Mushrooms offer a multitude of health benefits – so much so that the humble fungi has made a name for itself beyond the kitchen, becoming a player in the wellbeing world, too. Whether consumed as mushroom coffee (Google searches for which have gone up by 70 per cent over the past year), or taken in supplement form, they’re the trending superfood to know for 2025.
The health benefits of mushrooms
“Our ancestors have been using mushrooms to improve their health since the dawn of time,” Jessica Clarke, co-founder of mushroom supplement brand Mother Made explains. “They are an integral part of Traditional Chinese Medicine and have been used for thousands of years as part of the Taoist Tonic herbalism religion. Mushrooms are actually a religion!”
There’s good reason for that. Functional (or medicinal) mushrooms offer a number of health benefits, says nutritionist Lucy Miller. “They can improve brain health, elevate our moods, support the immune system and hormonal balance, and they’re full of powerful antioxidants,” she says. “Each has its own distinct health advantage, and while some can be taken alone, it’s sometimes a combination that provides the best support in a nutritional supplement. Mushroom studies are still new to Western medicine, so more research is needed to provide statistical and solid evidence that they work – plus, of course, they vary hugely in quality.”
While the jury is still out on the science, the mushroom world is a hot topic of study right now – functional mushrooms aside, it appears that psilocybin (a molecule that’s extracted from the hallucinogenic magic mushroom) may potentially prove effective to treat mental health issues, including depression, anxiety, trauma and addiction. Functional mushrooms are different – and it’s worth noting that they don’t have any psychedelic effects – but Miller and Clarke both vouch for their efficacy, more on which later.
Different types of mushroom – and what they do
Miller explains a bit about what each of the key mushrooms do, below.
- Reishi: Like nature’s Xanax, it’s a good mushroom for mood, sleep, anxiety and depression
- Lion’s mane: Great for the brain, including cognition, memory and concentration
- Chaga: Immune boosting and fights free radicals and inflammation, which helps slow the ageing process
- Shiitake: For the heart. Helps to lower cholesterol and support circulation
- Turkey tail: Exhibits anti-cancer properties and helps support immunity
- Cordyceps: Great for energy, athletic performance and muscle recovery
Do mushroom supplements actually work?
Mushrooms are defined as adaptogens, which are ingredients (herbs, roots and mushies, to be exact) that help the body deal with stress naturally – in our increasingly frantic world, they can be really useful when managing rising cortisol levels. Having grown up learning about plant remedies – she is half indigenous Maori – Clarke experienced burnout in a big way when she moved to New York to pursue a career as a model. “I was really young and I didn’t have a good team around me – nowadays, you have nutritionists, health practitioners and functional medicine coaches on hand, but 15 years ago there wasn’t any of those things,” she explains. “I ended up choosing wellbeing fads over my health, and battled with it for longer than I should have.”
She later learned the answer to her personal mental and physical health lay in simplicity: “Water, sleep, good nutrition… and if you’re going to supplement, do so with herbal remedies from nature,” she explains. With mushroom shakes and lattes becoming a thing at Erewhon and other Los Angeles wellness destinations, she joined forces with her co-founder Emily Blanchett to make functional mushrooms accessible to all. They worked for her, after all. “Lion’s mane is probably the gateway mushroom for most people – there’s a tonne of research about it, especially for its neurological benefits and effect on cognition,” she says. “We all experience a little brain fog in the afternoon. That’s a definite go-to of mine.”
Miller is also a big fan of mushrooms. “My favourite supplement!” she wrote back, when I reached out to ask her opinion on them. “If there is one supplement that I cannot live without, it’s Life Drink by Terranova, which contains a combination of mushrooms, alongside super foods, digestive enzymes and pre- and post-biotics. It is an immune-boosting wonder product, and out of all the research I have done as a nutritionist on supplements, this is an absolute all-round winner.”
She is also a big fan of Hifas da Terra, a brand that produces all of its mushrooms in a facility in Spain, which you can visit and explore. “They grow their mushrooms using the most advanced technology and only produce the highest quality mushrooms,” she adds. “They produce products that help support cancer patients who are either going through chemotherapy, or to help support immunity.” While there is not enough in-depth research to safely conclude that mushrooms can help with the prevention and treatment of cancer, Miller says she has seen first-hand the power they can have.
