Your Guide to Mushroom Powder Benefits

Functional foods are getting lots of attention in the news and in health and wellness circles. These are foods that have something to give beyond basic nutrition. People are embracing their potential to provide additional health benefits when included as a regular part of their diet or when taken in supplement form.

Mushrooms are a good example. Sure, many people find them delicious, and yes, they do provide a low-calorie source of protein, B vitamins, and minerals. But as one of the Earth’s most efficient, natural recyclers, mushrooms contain many bioactive substances that are known to support human health. It is precisely these unique compounds that have caused people to sit up and take notice of these humble fungi.

Om Mushrooms provides one of the safest and most convenient ways to add these wonderful powerhouse foods to your diet—in an easily accessible powdered form. When cultivated, dried, and milled, the resulting product is more shelf-stable (compared to fresh mushrooms) and ready when you are to be added to your diet in a variety of ways. Understanding the mushroom powder benefits of individual species and our multi-species blends will allow you to take full advantage of their bioactive capacities to support a wide range of your body’s healthy functions.^‡

Our Top Functional Mushroom Species and Why You Should Check Them Out

At our state-of-the-art, climate-controlled, indoor farm in Carlsbad, CA, we cultivate some of the most sought-after mushroom species. Used for thousands of years in traditional medicine to support the immune system, each species also supports specific body functions. For your convenience, our mushrooms are available to you in powdered or capsule form. Check out some of our top sellers:

Lion’s Mane

High in biotin (vitamin B7), this shaggy, white, edible mushroom—found naturally in the US, Europe, and Asia—is valued for its crab-like texture and taste. As a functional mushroom, the benefits of lion’s mane include support for the brain and nervous system. The mycelium and fruiting bodies contain nootropic substances, erinacines and hericenones respectively, that have been researched for their protective and restorative effects on brain and nerve tissue. The benefits of both of these bioactive compounds are obtained when the mushroom powder product contains both fruiting body and mycelial biomass. 

All of the benefits of the “smart mushroom,” Hericium erinaceus, are unlocked during Om’s heat-activation and milling process. As a mushroom powder, lion’s mane is used to support the brain and nervous system. When taken regularly, it supports cognitive function and mood. Supplementing with lion’s mane powder may support improved focus, concentration, creativity, and memory.^‡ 

Reishi

One of the most researched mushrooms, Ganoderma lucidum, or reishi as it’s commonly called, has a long history of medicinal use in Eastern medicine to promote health and longevity. Like other functional mushrooms, it has antioxidant and immune-supportive properties. As an adaptogenic mushroom, the benefits of reishi include hundreds of bioactive substances that support the body’s homeostatic balance.^‡

Many people reach for reishi mushroom powder as a convenient way to help balance the stresses of the day. Just a teaspoonful or three capsules each day can help you experience the benefits. Reishi’s adaptogenic properties support the body’s healthy immune system response and promote cardiovascular health by supporting blood pressure and lipid balance.^‡

Chaga

A powerful ingredient in Russian folk medicine, Inonotus obliquus or chaga grows on birch trees throughout the Northern Hemisphere. With one of the highest levels of antioxidants, these functional mushrooms can help the body combat free radicals and oxidative stress. The benefits of chaga mushrooms are in their adaptogenic and antioxidant capacities. As an adaptogen, chaga helps the body achieve balance in its physiological functioning. As a powerful antioxidant, chaga is believed to combat many of the effects of aging.^‡

To get the benefits of this potent antioxidant, Om’s Chaga Organic Mushroom Powder is available as a bulk powder or in easy-to-swallow capsules. Adding chaga to your daily routine is a small action that provides widespread support.^‡

Cordyceps

In ancient Chinese, Tibetan, and Indian medicine, cordyceps, a fungus that grows on insect larvae, was used to combat a variety of ailments. Cordyceps militaris can now be cultivated on grain, making this unique fungus much more accessible and available as a vegan product. Cordyceps contains adenosine, a building block of adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which provides energy for cellular processes in the body.^‡ 

Cordyceps is the functional mushroom preferred by athletes for its support for endurance, stamina, and athletic performance.^‡ Its strength is in its ability to increase cellular energy. Including it regularly before exercise to support oxygen capacity or afterward to aid in your body’s recovery is an easy way to use the benefits of cordyceps to your advantage. Om’s cordyceps mushroom powder is available in bulk or in convenient capsules.

Turkey Tail

Researched and renowned for its polysaccharide content, the common name of Trametes versicolor comes from its resemblance to the multicolored stripes of a turkey’s tail. It is widely used in Eastern medicine. As an immunomodulator, the beta-glucans polysaccharide in turkey tail supports the body’s ability to heal itself and mount an appropriate immune response. The benefits of turkey tail may have implications for the body’s reaction to infection and allergies.^‡

To promote beneficial gut flora and a healthy immune system, a teaspoonful or three capsules of turkey tail powder each day provides the prebiotic fiber, immune support, and antioxidant capacity of this mushroom. While the turkey tail mushroom species grows in the woods of North America, Om’s turkey tail mushrooms are grown in indoor labs for quality and safety reasons. Om offers turkey tail in a variety of single-species products and immune-supporting blends.^‡

How to Easily Add Mushroom Powder Benefits to Your Day

Om Mushroom powders offer a versatile and accessible way to add mushroom powder benefits to your day. Simply mixed into a warm beverage or broth, the nutrients and bioactive compounds of our mushroom species are available to enrich and support your body. Our powders can also be enjoyed in either hot or cold beverages. This is because our mushroom fruit bodies and mycelia are activated with steam heat before being milled to break down the chitin in their cell walls in order to increase their bioavailability.^‡

We offer an additional way to take advantage of these mushroom superfoods. Om has created multispecies blends to give you the benefits of several functional mushrooms in one convenient product. So whether you are looking for an energy boost, support for beauty and healthy weight, or cognitive support, Om has a mushroom powder blend for you. If you are new to functional mushroom powder benefits, our Master Blend offers 10 species in a proprietary blend. 

Finding High-Quality Mushroom Products

Knowing the source of your mushroom powder products is very important at a time when online shopping is at an all-time high. Om’s commitment to quality means controlling the cultivation and manufacturing process at every stage according to the FDA’s Current Good Manufacturing Practice (cGMP) to bring our customers the best possible product. Our mushroom powders are submitted for third-party testing to ensure that the products you receive are unparalleled in their safety, integrity, purity, and quality.

With the help of our experienced scientists and mycologists, Om Mushrooms strives to bring our customers superior mushroom powder products. Each unique species is cultivated according to its own environmental requirements in order to bring you a quality product that captures its nutrients to ensure that you receive all the benefits these functional mushroom have to offer.

^‡These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Functional mushroom products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.