My New Favourite Mushroom, Cordyceps, Delivers Longevity Potential, Sex-drive Push, Better Lungs & More Energy
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8 Science Backed Benefits of Cordyceps
A few years ago I wrote a post about four wonder mushrooms. This particular mushroom, Cordyceps, didn’t make it, but has since become one of my favourites, and is in my opinion the best of the five when it comes to lungs, immunity, energy and longevity.
In particularly I feel its effect on my blood sugar (less feelings of peckish), stress level, and on my energy (super to take before training).
In recent years, research on the Cordyceps has confirmed that this outstanding mushroom has the ability to enhance athletic performance, promote heart and lung health, boost energy, plus raise that ol' sex drive.
Revered for its potent antiaging, vigor restoring, and health-promoting properties, Cordyceps has been a staple in holistic medicine for more than five hundred years.
MORE: 4 Unique Mushrooms That Can Do Magic For Your Health
Content:
Where does Cordyceps grow?
5 Fast Facts about Cordyceps
History and traditional use of Cordyceps
8 Health Benefits of Cordyceps
Where Can I Get the best Cordyceps?
How to Dose
Precautions
Where does Cordyceps Grow?
Weirdly, cordyceps colonizes the larvae (caterpillars) of the Thitarodes genus of ghost moths.
After fully infecting and devouring the host insect, the fungus grows a stalk, releasing new spores to start the process again.
For use, you collect the remnant of the caterpillar and the fruiting body (mushroom). The cordyceps are gently cleaned, dried, and then cooked. They have a mushroomy flavor without a hint of the original insect.
Cordyceps fungus is gathered from the wild in the alpine grasslands in the foothills of the Himalaya Mountains in Tibet and Bhutan.
Cordyceps is fairly rare in the wild and is being over-harvested due to its increased popularity. Consequently, a strain isolated from the wild form is now cultivated and commonly used instead.
5 Fast Facts about Cordyceps
Botanical names: Cordyceps Militaris or Cordyceps Sineses.
Also known as: Chinese caterpillar fungus, Dong Chong Xia Cao (Chinese for "winter insect, summer grass")
Taste/Energy: Sweet, slightly acrid, warm, moist.
Properties: Adaptogen, anti-asthmatic, antileukemic, antioxidant, liver-protective, hypocholesterolemic (lowers elevated cholesterol levels), can upregulate or down-regulate the immune system as needed, kidney protective, sedative.
Constituents: The Cordyceps mushroom contains immune-stimulating polysaccharides (galactomannins, cordycepic acid), amino acids, fatty acids, polyamines, and ecdysterones.
What's special about Cordyceps
Cordyceps also holds the special bioactive molecule cordycepin. Cordycepin can help modify the immune system's responses to threats and control autoimmune disorders.
History and traditional use of Cordyceps
Because of its rarity, only the emperor and royal family in ancient China could use the cordyceps.
It was used like stuffing in a roasted duck. The Chinese considered the mushroom-infused duck meat a delicacy and believed it restored vigor, prevented illness, and promoted longevity.
It was also a treatment for opium addiction, poisoning, anemia, and impotence when cooked with pork.
Eating chicken and pork soups with cordyceps would help strengthen and nourish people recovering from tuberculosis, pneumonia, and other debilitation diseases.
In Tibet, they've used Cordyceps as a tonic for more than five hundred years. Tibetan medicine used Cordyceps for people with kidney and heart problems and to enhance male virility.
In Japan, they used Cordyceps for people with impotence and aching of the thighs and knees.
In 1993 two unranked Chinese athletes broke the world records in swimming competitions, and Chinese women runners won six of nine track meets at the world championships in Germany. In addition to normal training regiments, all of these athletes took cordyceps and attributed much of their success to it.
8 Health Benefits of Cordyceps
1. Improves Energy & Athletic Performance
Cordyceps is a great pre-workout supplement. It gives you an extra gear, and because it's not a stimulant, it doesn't get you jittery; you just have a little more juice when you exercise.
It helps boost athletic performance, endurance, and stamina. Plus, it improves physical abilities enhances aerobic capacity.
The technicalities behind these abilities are because Cordyceps induces nitric oxide release, which helps slightly improve physical performance. And it promotes the body's supply of ATP (the molecule adenosine triphosphate) - one of our primary energy sources; this helps raise energy and increase oxygen during exercise.
Note:
The careful reader will have spotted above that cordyceps also is a sedative. How can it both be sedative and promote more energy, you might wonder. Well, that's because it's an adaptogen. And adaptogens are intelligent plants that are capable of balancing several systems in the body. Both the ups and the downs.
2. Enhances Sexual Function & Fertility
Cordyceps could be your next go-to supplement to get the juices flowing.
Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) uses Cordyceps to facilitate erection, increase male virility and stamina, and increase libido in women. To put it shortly: an aphrodisiac.
TCM uses cordyceps to treat deficient yin and yang of the kidneys caused by exhaustion or long-term disease. Because the kidneys, according to TCM, store the jing (life essence) and control fluid metabolism plus healthy sexual functioning.
Studies have shown that cordyceps modulates the release of sexual hormones such as testosterone, estrogen, and progesterone, controlling reproductive activity and restoring impaired functions.
In males, it can help increase testosterone, sperm movement, the number of mature sperm, and the weight of the epididymis - the epididymis is the long, coiled tube that stores sperm and transports it from the testes.
Cordyceps can also help increase fertility in females. Based on animal models, it appears that cordyceps supplements can help the body utilize oxygen more efficiently and improve blood flow, which is important not only for physical health but also for sexual function. Furthermore, Cordyceps' ability to improve endurance, increase energy, and lower levels of inflammation are other reasons this mushroom may enhance fertility and libido.
Bonus:
Cordyceps militaris remarkably protect testicles against oxidative damage caused by bisphenol A - BPA.
Read more about the impact BPA has on hormones and reproduction in this post: Men, Women, And Too Much Oestrogen
3. Supports Kidney Health
The kidneys play a crucial role in detoxification and elimination, filtering the equivalent of roughly 140 liters of blood per day. With such a heavy task load, giving your kidneys as much support as possible, so that they can properly do their job, is a great way to sustain lasting health.
One of the most well-researched areas of support and nourishment for cordyceps is its role in supporting kidney health, especially when it comes to chronic kidney disease (CKD). People with CKD experience reduced kidney functioning, and cordyceps has been used to treat that for years.
Studies show that it can inhibit kidney fibrosis by blocking inflammatory pathways that alter the kidneys' regular functions and produce fibrous scar tissue.
Cordyceps may also help reduce the dosage of anti-rejection drugs in those undergoing kidney transplants.
So, if your kidneys are an area in your body that needs some extra love and support, it might be worth talking to your doctor or qualified healthcare practitioner about the role cordyceps mushrooms could play in your healing.
4. Normalizes the Immune Function
Cordyceps contains different types of polysaccharide components. These polysaccharides have immune-boosting, anti-influenza abilities, and can protect the body from foreign antigens and pathogens.
Cordyceps also holds the special bioactive molecule cordycepin. Cordycepin can help modify the immune system's responses to threats and control autoimmune disorders.
An increasing number of studies also indicate that cordycepin helps with both suppressive and influencing effects on the immune system by regulating the adaptive and innate immunity.
While many medicinal mushrooms help boost natural killer cells in the body to promote an immune response, cordyceps top that by multiplying helper T-cells. Helper T-cells are vital in adaptive immunity, as almost all adaptive immune responses require these.
5. Anti-Cancer Properties
The helper T-cells aid in killing cancer cells, too, meaning cordyceps also has anti-tumor properties.
The bioactive compounds like cordycepin, polysaccharides, sterols, and adenosine in cordyceps are excellent shields against cancer. Together these molecules display anti-cancer effects and the capability to restrain the growth of tumors.
In test-tube studies, cordyceps has inhibited the growth of many types of human cancer cells, including colon, skin, liver, and lung cancers.
6. Lung Health Enhancer
The anti-inflammatory properties and its tendency to relax the bronchial walls and promote enhanced oxygen utilization efficacy makes cordyceps a good remedy for alleviating symptoms of various respiratory illnesses, including chronic bronchitis, asthma, pneumonia, and phlegm.
Various studies confirm that cordyceps extract can dilate bronchi, it may increase the production of adrenal cortex hormones and help expand bronchial smooth muscles, produce anti-inflammatory properties, and increase secretion in the trachea.
Cordyceps also inhibits tracheal contractions and allows increased airflow to the lungs.
7. Anti-inflammatory Agent
Long-term inflammation can be harmful to the body and lead to chronic diseases, heart conditions, and cancers.
Cordyceps seems to help fight inflammation in the body and on the skin.
It turns out that human cells exposed to cordyceps suppresses certain proteins that increase inflammation in the body, making this mushroom a useful anti-inflammatory supplement.
In other studies, Cordyceps reduced inflammation in the airways of mice.
And in this analysis, Cordyceps reduced skin inflammation when applied topically on mice, further demonstrating its anti-inflammatory properties.
8. Anti-aging & Longevity Provider
Due to the antioxidant compounds in Cordyceps that help fight free radicals, TCM has long used cordyceps as a longevity tonic to help prevent and slow down the aging process.
Every time we breathe, 98-99% of that oxygen goes to burn the food that we're eating and liberate small molecules that we need for cellular regeneration, and it releases lots of energy.
But about 1-2% of that oxygen goes down a different and dangerous side branch.
This small amount of oxygen, commonly known as free radicals, attacks our DNA and causes oxidative stress. Eventually, the accumulation of damaged or dysfunctional molecules is always that little greater than the rate that should clear the mess up, so slowly and inevitably, we age.
The number of free radicals also increases during times of stress.
Things that stress the body can be environmental, physical, or mental, like too much sun, demanding deadlines, over-exercising, heavy metals, pro-inflammatory foods, etc.
Fortunately, some foods and plants like Cordyceps are rich in compounds that help fight these free radicals.
Cordyceps' anti-inflammatory and adaptogenic properties help buffer the stress response and support the HPA axis (Hypothalamus-pituitary-adrenal axis) to prevent additional free radicals and lower oxidative stress, thus, averting that cellular aging to occur.
Also:
Polysaccharides from cordyceps can effectively control the blood sugar level in the body.
When we’re stressed our blood sugar levels are naturally higher because the body is in a constant “ready”-mode and therefore need more sugar for energy in the blood.
Where Can I Get the Best Cordyceps
There's no need to go mushroom foraging to reap the advantages of the cordyceps' powerful benefits because it's widely available in powder, capsule, and tablet form - and safer to use that way as they do grow on caterpillars, which can increase the risk of mold and bacteria.
Outside of Europe my favorite Cordyceps provider is Mountain rose Herbs. They have Cordyceps militaris sustainable cultivated on organic oats.
In Europe I prefer Wohltuer’s organic Cordyceps militaris powder. Great quality.
The difference between the species Cordyceps sinensis and Cordyceps militaris is that sinesis contains more adenosine than Cordyceps militaris, but no cordycepin. I want the cordycepin so I always buy Cordyceps militaris.
How to Dose
Cordyceps dosage depends on why you use it.
You don't necessarily need to take it every day. If you're only trying to prevent future illnesses and boost your immune system, a lower dose once or twice a week works well.
Follow the dosage advice listed on your cordyceps supplement, or speak with an herbalist about treating a specific condition.
Powder. I use 1-2 tsp. of an organic powder version a day in times of need.
Afternoon Mushroom Tea
1 tsp Reishi
1/2 tsp Cordyceps
1/2 tbsp Earl Grey Tea
Hot water
Sweet soy milk (optional)
Cocoa Shroom
1.5 tsp mushroom powder (I use 1 part reishi & 1/2 part cordyceps )
1 tsp maple syrup
1 tsp almond butter
1 Tbsp raw cacao powder
1/2 tsp ground cinnamon
1 pinch sea salt, 1 cup plant milk (I use 3 tbsp coconut milk powder and water)
Precautions
Excessive cordyceps can depress immune system function and cause edema, anxiety, and headaches.
As cordyceps grows on caterpillars, it is possible that mold and bacteria could be associated
Autoimmune diseases such as multiple sclerosis, systemic lupus erythematosus, rheumatoid arthritis, or other conditions might cause the immune system to become more active and increase symptoms. If you have one of these conditions, it's best to avoid using cordyceps.
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Disclaimer:
All information in this blog is strictly for informational purposes only and should not be taken as medical advice. The statements made in this blog have not been evaluated by The Danish Health Authority. The products linked to in this blog and any information published in this blog are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information provided by this blog is not a substitute for a face to-face consultation with your physician, and should not be construed as medical advice. The entire contents of this blog are based upon the opinions of Hanne Robinson. By reading and using this blog, you agree to only use this publication for personal informational use and not as a substitute for medical or other professional advice.