#30 - Mushrooms: The Missing Ingredient for Recovery?

Our topic today is mushrooms, and whether mushrooms are a missing element in the older athletes’ arsenal of performance, recovery, and longevity.  Helping Glen and I to better understand mushrooms is Jeff Chilton, an expert in the study of historical uses and impact of medicinal mushrooms, and who is also the Founder of Nammex, the very first company to supply medicinal mushroom extracts to the nutritional supplement industry.

Who is Jeff Chilton?

Jeff Chilton studied Ethno-mycology at the University of Washington in the late sixties and in 1973 began a 10 year career as a large scale commercial mushroom grower. Jeff is the co-author of The Mushroom Cultivator, published in 1983. In 1989 Jeff established Nammex, the first company to supply medicinal mushroom extracts to the Nutritional Supplement industry. In 1997 he organized the first organic certification workshop for mushroom production in China.

Jeff is a founding member of the World Society for Mushroom Biology and Mushroom Products in 1994 and a Member of the International Society for Mushroom Science. Nammex extracts are used by many supplement and food companies and are noted for their high quality based on scientific analysis of the active compounds.

Nammex website: www.nammex.com

Consumer website for buying Nammex mushroom extracts: www.realmushrooms.com

Additional information about Mushrooms

What Mushrooms to try?

• Chaga (Inonotus obliquus)
• Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
• Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
• Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
• Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
• Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris)
• Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus)

The key active compounds of medicinal mushrooms are:

1. Beta-glucans, which support immunity, and are considered to be antibiotic and antiviral.
2. Triterpenoids, which are found to be liver protective, lipid lowering, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and inhibit histamine release.
3. Ergosterol, which has antitumor and antioxidant properties, and is a precursor to Vitamin D2.