Mushrooms as medicine: Uncovering the health secrets of fungi

ZOE Science & Nutrition

ZOE

Nutrition, Science, Health & Fitness, Education

4.6 • 5.6K Ratings

🗓️ 1 February 2024

⏱️ 58 minutes

🔗️ Recording | iTunes | RSS

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Summary

They’re not a plant or an animal — fungi are their very own kingdom of life. And their unique composition means they offer novel, often unbelievable, benefits to our health. Certain species of fungi are currently used to treat conditions ranging from cancer to depression. The love of mushrooms (or mycophilia) has grown in recent years. And at the heart of this movement is biologist Dr. Merlin Sheldrake, author of the bestseller Entangled Life: How Fungi Make Our Worlds, Change Our Minds and Shape Our Futures. In today’s episode of ZOE Science & Nutrition, Jonathan, Merlin, and ZOE Co-Founder Prof. Tim Spector ask: Why are mushrooms so special? 🌱 Try our new plant based wholefood supplement - Daily 30 *Naturally high in copper which contributes to normal energy yielding metabolism and the normal function of the immune system Learn how your body responds to food 👉 zoe.com/podcast for 10% off Follow ZOE on Instagram. Timecodes: 00:00 - Introduction 1:42 - Quickfire round 3:04 - What are fungi? 8:40 - The connection between fungi, plants & gut health 14:10 - The human impact on fungi 19:41 - Mushrooms and mental health 28:01 - Fungi as medicine 35:34 - Why should we eat mushrooms 40:39 - How to introduce more mushrooms into your diet 46:56 - How often should you eat mushrooms 51:17 - Summary 56:01 - Outro Mentioned in today’s episode: Potential role of ergothioneine rich mushroom as anti-aging candidate through elimination of neuronal senescent cells from Brain Research Medicinal mushrooms in adjuvant cancer therapies: An approach to anticancer effects and presumed mechanisms of action from Nutrire Immunomodulatory effect of mushrooms and their bioactive compounds in cancer: A comprehensive review from Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy Episode transcripts are available here. Have feedback or a topic you'd like us to cover? Let us know here

Transcript

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0:00.0	Welcome to Zoe, science and nutrition of Zoe. Today we dive into the
0:20.6	captivating world of fungi and mushrooms
0:23.7	and learn about the surprising reasons why they're so important for us.
0:30.0	Fungi expert, Dr. Merlin Sheldrake,
0:32.3	and my scientific co-founder at Zoe, Professor Tim Specter,
0:35.9	take us on a psychedelic tour of mushrooms, why they're a promising treatment for debilitating
0:41.3	mental health conditions like depression.
0:43.7	We'll also hear how the chemicals in mushrooms might be protecting us from other diseases.
0:48.4	And of course, why eating more mushrooms is beneficial for our health. Merlin is a biologist and the author of the best-selling book, Entangled Life, How Fungi
1:00.3	Make Our World.
1:01.6	And Tim is one of the world's top 100 most cited scientists and a professor of genetic epidemiology at Kings College London.
1:10.0	Merlin and Tim,
1:14.3	thank you for joining me today.
1:15.3	Thanks for having me.
1:16.7	I'm really excited about this one because I really enjoyed the book and those of you
1:21.6	who are on video can actually see the new version of it has these
1:24.7	amazing pictures in it which when I read it it didn't have the pictures and now suddenly
1:30.0	it all makes way more sense so I think that is the ultimate book for people who love like really getting this
1:36.1	vision into something you haven't seen before but at this point no one probably has any idea what we're talking
1:41.1	about so what I'd like to do is start with a tradition we have here,
1:44.8	Merlin, which is a quick-fire round of questions. Are you up for that?
1:48.0	Sounds good to me. So we have very strict rules, which are always tough for scientists you can say yes or no or if you
	...

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