What Are Adaptogenic Mushrooms and How Can They Benefit Your Health?

Have you been stressed lately? Are you feeling sick all the time or feeling fatigued like you don’t have enough energy to get through the day?

Is all of this happening for seemingly no reason at all?

If so, you may want to try adaptogenic mushrooms. With so many benefits of adaptogens, you may notice a huge difference in your body and how you feel in just a few days to a couple of weeks’ time!

Ready to learn more? Keep reading to learn more about adaptogenic mushrooms’ benefits and the purpose of them!

What Are Adaptogenic Mushrooms?

For starters, the word adaptogen means that there is some type of natural medicine that has a safe and balancing effect on the hypothalamic-pituitary-endocrine axis. This is what balances your brain and the hormones in your body.

So with that said, what are adaptogenic mushrooms?

First of all, they are not the hallucinogenic variety that you may be thinking about. They are actually mushrooms that have adaptogens that support your body’s natural resistance to adverse environmental toxins and factors. They help to increase the body’s resistance to these chemical, biological, and physical stressors

This could be an illness, stress, working out, or anything else that your body has to recover from or fight off.

In more simple terms, adaptogenic mushrooms are an herbal health product that may positively affect the negative stress on your body.

One thing to take note of is that to be an adaptogen, an herb cannot be toxic or negatively impact the body’s physiological functions. It has to have something to do with keeping the body at equilibrium as well.

Common Adaptogens

There are a few different types of adaptogenic mushrooms.

For instance, the reishi mushroom can help to reduces stress and anxiety. It helps to support the function of the adrenal glands, which is why it reduces cortisol, ultimately affecting levels of stress in your body. Not only that, but some studies show that reishi may protect against nerve damage and memory impairment in harsh environments.

Cordyceps helps with increasing your energy and overall stamina throughout the day. It can also help to decrease the fatigue that you may feel throughout the day. Additionally, Cordyceps have been found to help athletes who train to reduce the effects that training can have on their body.

Ashwagandha (which is one of the more popular adaptogens that you may have heard about) balances your stress to help with cortisol levels, boosts thyroid function, and has been said to have an effect on sex drive as well.

Benefits of Adaptogenic Mushrooms

There are so many different adaptogenic mushroom benefits for your body and your brain. Furthermore, you can impact your overall health in a positive way from adaptogens. Here are a few benefits.

Immune Health

Adaptogenic mushrooms have been studied to find that they do improve your overall immune health. Although it is not directly targeting your immune system, because it helps with stress levels, it improves your immune response.

Increase Energy

One of the biggest benefits of adaptogenic mushrooms is their effect on energy levels. It helps to keep your hormones and stress levels more balanced in your body, which in turn will keep your energy levels more stable as well.

This will make you feel more energized throughout the day, rather than at some points and then crashing at others.

Reduce Stress

Perhaps another great benefit is their stress-reducing properties. Because adaptogens directly work with hormones and cortisol levels, it can significantly impact your stress response.

F.A.Q.s About Adaptogenic Mushrooms

Before using adaptogenic mushrooms, you may have a few questions! Here are some of the most common questions that you may have about adaptogens and adaptogenic mushrooms.

What Are the Most Common Forms of Adaptogenic Mushrooms?

You can find them in a variety of forms. This includes adaptogenic mushrooms coming in capsule form, tinctures, teas, and powders.

Drinking the adaptogenic mushrooms in tea form is actually a very common form of use.

Are Adaptogenic Mushrooms Safe?

Most research backs that Cordyceps, reishi, ashwagandha, and other forms of adaptogenic mushrooms are safe and tolerable by humans in supplement form.

However, as most things that we may consume or use on a daily basis, there may be some side effects. For some, reishi may cause dizziness or headaches. Because of that, it is best if people who are pregnant or breastfeeding do not use it.

Some adaptogenic mushrooms also interact with some medications, so it is important to have a conversation with your doctor before using adaptogens.

How Do Adaptogens Work?

When your body gets stressed, the hormone that is released is adrenaline and then cortisol. Both of these hormones provide you with energy you need to get out of a stressful situation. However, once you metabolize these hormones, your body will crash.

Adaptogenic mushrooms and other forms of adaptogens can balance out that initial hormone influx with the opposite of the stress-inducing hormones in order to keep your heart rate steady and your mind clear. This will also impact your energy levels to keep them more even throughout the process.

Everything You Need to Know About Adaptogenic Mushrooms

After reading this guide, you now know everything you need to know about adaptogenic mushrooms!

With so many benefits and uses for these mushrooms, you may want to try them out yourself!

Did you enjoy reading this article? Then be sure to check out some other blogs on our site that are similar to it! Happy reading!