Everyone loves eating mushrooms, but have you tried mushroom tea lately? This new popular trend isn’t as crazy as it sounds, as mushrooms are certainly healthy.
For centuries, people have been using mushrooms as alternative medicine. Recently, though, these fungi have gained popularity because they are a superfood. It makes sense then to think of adding mushrooms to your tea.
If you are still on the fence, here are the 7 reasons to start drinking mushroom tea
Reason #1: You can now buy a mushroom tea mix easily
Unlike what people think, mushroom tea mix is easy to come by these days. You can try a health store or organic market, and you will find that they sell mushroom tea powder. Often, this mix contains a blend of mushrooms, such as Chaga, reishi, or shiitake.
In some cases, you can even buy a mix of coffee and mushroom tea for extra energy and a caffeine boost.
Reason #2: Most mushrooms in tea are adaptogens
An adaptogen is a herb that can help your body adapt to stress and situations of anxiety. Many foods were not as relevant before, but are now beginning to gain traction because they are adaptogens.
Many studies on alternative medicine focus on the claim that these adaptogens have calming properties on our central nervous system.
This could mean that drinking mushroom tea can moderate your stress response, leading to less cortisol. In the end, a lower cortisol release means a better state of mind and sleep, less weight gain, and less anxiety.
Reason #3: Mushrooms are high in antioxidants
By now, you may know that mushrooms are great antioxidants, and this certainly transfers to a tea made with this fungus.
Edible mushrooms contain phenolics, flavonoids, glycosides, polysaccharides, tocopherols, ergothioneine, carotenoids, and ascorbic acid. All of these are antioxidant compounds that help neutralize free radicals and reactive oxygen species (ROS). These oxidative agents often lead to cell damage, DNA mutations, and eventually, disease.
Consuming antioxidants can help your body fight off environmental toxins and free radical damage, which slows down aging, cognitive decline, and even reduces the risk of disease.
Reason #4: Drinking mushroom tea will give you more vitamin D
Mushrooms are a good source of vitamin D, which is not very common for non-animal food sources. When radiated with UV light or sunlight, mushrooms become an even better vitamin D source.
Consuming this vitamin can help your body build stronger bones and muscles. Vitamin D has also become more important lately because it is now known to modulate immune responses.
All in all, adding mushrooms to your tea will give your body a double boost for stronger immunity.
Reason #5: Mushroom tea can potentially control blood sugar
While the verdict is still out, the truth is that mushrooms are high in dietary fiber, so they can help decrease blood sugar levels by delaying absorption. The truth is that mushrooms can help decrease hunger and fill you up, so consuming them will also help lower blood sugar levels this way.
However, is this still occurring when you drink mushroom tea? The truth is more complicated, but drinking this tea does help give your body a bit of the dietary fiber it needs to slow down the absorption of glucose.
Reason #6: Mushroom tea can potentially lower blood cholesterol levels
The same way that mushrooms slow down glucose absorption, a similar process occurs with cholesterol levels. Mushrooms are a great source of dietary fiber; so adding them to your tea will help you reach your fiber goals. It is this same fiber that absorbs cholesterol from your blood and helps it move out of your body.
The process in which mushrooms do this is through the binding of dietary fiber to bile, which is often where cholesterol is stored in the body. Drinking mushroom tea can help mobilize bile, which in turn mobilizes cholesterol away from your bloodstream.
Reason #7: Everything in moderation is better
As with other foods, mushroom tea is much healthier when consumed in moderation. Because some mushrooms in this tea are high in oxalates, they can reduce the absorption of other nutrients, such as magnesium and calcium.
While mushrooms are a superfood, they also have blood-thinning properties. It is best to not consume it if you suffer from bleeding disorders.
If you want to get the best out of mushroom tea, it is better to drink one or two cups a day, but not more.
So, should you drink mushroom tea?
The quick answer is yes. The longer answer is, do so in moderation and don’t use it as a meal replacement. Mushroom tea has great properties when used along with a balanced diet.
Don’t forget too that mushrooms are a great food in any meal; so using them in cooking is also a great idea. Add more mushrooms to your overall diet, and drinking mushroom tea is an easy way to do so!
