15 Edible Mushrooms and how they may help you Agaricus Mushroom: The Button
The Agaricus Mushroom, also known as the "button mushroom" or "the white mushroom," is most commonly eaten as a pizza and salad topping. It has a high vitamin D content and a good carbohydrate profile for the gut.
Benefits: The Agaricus mushroom has several health benefits. It is a vegan source of vitamin D (1). It is used to maintain cancer (2) and provides gut health benefits. It also contains ergothioneine and polyphenols, which promote a balanced inflammatory response and improve cardiovascular health.
Side Effects: Agaricus mushroom has no side effects.
Enokitake
The enokitake mushroom, also known as the Enoki or Velvet Shank, is a popular edible mushroom known for its nutritional value and antioxidant content.
Benefits: Enokitakes support heart health, enhance brain function, regulate the immune system, and reduce oxidative damage that slows cancer cell growth (3).
Side Effects: Some people experience bloating and gas with high consumption, so it needs to start in a small quantity and increase slowly.
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
Chaga, also known as Inonotus obliquus, is a nourishing wild mushroom used in traditional medicine to cure various ailments. It contains antioxidants, polyphenols including betulin and betulinic acid, and a high concentration of melanin, which has skin advantages.
Benefits: Chaga, an adaptogenic mushroom, helps prevent oxidative stress and inflammation, which promotes anti-aging and youthfulness. In addition, Chaga mushroom provides health benefits such as boosting the immune system, fighting pathogens, promoting digestion, and inhibiting cancer growth (4).
Side Effects: Chaga mushrooms are safe to consume in adequate quantities; however, a higher dose can adversely affect the kidneys due to their high oxalate level.
China Root (Wolfiporia Extensa)
Poria mushroom, a fungus with spores used in medicine, has compounds that can reduce swelling and modulate immunological function.
Benefits: Poria mushrooms have many benefits, including wound healing, reducing swelling, urine promotion, gas removal, and bowel cleansing. They have also been used for various benefits, such as improving memory and reducing anxiety and fatigue. It also helps to bring down body temperature (5).
Cordyceps (Ophiocordyceps sinensis)
Cordyceps is a highly effective medicinal mushroom in Chinese and Tibetan medicine. Its bioactive components include polysaccharides, cordycepin, and cordycepic acid, all linked to various health benefits.
Benefits: Mushroom supplements improve exercise performance and muscle repair (6) and promote healthy inflammation and immunological function. Cordyceps promotes libido and sperm health and offers anti-cancer, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, anti-aging, and anti-stress effects (7).
Side Effects: Cordyceps is generally safe but may cause stomach upset, nausea, and dry mouth. Avoid it if you have diabetes, as it lowers blood sugar, or if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.
Lentinus
Lentinus edodes is a famous edible fungus from the Polyporaceae genus. It contains lentinan, a polysaccharide in its convex and funnel-shaped, tough caps with light to dark brown scales.
Benefits: Lentinus edodes is a medicinal plant used to treat cancer, fungal infections, depressed immune function, environmental allergies, frequent flu, bronchial inflammation, heart disease, hyperlipidemia, hypertension, diabetes, and infectious diseases such as AIDS (8).
Side Effects could induce stomach and intestinal cramping, rash, and muscle pain.
Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
Lion's Mane is a local medicinal mushroom. It is grown on hardwood tree trunks in northern woodlands. Hericium erinaceus, or lion's Mane, has a white, fur-like appearance and is high in beta-glucans, antioxidants that modulate the immune system, and phytonutrients that protect neurons.
Benefits: Lion's Mane is high in antioxidants, which stimulate the immune system and are essential for brain health because they promote nerve growth factor (NGF) and myelin. It improves focus, memory, and cognitive function and reduces anxiety. Additionally, it may increase gut microbiota growth and prevent colon tissue damage in cases of inflammatory bowel disease (9)(10).
Side effects: The most common side effect is gastrointestinal discomfort that can be experienced using lion's mane mushrooms.
Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
Maitake, also known as the dancing mushroom or Hen of the Woods, for its feathered appearance. Maitake is an edible mushroom with an earthy flavor. It contains polysaccharides such as beta-glucans that support multiple systems of the body.
Benefits: Maitake helps maintain cholesterol levels, improves arterial functionality, and lowers the risk of heart disease. Additionally, it contributes to energy production and improves immunity (11).
Side Effects: Maitake may increase your risk of bleeding; thus, if you are on blood thinners, it is recommended to talk to your doctor before you take the medicinal mushroom.
Oyster Mushroom (Pleurotus)
Oyster mushrooms, also known as The Carnivorous Fungus, are a fungus with a high nutritional profile. They are high in proteins, vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, fiber, beta-glucans, polysaccharides, and a critical compound, ergothioneine.
Benefits: Oyster mushrooms are high in lovastatin, ergothioneine, and ergosterol, which can lower blood sugar, improve cardiometabolic health, lower cholesterol and triglyceride levels, and have analgesic and anti-inflammatory properties (12,13).
Side Effects: Oyster mushrooms may cause allergic reactions. So, if you experience any allergy symptoms like skin rashes, chills, or fever, immediately halt the intake.
Reishi (Red Reishi) (Ganoderma lingzhi)
Reishi, commonly called the "king of mushrooms," is a natural adaptogen. It contains bioactive substances that prolong life by improving cardiovascular health.
Benefits: Reishi supports stress and the immune system, and cancer fights and modulates inflammation by lowering cholesterol levels. Triterpenes, a mood-boosting compound within Reishi, reduce anxiety, depression, and stress. Reishi promotes wound healing, sleep, health, disease prevention, and lower urinary tract symptoms (14–17).
Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
The edible fungus lenticular edodes, which originates from shiitake glucan, is rich in B vitamins and has a meaty, adaptable flavor. It is endemic to East Asia.
Benefits: Shiitake mushrooms are well-known for their benefits to the immune system, skin, and heart. They are traditionally used to boost gut immunity and heal ailments like the common cold. Lentinan, a glucan obtained from shiitake mushrooms, is beneficial to the health of the liver and heart. Shiitake helps to keep cholesterol levels stable. Shiitake mushrooms also include B vitamins that regulate blood sugar and promote healthy inflammation (18).
Side Effects: Taking shiitake can make your skin more sensitive to sunlight and cause stomach discomfort in some people.
Tremella
Tremella grows as a slimy, mucus-like film. It is also called the Snow Fungus or "yin er" (silver ear) in China. Its unique polysaccharides, smaller and more easily absorbed by the skin, offer potent moisturizing qualities akin to luxury anti-aging cosmetics. They are also comparable to hyaluronic acid. Tremella is very beneficial to health.
Benefits: Tremella is also known as the stomach and lung tonic. Its intense skin hydration is accompanied by anti-inflammatory, neuroprotective, gut-nourishing, and antioxidant qualities that prevent aging. In addition, it has been shown to help reduce obesity, lower cholesterol levels in the body, and have anti-cancer properties (19–21).
Side Effects: There are no significant side effects or toxicity reported with these mushrooms.
Turkey Tail (Coriolus versicolor)
Turkey tail mushrooms are made from dead logs and have rings of brown and tan color that resemble the feathers of a turkey tail. It has many natural polysaccharides with anti-cancer properties, antioxidants, and beta-glucan.
Benefits: The turkey tail medicinal mushroom contains beta-glucans that enhance immune system function and support digestion, lung health, and body fluid regulation. It also has anti-tumor properties, fighting leukemia cells, improving cancer survival rates, and enhancing chemotherapy immune systems (22).
Side Effects: Turkey tail mushrooms may cause bloating, gas, or nausea.
Wood Ear
Auricularia Auricula-Judae, commonly called Black Wood Ear or Wood Ear, is a peculiar-looking fungus that thrives on wood. It is an essential source of copper and vitamin B5.
Benefits: The polysaccharides found in the mushroom have anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, and aspirin-like anticoagulant properties. They also have cardioprotective properties due to their anti-cholesterol properties. The mushroom's anti-cancer benefits are also linked to its polyphenolic components (23).
Side Effects: It is essential to clean the mushrooms thoroughly before consuming them. Some people might find themselves allergic to wood ear mushrooms. So, if any allergy symptoms arise, discontinue using the mushroom immediately.
Yellow Morel (Morchella esculenta)
The edible fungus Morchella esculenta, commonly known as the Yellow Morel, has many health advantages due to its high polysaccharides, amino acids, and phenols content.
Benefits Because of its phenol content, yellow morel has anti-tumor activity, decreasing tumor volume, and antioxidant qualities. It also helps to reduce acute and chronic inflammation (24,25).
Side Effects: Care should be taken when taking the mushroom. It should be started in a low dose and discontinued if side effects occur.
