MUSHROOMS! No, I’m not talking about THOSE mushrooms you may or may not have taken at burning man. I’m talking about the non-hallucinogenic fungi, also known as functional mushrooms. The only ‘trip’ you’ll be getting from these little guys is tripping over your own feet when you run to Coco Market to buy a bottle. Despite their lack of hallucinogenic powers, these mushrooms are equally magical and have been rapidly growing in notoriety amongst the wellness community for their impressive array of health benefits. From boosting immunity to promoting mental well-being, they can help. We’ve recently connected with Rainbo - a sustainable, Canadian sourced, mushroom company, to educate us on the wonders that come with consuming a functional mushroom, their preferred way of consumption, and why Rainbo produces superior products. Here’s what they had to say:

 

What are functional mushrooms?

• Specific groups of fungi containing bioactive compounds that have been shown to have health-enhancing effects in the body. 
• Traditional Chinese Medicine has utilized fungi in preventative and therapeutic medicine for over 3000 years 
• Today, the beneficial properties of compounds produced by fungi continue to be sustained by modern science. 

Why take shrooms?

Consumed regularly as a dietary supplement, functional mushrooms have a high potential for improving general health by:

• Increasing the body’s resilience to stress
• Delaying the aging process 
• Protecting against chronic disease
• Supporting the structure and function of the body

Health benefits:

• Enhanced immunity 
• More energy 
• Better focus 
• Better concentration 
• Gut health 
• Liver support 
• Better sleep 
• Increased productivity 
• Potent antioxidant that fight free radicals 
• Blood sugar stability 
• Stronger libido 
• Lower cholesterol 
• Connection to nature

How do they support immune function?

1. They activate both local and systemic immune cells - Beta-glucans are shown to resist the digestive environment of the stomach and pass through to the intestine. Here they interact with specialized receptors on immune cells including a local activation of immune cells. These cells release messenger molecules that stimulate other immune cells throughout the body, effectively tuning and priming the immune system to be alert for invaders.
2. They are anti-inflammatory - Some studies show a decrease in proinflammatory biomarkers in the blood after supplementing with medicinal mushrooms. Locally, they also increase the resistance of the intestinal mucosa to inflammation.
3. The compounds found in mushrooms positively influence the gut microbiome, providing protection against pathogens and supporting the balance in favor of the beneficial microbes important for immune health.

Ex: Triterpenoids! 

• These bioactive compounds are detected in higher plants and fungi, and due to their relatively complex structure they frequently exhibit a wide range of biological activities.
• Health promoting properties include anti-oxidative, anti-cancer, lipid-lowering, liver protective, anti-iinflammatory, antimicrobial and wound healing capabilities.
• The bitter flavour of some fungi can be attributed to triterpenoids.

What is the best way to take it?

There are many different ways you can incorporate fungi into your diet. The most common ways are consuming supplements (capsules or powders), drinking tinctures, or the various culinary ways such as blending into smoothies, pickling and fermenting, mushroom jerky etc.

Rainbo uses a dual-extract tincture for their products due to its potent and bioavailable method. I will explain further a bit about what this means:

 

What are dually-extracted tinctures?

• They are concentrated liquid extracts 
• Both hot water and alcohol is used to help dissolve and extract the beneficial components from the starting mushroom
• Hot water? extract s water-soluble compounds such as beta-glucan polysaccharides 
• Alcohol? Extracts water-insoluble compounds such as triterpenoids 
• Most potent and bioavailable method for consuming the full-spectrum of medicinal compounds. 

Why use tinctures? 

• bioavailability: Unless subjected to an extraction method, the majority of the medicinal compounds are locked up in mushroom cell walls and will not be bioavailable for absorption in the body.

• Faster absorption rate: Liquid extracts are absorbed faster by the body than a powder extract, with absorption starting in the mucous membranes of the mouth. Alcohol may facilitate increased absorption. 

• Stable quality: Alcohol maintains the extract potency over time 

• Easy to mix, fast to take, travels well: easy to mix the liquid into other drinks and dishes, directly into the mouth or on the go. 

Rainbo Products! 

11:11 - Immunity blend 

• Best seller 

• The daily mushroom multivitamin! A potent blend of 11 carefully selected medicinal mushrooms. 

• Multi-mushroom blend acting synergistically together to strengthen immunity. 
• Provides whole-system support building resilience against chronic disease and aging.
• Immuno-modualting effects

Chaga - Antioxidant, anti-aging, longevity mushroom 

• High content of antioxidant properties
• protection against oxidative stress
• slows cellular aging
• immune-protection
• May help regulate blood sugar and cholesterol already within normal range 

 

Reishi - adaptogen, de-stress mushroom 

• Adaptogenic effects help with the body to cope with stress.
• Supports a healthy sleep cycle 
• Calming effect 
• Decreases inflammation in the body 

Lion’s mane - brain power mushroom 

• Mental clarity, memory and focus throughout the day
• Know to help alleviate symptoms of anxiety and depression 
• Protection from neurodegenerative diseases 
• Supports a healthy gut and mucrobiome

Cordyceps - Energy mushroom 

• Acts to stabilize stress levels and boost cellular energy 
• May enhance athletic performance by increasing endurance, stamina and oxygen uptake
• Supports a healthy sex drive

Turkey Tail - Immune mushroom 

• Contains powerful immunomodulating polysaccharides 
• Immune support 
• Prebiotic compounds promote a healthy balance of bacteria in the gut
• Source of antioxidants providing cellular protection

Why choose Rainbo over other brands?

Image: founder (Tonya Papanikolov) a Holistic Nutritionist, raw food chef, and wellness leader.

1. Sustainable! 

• Nature needs mushrooms, so Rainbo keeps them there. They cultivate all of their mushrooms in a laboratory by using up-cycled ingredients such as organic spent coffee grounds. With the exception being Chaga, as they sustainably harvest from Canadian forests.

 2. Canadian sourced 

• Not only are the mushrooms acquired within Canada, but they produce end products in small matches as opposed to sourcing and mass producing from overseas. 

3. Real fruiting body mushrooms 

• They harvest their mushrooms at the fruiting body stage when making their tinctures. The fruiting body is the part of the fungi with the highest concentration of active beneficial compounds. 

4. Potent

• Each mushroom individually goes through a dual extraction process. Both ethanol and hot water are used to extract out the most complete range of soluble compounds from the mushrooms. Without an extraction process, these compounds would not be bioavailable for absorption in the body.

5. Full-spectrum 

• They do not standardize our final products because if they were to guarantee a certain concentration of one thing it means compromising another. In order to create a fill spectrum natural product, they dually-extract whole mushrooms without manipulating the final concentrations. 

6. Pure 

• All of our tinctures are third party lab tested to ensure purity and potency

Fruiting body vs. Mycelium 

• Mycelium is the below-ground body of the fungus consisting of a network of thin filaments. 
• The fruiting body is the visible mushroom and reproductive part of the fungus 
• Scientific studies have shown that the bioactive compounds are found in higher concentrations in the fruiting bodies compared to mycelium. 
• Often when cultivated in lab, the mycelium cannot be separated from the grain it’s grown on. 
• When mycelium is used for mushroom extraction, a large portion of the extracted compounds come from the grain substrate and are not bioactive. 

Recommended dose 

Adults: 4ml 1-2 time(s) per day.

4 ml = 800 mg mushrooms

You can mix your tincture into a drink of your choosing, with food, or on its own!

The beauty of non-hallucinogenic mushrooms lies not just in their health benefits but also in their versatility. Think of the mushroom as your party planner for your tummy, your stress buster, brain boosting buddy, or zhen master. So pick your favorite mushroom (or multiple) and embark on a delightful journey into the fantastically fungal world of non-hallucinogenic mushrooms.

 I’ll see you there.

 

Check out rainbo's website for more information! https://rainbo.ca/pages/rainbo-world