Mushroom coffee is a healthier alternative to regular coffee. This is because it contains medicinal mushroom extracts and other health benefits.
While it is currently a trendy coffee blend, this concept is not new.
According to online sources, when coffee beans were unavailable in Finland during World War II, people used mushrooms as a coffee substitute. Mushrooms have a long history of culinary and medicinal use in Asian countries.
This article examines its evidence and also provides an expert opinion on its potential health benefits.
What Is Mushroom Coffee?
It is made by combining dried, roasted mushrooms with ground coffee. But these aren’t just any mushrooms (nor are they psychedelic mushrooms or “‘shrooms”!). These include a variety of medicinal mushrooms.
One or more mushrooms are commonly used in it: Lion’s Mane, Reishi, Cordyceps, and Chaga. These mushrooms have a milder, more earthy flavour than many other mushrooms. This helps them blend in with the coffee flavour.
Here are a few more fast facts about mushroom coffee:
A cup of this coffee contains around half the caffeine of regular coffee. To make mushroom coffee, simply follow the same steps as making a regular coffee cup with hot water.
Four Sigmatic Mushroom Coffee, mix was the first brand on the market. But several other mushroom coffee brands and products are available now. Some brands also have additional herbs and spices.
You can buy mushroom coffee online or in most stores that sell healthy foods.
How to make it?
To make mushroom coffee, manufacturers remove the mushroom fruiting bodies and grind them into an organic powder that is free of fillers, carriers, as well as other additives. Then, they dehydrate the mushrooms, grind them into a fine powder. Then they mix them with ground coffee beans after a dual extraction process. They usually do this in a one-to-one ratio.
You can get mushroom coffee in the following forms:
- Packets of instant coffee
- Ground coffee blends
- Coffee pods
You can make it into delicious mochas, lattes, or black coffee drinks using the same methods as regular coffee.
6 Potential Mushroom Coffee Benefits
If you drink coffee regularly, drinking mushroom coffee can have some health benefits for you. The medicinal mushrooms used to make mushroom coffee are high in antioxidants. They also have a good source of many vitamins and minerals, such as selenium, potassium, and copper. They also contain calcium, which is beneficial to bone and joint health.
There have been many claims made about the specific health benefits of medicinal mushrooms and mushroom coffee. In general, the high antioxidant content of medicinal mushrooms lays the foundation for many of their potential health benefits.
Remember that the FDA has not tested mushroom coffee. And the majority of available tests are lab and animal studies. We need more human clinical studies to confirm these health benefits.
According to current studies, mushroom coffee may help to the following health benefits:
1. Possibility of anti-cancer benefits
Many studies have shown that certain medicinal mushrooms, especially Reishi mushrooms, may have anti-cancer properties. Even so, there is a growing field of cancer research known as “cancer fungotherapy.” It focuses on developing antitumor therapies from mushrooms.
A study found that using Reishi mushroom extracts to treat colorectal adenomas had positive results.
Other clinical trials have shown that Reishi may be beneficial as a complementary therapy when used in combination with chemotherapy and radiation therapy. Treatments containing Reishi extracts are 1.25 times more likely to result in a better tumour result than controls. During cancer treatment, Reishi extracts have helped in immune system support.
The majority of current research is focused on lab and animal studies. We need more clinical trials to draw more conclusive conclusions about how medicinal mushrooms can provide anti-cancer benefits.
2. Improve the gut microbiota
Several medicinal mushrooms, especially Reishi, Chaga, and Maitake, help to provide essential prebiotic material for the digestive system. These mushrooms’ high nutritional content and their antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties appear to support the good bacteria in the gut microbiota and promote healthy digestion.
3. Help the immune system
Many of the same properties found in medicinal mushrooms that help create a healthy gut microbiota also help support the body’s immune system. They also contain minerals that are essential for proper immune function.
4. Improve the cardiovascular system
Cordyceps and Reishi mushrooms, two medicinal mushrooms commonly found in mushroom coffee, help improve cardiovascular health.
Studies also showed that medicinal mushrooms help:
- Limit inflammation
- Reduce atherosclerosis (hardening of the blood vessels)
- Lower blood pressure
5. Protect the liver
Many medicinal and edible mushrooms support liver health and reduce liver damage. Reishi and Cordyceps mushrooms are medicinal mushrooms that have these properties. And they are often used in mushroom coffee.
6. Boost energy levels
If you suffer from fatigue, medicinal mushrooms and mushroom coffee can be of help. When the first time you drank mushroom coffee, you felt like you had more sustained energy during the day.
Many of the properties of medicinal mushroom extracts that can have other health benefits may also help antifatigue effects. Medicinal mushrooms’ antifatigue activities within the cardiovascular and immune systems and antioxidant and hormonal effects can increase energy levels.
Drawbacks of mushroom coffee
Although mushroom coffee sounds interesting, there are some disadvantages to consider.
The biggest disadvantage is that there is currently no human research on its health effects. Most research has been performed in test tubes or on animals. And we need human research to verify such health claims.
This means that information on safe dosage, who will benefit from this product, who should avoid it, and whether medicinal mushrooms interact with medications are all unknowns, raising some safety concerns.
In addition, mushroom coffee is pricey. A 12 oz (340 g) bag is sometimes twice the price of regular coffee.
One potential reason for the higher price is that medicinal mushrooms are grown in their natural habitats rather than commercially farmed. As a result, they might be difficult to come by.
The bottom line
Mushroom coffee is a common coffee brew that combines regular coffee with extracts of medicinal mushrooms such as Chaga, Cordyceps, Reishi, Lion’s mane, and Turkey’s tail.
There are many health claims regarding mushrooms and mushroom coffee for various health conditions. But the majority of them are currently unverified, and more human research is needed.
While it might be safe to try for certain people, if you are taking medicine or have a preexisting health condition, you should always consult with your healthcare provider.
