Tero Isokauppila - Healing mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health

My patients are always asking me what my top superfoods are. I realize superfood carries a certain hype, but some foods do earn that status. Food is medicine. And some foods are more potent medicines than others! Food is the most powerful tool to create optimal health. Food is the most powerful drug in my arsenal, and the first I use to treat my patients.

While visiting China, I discovered folks there knew more about foods medicinal properties than I did, even after many years of research. Medicinal foods are a part of their everyday diet, and mushrooms, one of my favorite superfoods, play a huge role in Chinese medicine. These mushrooms, such as reishi, shiitake, maitake, and cordyceps, have such well-known healing powers that they are commonly referred to as functional or medicinal mushrooms. Consuming mushrooms for health benefits like energy, longevity, and immunity is a part of the everyday culture in Chinaunlike in the United States, where most general consumers dont know a portabello from a shiitake. This, however, is about to change.

Top mushrooms like chaga and lions mane are trending right now in the science and medical research communities of the Western worldand its just the beginning. Their antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties hold great potential to combat many of our largest health problems, from cancer to diabetes and from auto-immune diseases to nervous system attacks. Current research shows that functional mushrooms have a myriad of healing properties such as inhibiting cancer cell growth, balancing excess hormones like estrogens via aromatase, and reducing chronic fatigue. And in the coming years, were going to see even more new Western-based research published on the medicinal benefits of mushrooms.

The list of vital nutrients found in mushrooms is extensive. They are an excellent source of nutrients, such as Vitamin D, biotin, pantothenic acid, selenium, copper, and riboflavin. Vitamin D, which an estimated 50 to 75 percent of Americans are deficient in, is linked to improved cardiovascular health, hormonal regulation, and elevated mood. Biotin, or Vitamin B, is known to help with our skin health, nervous system, and digestive tract. Pantothenic acid, or Vitamin B, is often prescribed orally for inflammatory issues such as arthritis and premenstrual syndrome (PMS). Selenium can help regulate thyroid functions, and copper and riboflavin are great aids in natural energy production. With all these benefits packed into one delicate functional fungi, its no wonder many informed people refer to mushrooms as the original superfoods.

As people gain a greater understanding of mushrooms nutritional value, they may still lack the how-to knowledge they need to incorporate them into their daily lives. Enter Tero Isokauppila, a thirteenth-generation Finnish farmer transplanted to Venice, California, and his book, Healing Mushrooms. Here, Tero shares a deep knowledge about the world of mushrooms as well as creative recipes with surprising healing properties that fit todays most common dietary preferences, from vegan to paleo, ketogenic to leaky gut, and everything in between.

While mushrooms are a versatile whole food to cook with, they require special attention to flavor combinations, ingredient preparation, and know-how to ensure their unique healing properties come through in finished dishes. Tero teaches us in a simple and funguy way exactly how to do this. He is both entertaining and illuminating in the way he talks about the power and uses of functional mushrooms. In fact, he is truly the perfect ambassador for the mushroom kingdom.

I drink mushroom tea, cook with mushrooms such as shiitake, and make soups with wild mushrooms. While reading this book, even I was surprised by all the ways we can incorporate these healing superfoods into our daily lives without sacrificing convenience or deliciousness. Cordyceps ice cubes, lions mane lattes, mushroom bacon, and paleo ice cream, anyone?

Read on, and you will never think about consuming mushrooms in the same way again.

Mark Hyman, MD