Mushrooms aren’t just super yummy foods we put on pizza. Certain special mushrooms have amazing hidden powers to help our bodies stay healthy, especially our tummy and liver!
Scientists are discovering unique chemicals inside medicinal mushrooms that make them nutritional superheroes. When we eat or drink these mushrooms, it’s like taking a magical natural medicine that makes tummies less upset, helps good bugs grow in our bellies, and allows livers to better filter out the yucky gunk we don’t need.
In this article written just for you, we will talk about different ways to add gut-friendly mushrooms to your diet so you can have a happy tummy and liver for life!
Meet the Mushrooms That Calm an Angry Tummy and Liver
Do you sometimes get hurtful belly aches, yucky diarrhea poops, embarrassing bloating, or gas after you eat? This happens when the delicate digestive system in your gastrointestinal tract gets irritated, inflamed, and damaged. No fun!
But here’s the cool part – scientific research shows that incorporating certain mushrooms like turkey tail, reishi, maitake and cordyceps in your meals can help soothe an angry belly to make it feel awesome again!
How? These medicinal mushrooms have superpower chemicals called beta-glucans, triterpenoids, and prebiotics that lower nasty inflammation, reinforce your intestinal barrier, and protect the sensitive stomach lining where digestion happens. This gives your gut a chance to heal so symptoms like pain, gut leakage, constipation, and indigestion often improve within weeks!
Want to try giving your tummy some feel-good mushroom magic? Ask your doctor if eating more turkey tail, reishi, or other gut-friendly mushrooms a few times a week could help relieve your specific digestion issues!
More Mushrooms Mean Happier Gut Bugs Too!
Did you know there are trillions of tiny microbes like bacteria, viruses, and fungi living deep inside your intestines? It’s true! This bustling community is called your “gut microbiome” and plays a huge role in digestion, immunity, and mental health!
Here’s where mushrooms come to the rescue again. Eating medicinal mushrooms gives your gut good bugs like Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria lots of prebiotic fiber to munch on so they grow strong. Well-fed good bugs create more vitamins and antioxidants that reduce inflammation making you feel better all over. It’s a win-win!
At the very same time, substances in mushrooms like agarikon make bad bugs like Candida lose their appetite and run away so they stop causing annoying symptoms like brain fog and tooth decay. Talk about amazing!
One super mushroom called Agaricus blazei murill is extra powerful at microbiome magic according to scientists. Multiple studies on both animals and humans show Agaricus supplementation in capsules or teas increased populations of beneficial bacteria in the gut over 500 times while simultaneously slashing inflammatory compounds by up to 38%! More diverse gut mushrooms lead to happier bellies all around!
Mushrooms Assist Your Liver’s Built-In Detox System
Let’s chat about your hardworking liver next. This vital organ acts like an internal filtration system to remove toxic gunk and metabolic waste from your blood and bodily fluids every single day. Without a properly functioning liver, dangerous levels of chemicals, hormones, and lipids build up inside your organs where they wreak inflammatory havoc and make you sick.
Unfortunately, livers often get clogged, swollen, and tender just like painfully ingrown toenails if we eat too much processed food or drink excessive alcohol for years and years. Stress also hampers liver performance. This slowing causes chronic health issues.
But medicinal mushrooms like reishi and turkey tail come to the rescue with their cleansing superpowers that gently flush the gunk out of overwhelmed livers and restore normal function for many people!
Exciting clinical research shows that taking supplemental turkey tail mushroom powder every day significantly reduces liver inflammation and enhances internal antioxidant status for patients with compromised liver function from hepatitis infections and non-alcohol-related disorders compared to control groups.
Though larger-scale trials remain in progress, these initial published results are very promising and prompt doctors to consider adding turkey tail capsules alongside diet modifications to help recover sluggish, irritated livers for people high at risk. Always consult your physician before taking new mushroom supplements if managing a liver condition under medical care.
Using Mushrooms to Ease Drug Side Effects Too
Did you know mushrooms have another unexpected benefit relating to medication side effects? It’s true!
For instance, statin drugs commonly prescribed to lower unhealthy cholesterol also frequently cause super unpleasant gastric issues like acid reflux, nausea, diarrhea, or constipation as an annoying side effect. But co-administering digestive soothing reishi mushroom powder in tea, broth, or capsules with statin pills markedly alleviated this drug-induced gastrointestinal distress for many patients trying to manage high cholesterol in a large 8-week medical study.
Similarly, reishi supplementation also significantly protected advanced colorectal cancer patients against chemotherapy nausea and intestinal damage. This allowed more consistent treatment compliance so patients could complete their intravenous infusion regimens. Pretty amazing right?
So whether aiming to solve an existing tummy issue or prevent future gastrointestinal inflammation, consider sipping reishi mushroom tea or taking coordinated capsules between meals under doctor guidance to limit medication reactions.
Which Mushroom Format Works Best?
The great news about the belly and liver-loving medicinal mushrooms is that you can access their healing superpowers through all sorts of yummy formats to match your lifestyle, cooking preferences, and palate!
First focus on organically growing or foraging for fresh mushrooms whenever possible rather than opting for canned varieties to maximize the natural preservation of all those enzymatic and antioxidant bioactives you want. Then get creative!
For foundational gut replenishment from the comforts of home, try casually enjoying classic hepatoprotective mushrooms like shiitakes, oysters, and lion’s mane sautéed in coconut oil and garlic as part of weekly meals. Slow roasting or finely chopping maximizes texture and nutrient absorption for delicate tummies.
Additionally, sip soothing teas simmered with dried reishi slices, pomegranate juice, and ginger or autoimmune balancing broths loaded with immunity-modulating mushrooms. The longer the ingredients steep, the more precious compounds infuse into the broth for drinking. Add a squirt of lemon and a touch of honey if desired.
Are they seeking rare therapeutic mushrooms unavailable in neighborhood markets? No worries! Powdered mycelium biomass extracts available in capsule, tablet, or extract forms deliver hard-to-find varieties like chaga, Agaricus, and cordyceps straight to your gut microbiome to unleash their magic. Just verify supplement purity and potency through company quality control initiatives before purchasing.
Finally, offset coffee’s unpleasant edge by blending in adaptogenic instant mushroom extracts like lion’s mane that provide calm mental focus and anxiety relief without caffeine spikes and crashes. Accentuate chocolatey flavors when making specialty mushroom hot cocoa or steamers at home using full-fat coconut milk as the base. Feel free to add a dash of cinnamon on top too!
In summary, mushrooms give you extensive options to harness their gastro-balancing and liver-cleansing superpowers cost-effectively. Keep tasting and testing to unlock what format and dose allows you to maximize benefits uniquely suited to your body and budget long term. Tracking progress helps.
Should I Use Mushroom Supplements Every Day?
When it comes to incorporating nutritious mushroom extracts as part of your routine, most functional health experts recommend using either culinary mushrooms or capsules formulated for digestive issues a few times per week rather than continuous long-term everyday supplementation for months straight.
Why? Though current evidence suggests mushrooms pose very minimal risks for most people when used appropriately in moderate quantities, we lack extensive safety data on perpetual high-dose usage. It’s wise to exercise some periodic cycled buffer weeks.
For tummy and liver health, consider a medicinal mushroom cleanse seasonally for 2-3 months when feeling sluggish. Occasionally cooking shiitakes and reishi provides reliable advantages too. Start with smaller doses then slowly increase input while monitoring changes through journals and laboratory testing if working with a specialist. Let your body guide you.
Will I Notice Changes Right Away?
Be patient when launching an at-home mushroom gut healing protocol! Every person’s response timing differs based on factors like your uniqueness, dosage strength, preparation quality, and environmental variables. Trust the process.
Some people do report increased energy, mental clarity, less seasonal illness frequency, fewer allergies, and improved digestive symptoms rather rapidly within several weeks of methodically taking encapsulated mushroom extracts paired with a clean anti-inflammatory diet and active lifestyle.
However, for most folks, medicinal mushrooms’ subtle healing advantages in areas like gastrointestinal inflammation and microbiome rebalancing accumulate incrementally over many months. Focus on foundations like sufficient sleep, stress adaptation, and organic produce first. Then determine if adding functional mushroom foods and calculated supplement regimens provides your organs that final gentle push toward optimal functioning potential long term.
Tracking progress through body awareness, symptom journals, and occasional labs allows you and your doctor to pinpoint efficacy and adjust protocols as needed. Consistency lays the groundwork for mushroom magic over time!
The Tummy and Liver Healing Power of Mushrooms
Hopefully, you feel inspired learning about the surprising tummy and liver-balancing properties of power-packed medicinal mushrooms! We’ve only scratched the surface when it comes to all the unique ways these global healing fungi containing anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and microbiome-enhancing compounds can help optimize human health from the inside out when included as part of a balanced lifestyle.
By carefully incorporating more organically grown medicinal mushrooms into your home-cooked comfort dishes, soothing herbal teas, and strategic encapsulated supplements under healthcare guidance, you too may discover the beautifully uplifting sense of physical vitality, mental clarity, and energetic lightness that flows from a nourished gastrointestinal system!
