you can expose to some light, depending on the mushroom you grow (some will direct you to keep your kit out of direct sunlight). In this case, allowing sun exposure for 20 minutes will be enough to concentrate your vitamin D. Kinda makes the foraging for puffballs all the more lucrative and tempting… If you have purchased your mushrooms – YES – organic mushrooms are better, you can take them out of the packaging, cook half and leave the other half in the sun to dry or under a UV lamp. When doing this at home, there is no real means to measure the concentration of vitamin D, but hey – I’m no longer turning my nose up at dried mushrooms.
I will say that psilocybin has shown remarkable and powerful results for neurological function and repair, not just vitamin D. This is not a post against magic mushrooms. I’m merely reminding you it’s not everything.
Eating mushrooms can also get boring, day in and day out (I can’t imagine why…), and if you have a severe deficiency or an conditon that requires regular doses of vitamin D as part of your routine, your best bet is to purchase a suppliment. There has been a lot of contention regarding regulatory bodies and suppliments; how can you tell which one to take? Here is a hint: When you go into a suppliment shop, or health food store, you will see shelves upon shelves of suppliments. And when you go to the cash register, you will see others behind the cash register. The ones behind the cash are pharma-grade suppliments, and very effective. If you are not fussy, but still want good quality, my go-to is Genestra. This was recommended by my naturopath and I haven’t strayed from it; not because I’m afraid, but because my treatment needed intense regular dosing of vitamin D.
Mushrooms are not just a culinary delight; this the original inexpensive and flexible treasure trove of immune boosting super-foods. Don’t forget to toss the ends in the garden or donate it to your neighbour-gardener or community gardens. If the gardeners are compitent, they’ll know to thank you for your sloppy seconds!