4 Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms and How to Use Them

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Discover the healing powers of mushrooms – one of the best superfoods for naturally relieving stress and anxiety.

Medicinal mushrooms, such as chaga, lion’s mane, reishi, and cordyceps, have been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for everything from cancer prevention and fertility to coping with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD).

While the history and use of medicinal mushrooms is well documented in alternative medicine, they’ve only recently gained mainstream popularity for helping the mind and body cope with stress.

How Medicinal Mushrooms Work for Mind and Body Stress Relief

All medicinal mushrooms have adaptogenic properties, which means they help “normalize” the negative effects of stress on the body, and help you cope, respond, and adapt to stress better. Adaptogens help lower cortisol levels (the primary hormone released in response to stress).

While cortisol is helpful in the short-term, it can wreak havoc on your body when it stays elevated for long periods of time. If you’re irritable, anxious, exhausted, and moody on the regular, high cortisol levels could be why.

On the surface, high cortisol can turn you into a rollercoaster of emotions, and make it challenging to keep up with the ebb and flow of daily life.

On a deeper level, elevated cortisol causes chronic inflammation in the body, which can lead to chronic fatigue, digestive issues, thyroid issues, cognitive impairment, fertility issues, and belly fat gain – just to name a few.

Since chronic stress has become the norm for today’s society, there’s no better time than now to consider supplementing with medicinal mushrooms. Let’s take a closer look at how specific medicinal mushrooms can help find natural relief from daily stress.

Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms

1. Reishi Mushroom May Improve Sleep Quality

Not many people can sleep like a baby when they’re stressed and anxious. Feeling overwhelmed, worry, and overthinking can paralyze you, making it difficult to fall asleep, stay asleep, and wake up in the morning – which only creates more stress when you’re trying to stick to a healthy routine.

In Traditional Chinese Medicine, reishi mushroom is known as the mushroom for “spiritual potency,” well-being, and longevity. It’s one of the most common mushrooms recommended for improving sleep quality, calming the mind, and treating insomnia.

Reishi contains nutrients that calm and support the nervous system, such as calcium, magnesium, and a number of antioxidants that help protect cells from oxidative damage – a negative effect of stress that can lead to weakened immunity and premature aging.

2. Chaga Mushrooms Reduce Systemic Inflammation

According to research, most medicinal mushrooms have anti-inflammatory properties. However, chaga mushrooms may be especially helpful for reducing the systemic inflammation that’s caused by chronic stress.

Now, the reason why it’s important to address systemic inflammation as soon as possible is because research shows it’s the primary underlying cause of most Western illnesses and diseases, such as cardiovascular disease, obesity, autoimmune conditions, and type 2 diabetes.

While it may seem like a bit of a stretch to say that stress causes serious illness and disease, as a leading cause of systemic inflammation, this isn’t far-fetched.

Chaga helps reduce inflammation by helping to lower elevated cortisol levels, and studies show it also has the ability to reduce inflammation in the GI tract. Chaga may also be helpful for those with irritable bowel syndrome (IBS) – a digestive condition that’s often triggered by stress.

3. Cordyceps Mushrooms Increase Energy and Reduce Brain Fog

If you find yourself tripping over your words or you have difficulty remembering what you were about to do 2 minutes ago, stress can impair cognitive function by causing short-term memory loss, brain fog, and mental exhaustion.

Not only do cordyceps mushrooms reduce cortisol levels to help lower the stress response, but they’re also shown to improve oxygen uptake in the body, which is essential for boosting energy levels and improving mental focus and concentration. It’s not a bad idea to sip on some cordyceps tea during exams or intense work weeks!

4. Lion’s Mane Supports Overall Cognitive Function

Lion’s mane mushroom has been studied for stimulating Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) production – the primary neuropeptide involved in the maintenance and growth of neurons, which receive and transmit information in the brain.

For this reason, lion’s mane has been studied for its use in neurodegenerative diseases, such as Alzheimer’s and dementia, and it may also help improve overall cognitive function during periods of stress.

One study took a look at the effects of lion’s mane in patients with mild cognitive impairment, and found that over the course of 16 weeks, cognitive function significantly improved.

Further research suggests the cognitive boosting benefits of lion’s mane mushrooms are most effective when taken regularly over longer periods of time, so it may be worth adding to your daily supplement routine as an ongoing, preventative measure against stress when it arises.

How to Take Medicinal Mushrooms and Where to Find Them

Medicinal mushrooms can be taken in many way ways, from dried in whole form and brewed into tea to taken as capsules or powdered supplements. Mushrooms are also one of the best foods for enhancing the flavor of your savory recipes.

Cook medicinal mushrooms in your bone broth, soups, stews, and homemade burger patties. You can even add them in powdered form to your coffee and smoothies!

Most health food stores carry medicinal mushrooms in supplement form, and you can even grow your own medicinal mushrooms at home by purchasing a mushroom starter kit online.

If you’re looking for something quick and convenient, companies like Four Sigmatic have crafted a variety of stress-busting, cognitive-boosting mushroom coffees, elixirs, and hot cacao mixes.

Medicinal mushrooms are an ideal way to keep your energy, brain function, and overall health in check during periods of stress – which is when you’re most vulnerable to experiencing health symptoms and illness.

While medicinal mushrooms show promising benefits for conditions related to stress, such as depression and anxiety, be sure to check with your doctor or healthcare practitioner before taking medicinal mushrooms, as they may interact with certain medications and cause negative side effects.

Watch this video – A medicinal mushroom guide from Four Sigmatic’s founder

Written by Brandi Black

Author Bio:

Brandi Black is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and the creator of Feel Best Naked, a health blog for women who want to clear up their skin, lose the muffin top and make the bloat disappear. After years of experiencing (and then healing) her own unbalanced hormones, she’s now obsessed with helping other women feel spectacular in their own skin with natural remedies for hormone balance.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

2 Choline Natural Benefits and Signs of Choline Deficiency

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

What is choline? Its natural benefits, signs of a deficiency, and how you can boost your choline for optimal health, improved memory and increased resiliency.

So, you’ve decided to get back to the gym and finally make good on your promise to yourself to lose a few pounds, improve your fitness, and upgrade your health. If you’re already following a Paleo approach and eating a nutrient-dense diet, you’re on the right track.

However, one unsung water-soluble vitamin that you may never have heard of might make all the difference in improving fitness, strength, and the capacity to cope with stress.

Not quite a vitamin, choline is a key nutrient generally considered to be part of the B-complex group of vitamins. While it may not get the fanfare of more popular B-vitamins like niacin, folic acid, or vitamin-B12, new research is highlighting that choline may the gateway to better brain function, strength, and even increasing your resilience (your capacity to cope with stress).

Choline is used in a variety of key systems of the body, supporting optimal nervous system function, keeping your cell membranes strong, ferrying triglycerides (e.g. body fat) to the liver, and keeping your brain sharp.

Choline is also the building block for the neurotransmitter acetylcholine, which plays a key role in keeping your memory sharp and muscles firing on all cylinders.

Let’s take a closer look at how choline can benefit key areas of your health.

Can Choline Make You Stronger in The Gym?

Many of the positive adaptations you experience from exercise occur because of improved nervous system function.

Therefore, a great way to improve your strength and performance in the gym (and subsequently build more muscle and burn more fat) is to improve your nervous system function.

You might not realize it, but when lifting heavy weights, you don’t get stronger via hypertrophy (more muscle fibers), but rather, because of better nervous system function.

Research shows that many key adaptations to training are neurological, making choline intake (and subsequent acetylcholine production) important for improving performance and power in the gym.

A recent study examined the effects of increasing acetylcholine levels on upper-body and lower-body strength. The athletes were asked to supplement with a specific type of choline called alpha-glycerylphosphorylcholine (or alpha-GPC for short), a precursor to acetylcholine, in the morning and evening for one week.

After only seven days, the group adding more choline to their diet generated significantly greater power during the lower-body exercise (i.e. mid-thigh pull) compared to the placebo group.

Building more strength in the lower body by performing squats, deadlifts, lunges, and Olympic lifts is crucial for increasing lean muscle and making you a fat-burning machine.

Can Choline Improve Resiliency?

It’s tough to maintain your energy and vitality through the winter months. The shorter, darker, and colder days are more taxing on your body, requiring increased production of the stress hormone cortisol to get you through your day. Also, long days at work and constantly being on the go also increase stress hormones and can leave you tired, sick and run-down.

Choline plays a key role in supporting your resilience or capacity to cope with stress via its impact on your brain. The hippocampus area of the brain is responsible for establishing your daily cortisol rhythm, as well as converting your short-term memory to long-term.

Stress damages the hippocampus and throws off your natural daily production of cortisol, leaving you struggling to get out of bed every morning (i.e. hitting “snooze” multiple times) or “tired but wired” at bedtime and unable to fall asleep.

How do you know if this might be affecting you?

If you’ve been struggling to remember things at work, where you put your cell-phone, or what to pick up for dinner, these are all sure-fire signs stress is impacting your brain in a negative way.

Acetylcholine is one of the main building blocks for the hippocampus, so adding more choline-rich foods to your diet can help reset your daily circadian hormone pattern and ultimately improve your resiliency.

Getting older and want to protect your brain? Choline plays a key role in fighting off age-related dementia and cognitive decline.

Get More Choline in Your Diet

Your diet should always be the first place you look to ensure you’re meeting your vitamin, mineral, and nutrient needs. How do you know if you might be deficient, or have insufficient intake to meet the demands of your busy work and training schedule?

Common symptoms include short-term memory loss (i.e., you can’t remember where you left things), losing your train of thought mid-conversation, reduced reaction time, reduced appetite for exercise, increased cravings for fatty foods, irritability, mood swings, and fatigue.

Dietary choline is typically found in the form of phosphatidylcholine, a type of fat that has choline as its main building block. You’ll notice on the list below that a Paleo diet is a great way to get more choline-rich foods into your regimen.

Eggs are your best option to really boost choline intake. Each egg yolk provides over 100 mg of choline — another great reason to not be afraid of the yolk!

Another great option is organ meats. For example, a 3 oz. portion of beef liver provides about 250 mg of choline.

Here is a list of the best dietary sources of choline:

• Eggs – 110 mg choline per yolk
• Beef liver – 250 mg choline per 3 oz.
• Wild Salmon – 224 mg per filet (with skin)
• Pumpkin & sunflower seeds – 60 mg per cup
• Cruciferous veggies (e.g. Broccoli, Cauliflower, Asparagus) – 75 mg per cup
• Dairy – 45 mg choline per 8 ounces (note: pasteurization destroys 70-80 percent)*

It’s important to note that your dietary choline levels are linked to the rate of acetylcholine production, so ensuring you get enough choline in your diet is the first step toward upgrading your acetylcholine levels and building more strength and resiliency. If you want to quickly increase your levels in the short term, you can think about adding a choline bitartrate or alpha-GPC supplement for 4-8 weeks.

Choline is the unsung B-complex vitamin that plays a key role in so many key areas of your health. Getting fitter and building resiliency to cope with stress are two common goals for people to start the year.

Incorporate more choline-rich foods into your Paleo diet this winter – via eggs, organ meats and cruciferous veggies – and lay the foundation for getting stronger in the gym, upgrading your memory, and increasing your capacity to cope with stress.

There is no better way to kick-start your quest for better health and performance.

Watch this video – Choline Sources: How To Avoid A Choline Deficiency

Written by Dr. Marc Bubbs

Author Bio:

Dr. Marc Bubbs, ND is a Naturopathic Doctor, Strength Coach, Author, Speaker, and Blogger practicing in Toronto, Canada. He believes that diet, exercise, and lifestyle factors have the most profound impact on your overall health and performance. Marc is the author of The Paleo Project – A 21st Guide to Looking Leaner, Getting Stronger, & Living Longer and currently serves as the Sports Nutrition Lead for Canadian Men’s Olympic Basketball Team.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook

Chlorella Benefits – 9 Reasons to Consume This Powerful Superfood

 

Click HERE to Discover these 80 Keto-Friendly and Healthy Slow Cooker Recipes

Chlorella – What It Is & Health Benefits

If you’re looking for a natural way to boost your energy levels, detox your body, and clear up your skin, chlorella could be the answer. In fact, chlorella can also help improve digestion, strengthen your immune system, and speed up post-workout recovery time (for any crossfitters out there).

Of course, there’s no shortage of nutritional supplements that make tall promises and fail to deliver results. But as a single-celled green algae, chlorella is actually more of a food than a supplement—and it contains potent nutrition that your body can use right away. Chlorella is chock full of essential nutrients and is one of the riches sources of vitamin A.

This superfood’s impressive nutrient profile includes all eight essential amino acids, which makes it a complete source of plant-based protein. It’s rich in essential nutrients, including fiber, omega 3 fatty acids, iron, magnesium, calcium, and beta-carotene (the antioxidant form of vitamin A).

A single serving of 100 grams is said to be one of the richest plant sources of vitamin A, which is needed to promote detoxification and maintain healthy skin, teeth, and vision.

But one of the most unique, beneficial nutrients is called Chlorella Growth Factor (CGF).

What is CGF?

CGF acts like a growth hormone because it allows chlorella to rapidly multiply by 4 every 20 hours. And when we absorb CGF, the growth factor helps regenerate our cells.

CGF contains the nucleic acids RNA and DNA, which provide your cells with the “blueprints” (i.e., instructions) they need to repair and regenerate. And as you may already know, the healthier your cells are, the more youthful you’ll feel.

In other words, you’ll have fewer fine lines and wrinkles, a sharper memory, and a rock-solid immune system. CGF (Chlorella Growth Factor) helps regenerate cells to keep you feeling younger.

Our body naturally produces nucleic acids, but our production declines with age—which is when signs of aging begin to appear. That’s why it’s so beneficial to get nucleic acids from dietary sources, such as chlorella.

CGF contains a special nutrient of its own (called a beta-glucan). A beta-glucan is a type of fiber that’s been shown to have antioxidant activity—by destroying cancer cells and reducing tumor growth. For this reason, beta-glucans are a powerful nutrient for enhancing and supporting immune-system functions.

The power of these nutrients are only scratching the surface of chlorella’s many health benefits. Here are 9 more reasons why this little known superfood is a superior source of nutrition—that you should include in your diet every day.

Chlorella Health Benefits

1. Chlorella Detoxifies Heavy Metals

Chlorella has the ability to bind and safely remove heavy metals from the body, which is a natural process known as chelation. We’re exposed to heavy metals (such as mercury and lead) via our environment (from pollution in the air we breathe and chemicals in the tap water we drink).

Heavy metals are toxic to our system. They can cause serious neurological damage when they accumulate in our tissues. A few common symptoms of heavy-metal toxicity include anxiety, memory loss, confusion, chronic fatigue, migraines, and insomnia. If you remember the Mad Hatter from Alice and Wonderland, he went “mad” from mercury poisoning.

As you can see, heavy metals have no place in our bodies. That’s why it’s important that we support our natural detoxification process with nutrients that can improve their elimination.

2. Chlorella Alkalizes Your Body

Chlorella is an alkaline food, which means it helps alkalize your blood once it’s been metabolized. To remain in optimal health, your blood should never be too acidic or alkaline. But many of the foods most people eat regularly are highly acidic, such as animal protein.

That’s why it’s important to increase the alkaline foods in your diet whenever possible: To help maintain a balanced blood pH. Chlorella helps balance acidity in the body, which is especially needed after a strenuous workout!

As an alkaline food, this plant protein can also help alkalize your body after an intense workout. During strenuous activity, your body naturally produces lactic acid, which helps you produce energy.

When it’s being produced regularly, lactic acid can build up in your muscle tissues and cause lactic acidosis. By including alkaline foods in your post-workout smoothie, you can help neutralize this acidity.

3. Chlorella Helps Skin Look Younger and Brighter

In order to have brighter, younger-looking skin, you must have healthy cells. As mentioned above, CGF provides the body with nucleic acids to speed up cellular repair and regeneration—which leads to healthier skin.

CGF can also help speed up the healing of wounds, and may be helpful for reducing the swelling and redness associated with acne breakouts.

4. Chlorella Promotes Weight Loss

In a recent study performed on individuals who were at risk for lifestyle factors (such obesity, diabetes, and heart disease), the regular intake of chlorella was shown to lower blood glucose, reduce cholesterol, and reduce body-fat percentages.

Now, that isn’t to say that this supplement is a miracle weight-loss pill; it isn’t.

However, the high concentration of nutrients found in chlorella can help support several of your body’s functions that result in weight loss, such as detoxification and blood-sugar balance.

5. Chlorella Speeds Up Muscle Recovery

Animal protein may be your go-to source of amino acids, which aid in tissue repair after a workout. But you may also want to consider taking chlorella to help speed up the recovery time of muscles.

As mentioned above, this plant protein is unlike most plant foods. It contains all 8 essential amino acids, which are needed for optimal recovery from exercise—including the branched-chain amino acids (BCAAs) needed for building muscle.

For this reason, chlorella can be an ideal addition to your post-workout routine, which supports and accelerates your recovery time.

6. Chlorella Boosts Energy

Chlorella contains a nutrient called chlorophyll, which gives plant foods their dark green pigment. Chlorophyll is considered “plant blood” because it gives plants life by allowing them to absorb energy from light—a process known as photosynthesis. Chlorella contains chlorophyll, which will energize the body at a cellular level.

But chlorophyll has also been shown to energize the human body by promoting adenosine triphosphate (ATP) synthesis, which is our primary energy molecule.

So it can help energize the body at a cellular level, which is essential for reducing chronic fatigue.

7. Chlorella Improves Digestion

Chlorella contains fiber and magnesium, two essential nutrients for healthy digestion. Fiber is needed to help eliminate “sweep” toxins from the intestinal tract; meanwhile, magnesium promotes muscle relaxation.

Since your GI tract is made entirely from muscle tissue, increasing the magnesium in your diet can help relieve constipation and other digestive issues.

8. Chlorella Supports Immune System

As mentioned above, the beta-glucans found in CGF have incredible health benefits—when it comes to defending your body against disease.

But chlorella offers extra nutritional support with vitamin C and zinc—two other nutrients that are required for immune health. If Mother Nature had created a multivitamin, you can bet it would be this.

9. Chlorella Internally Deodorizes

Since chlorella promotes natural body detoxification, it can help clear toxins and bacteria from your digestive system that promote body odor. Chlorophyll is also said to act as a natural internal deodorant, which eliminates bad breath by cleansing the colon of odor-causing bacteria.

Not All Chlorella is Created Equal

Chlorella contains a tough outer shell (known as the cell wall), which protects all of its life-giving nutrients. Unfortunately, this cell wall is impossible for the body to break down, so it must be cracked or broken for the human body to use any of its nutrients.

When looking for a chlorella supplement, always be sure the nutrition label states that it is “cracked cell wall” or “broken cell wall.” A high-quality supplement should only be processed by using pressure to extract the nutrients—not chemicals or high temperatures that can destroy its nutrients.

Chlorella grows in Taiwan, China, and Japan, but most of its supplements are sourced from freshwater pools in Japan.

Since radioactive chemicals are found in Japan’s water supply, it’s important to ensure that your supplement undergoes routine testing for toxicity and heavy-metal contamination. Although chlorella can help detoxify heavy metals from your body, it’s not ideal to consume a supplement that’s already laden with chemicals.

How to Add Chlorella to Your Diet?

Chlorella can be added to your diet in powdered form, capsule, or tablet form. While you may initially find algae to have a strong, potent flavor, you can still make it taste amazing (and mask the flavor) by blending it in a smoothie.

My personal favorite combination adds coconut water, avocado, pineapple, banana, spinach, parsley, and romaine lettuce.

Watch these 2 videos –

What is Chlorella Anyway? | Fresh P

What is CHLORELLA + How to Use It | Thrive Market

Written by Brandi Black

Author Bio:

Brandi Black is a Registered Holistic Nutritionist and the creator of Feel Best Naked, a health blog for women who want to clear up their skin, lose the muffin top and make the bloat disappear. After years of experiencing (and then healing) her own unbalanced hormones, she’s now obsessed with helping other women feel spectacular in their own skin with natural remedies for hormone balance.

A lot of people have gotten results from the Keto diet, and enjoyed the foods that it has to offer. However, many of the people who are following this diet have a hard time finding the recipes that they need, especially ones that are quick and easy to complete.

Fortunately, Kelsey Ale, noticed this problem, and decided to do something about it. She’s found that making recipes in a slow cooker gives you meals which are not only delicious, but also take very little time to make. Mostly you just put a few simple ingredients in the slow cooker, and let it do the rest.

To find out more, click on – Keto Slow Cooker Cookbook