Mushrooms and Immune Support

Eastern medicine practitioners have recognized the health benefits of mushrooms for thousands of years. In the United States, mushrooms are typically viewed as a culinary delicacy and have only recently been considered as a supplements. Many of those beneficial mushrooms are some of the most effective immune-supportive supplements in the natural foods industry. Here are some of our favorites for immune support.

Maitake (Grifola frondosa) means “dancing mushroom” in Japanese because people were said to jump for joy when they found maitake mushrooms, as the fungus was literally worth its weight in silver. What’s the key to maitake’s immune supporting properties? Beta-glucan, a complex polysaccharide (aka: fiber-sourced sugar and part of a long-chain carbohydrate). These beta-glucans stimulate various immune reactions on all sorts of different levels of the human physiology.

A combination of various beta-glucan-rich mushrooms (such as shiitake and maitake together) incite the most natural immune defenses.

Maitake mushroom may also be useful to support normal blood pressure, support healthy cholesterol and triglyceride levels, promote the body’s innate resistance to pathogens, and help maintain blood sugar levels within normal range.

You should be able to find maitake mushroom dried or fresh in Japanese markets, gourmet foods stores, or upscale supermarkets. You can add it to any food in which you would normally add mushrooms, such as stir-fry, salad, pasta, pizza, omelets, or soup.

Maitake can also be taken as a liquid concentrate or dry form in capsules. If you decide to take it as a supplement, look for maitake D-Fraction, which is an extract of the mushroom.

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) is known as the “Mushroom of Immortality” and is one of the most respected and admired shroom in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine. It's one of the best choices when looking for an immune system nourisher and general tonic for overall health. As with maitake mushroom, reishi also contains polysaccharides. In fact, reishi contains over 100 different ones that support immune function. They work by plugging into immune cells; more specifically, they connect to macrophages in the blood stream and macrophages “digest” these polysaccharides and redistribute them throughout the immune system so every other immune cell gets the benefits from them.

Reishi also contain 119 different triterpene compounds, which have shown to have immune enhancing effects on all immune cells (macrophages, lymphocytes, and natural killer cells). 

Reishi mushroom also an adaptogen, which is used to support stress and has a calming effect on the nerves.  

You can buy dried, ground mushrooms and use them to make tea if you don't mind the bitterness. I prefer reishi powder to make my reishi tea. Reishi also comes in liquid extract or capsule form. Take reishi every day for at least two months to see what it can do for you. The flavor of reishi tastes great with chocolate, so I like to mix it with hot chocolate and add to coconut fat bombs. 

Shiitake Mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) are prized for their rich, savory taste and diverse health benefits. They’re high in polysaccharides, but rather than the beta-glucan type, shiitake is rich in alpha-glucans. These compounds are known to support immune health and a normal inflammatory response.

Shiitake mushrooms contain several compounds, including oxalic acid, lentinan, centinamycins A and B and eritadenine, which promotes the body’s innate resistance to pathogens (ie: bacteria and viruses).

Shiitake are often sold dried – look for ones that are sold whole, rather than sliced. Shiitake can also be found fresh at your local market. When picking out your shiitake, the caps should be thick, with deep, white fissures. You can cook with shiitakes as you would any other mushroom. If you're interested in a supplement, I like this blend of mushrooms (shiitake, maitake, reishi, chaga) because each one has a slightly different beta- or alpha-glucan fraction profile, and by combining these different glucan fractions, it provides the body wonderful, powerful immune support. 

Coriolus (Coriolus versicolor), commonly called turkey tail in the U.S. because of its fan shape, is a superstar for immune support. The bioactive components of this shroom include two polysaccharopeptides (PSK and PSP), which are involved in immune support and healthy inflammatory response.

Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a parasitic fungi that thrives on birch trees. It prefers growing in the cold forests of Russia, Korea, eastern and northern Europe and northern parts of the U.S. and Canada. Chaga is primarily used to support a healthy inflammatory response, assist the immune system, support normal function and health of the liver, and promotes the body’s innate resistance to pathogens.

Chaga is available in extracts, capsules and teas, and is often combined with other medicinal mushrooms. If you’re lucky enough to get your hands on some dried chaga chunks, you can easily make a highly-beneficial tea tonic that can be drank alone or added to your favorite lattes or smoothies!

Consuming more mushrooms might be one of the best foods you can eat to support your health. Go for it!

Kelly Harrington, MS, RDN

Registered Dietitian Nutritionist for Healthy Goods

References:

Dai X et al. Consuming Lentinula edodes (Shiitake) Mushrooms Daily Improves Human Immunity: A Randomized Dietary Intervention in Healthy Young Adults. J Am Coll Nutr. 2015;34(6):478-87.

Wachtel-Galor S et al. Chapter 9: Ganoderma lucidum (Lingzhi or Reishi). Herbal Medicine: Bioolecular and clinical Aspects. 2nd ed.

Mohammad SH et al. Immunomodulatory Properties of Coriolus versicolor: The Role of Polysaccharopeptide. Front Immunol. 2017;8:1087.

Guggenheim AG. Immune Modulation From Five Major Mushrooms: Application to Integrative Oncology. Integr Med (Incinitas). 2014 Feb; 13(1):32-44.