Mushrooms: Medicinal Confetti

Note: This article is not meant as a substitute for proper medical advice. Please consult with your medical practitioner before using any type of remedy, herbal or otherwise.

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by Robert Luby, MD

Mushrooms have been used for over 4000 years in Chinese medicine, but their value has only been recognized in the past few decades in modern allopathic, or mainstream, medicine. A significant reason for this delay concerns what I have dubbed the “Magic Bullet vs. Magic Confetti” conundrum.

Allopathic medicine is prone to develop therapeutic medications with a single, potent, and well-characterized “active ingredient”. Each of these agents tends to exert one of the following three effects 1) kill cells (e.g., cancer drugs and antibiotics), 2) block the function of a physiologic pathway (e.g., any of the “anti-drugs”, anti-hypertensives, anti-inflammatory, antacids, etc.), or 3) replace a deficient substance (e.g., thyroid hormone).

Two major advantages of these “magic bullets” are that they tend to be very effective in the short term and their efficacy is relatively easy to measure in clinical trials. However,  a significant disadvantage of their long term use is “collateral damage” (side effects, adverse outcomes).  When one considers the mechanisms of action noted above (like, "kill cells"), this comes as no surprise.

The long term use of a medication which kills harmful cells is also highly likely to damage healthy cells. The use of drugs which block physiologic functions, for example, will also in the long term impair all the beneficial effects of those functions. Finally, the long term replacement of deficient substances fails to address the underlying reason(s) for the deficiency. These “upstream” underlying reason(s) often affect multiple body systems and organs whose function will ultimately deteriorate if only the single “downstream” replacement drug is employed.

A viable alternative to the conventional “magic bullet” approach is the therapeutic use of agents which contain multiple constituents in low doses, and which enhance rather than suppress physiologic functions. These interventions are akin to “medical confetti”.  Medicinal mushrooms are one such therapeutic agent.

The active constituents in medicinal mushrooms have been identified as polysaccharides, proteins, fats, ash, glycosides, alkaloids, volatile oils, tocopherols, phenolics, flavonoids, carotenoids, folates, ascorbic acid enzymes, and organic acids.  Unlike pharmaceutical magic bullets, these substances enhance or favorably modulate physiologic functions. Most notably, they favorably modulate immunologic function, which includes the ability to improve inflammation.

It is no wonder then that the immunomodulatory effects of medicinal mushrooms have been shown to improve outcomes in many diseases which involve impaired immunity or increased inflammation. Beneficial outcomes from the use of medicinal mushrooms have been shown in studies with cancer, cardiovascular disease, and diabetes, to name a few.

Proper immunologic function is impaired by stress, nutrient deficiencies and excesses, suboptimal sleep, and toxin exposure. These phenomena are arguably more prevalent in contemporary society than at any time in the history of the planet. Any rational therapeutic approach needs to address these lifestyle factors. However, when further therapeutic interventions are needed, the “magic confetti” of medicinal mushrooms must be a consideration.