The Magical World of Mushrooms: From Ancient Rituals to Modern Medicine

Exploring the Multifaceted Benefits and Uses of Mushrooms in Health and Beyond

Mushrooms have been part of the human experience for countless generations. The ancient Egyptians saw them (rightly) as representatives of immortality. In southern Mexico, they were treated for hundreds of years as "holy children" who knew how to speak through the mystics who ate them. The image of Santa Claus is probably based on the healing experience of shamans in the Arctic Circle, who "flew" past the snow after they and the reindeer ate mushrooms.

In the late 1950s, Albert Hoffman, the Swiss chemist who "discovered" LSD, became curious about them and became the first Western scientist to identify, isolate, and synthesize the active ingredients in hallucinogenic mushrooms, compounds called psilocybin and psilocin. It turned out that the mushrooms themselves convert tryptophan, an amino acid, into organic psychedelic compounds like psilocin. These compounds interact with the serotonin receptors in our brain and the result is, among other things, feelings of pleasure and hallucinations.

The Therapeutic Potential of Psilocybin

The Sandoz company, the drug giant where Hoffman worked, was quick to recognize their therapeutic value and began marketing a drug called Indosibin that aroused enthusiasm among therapists and researchers. Indosibin was seen as a safe drug with enormous potential for the treatment of a wide range of mental pathologies, including depression and addiction. But as everyone who is interested in the subject knows, not long after, the war on drugs was declared, and one of its victims was psilocybin, which was classified as a substance with the highest level of danger and disappeared from the shelves of pharmacists and the therapeutic toolbox.

All this has changed in recent years. Cannabis paved the way for the return of psychedelics to the picture, and these days the interest in mushrooms is reaching a new peak, judging by the recent stock market recruitments of pharmaceutical companies specializing in the use of psilocybin.

This process occurs along with changes in the legal status of the substance, which allows more research to be done on it. The Canadian government, for example, recently allowed terminally ill patients to possess and consume mushrooms containing the substance. This regulatory change occurred shortly after Oregon became the first US state to legalize "psilocybin-assisted psychotherapy."

The Mycelium of Mushrooms: A Web of Potential

In 2019, the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) granted official status, known as "breakthrough," to a company called Compass Pathways to study the use of psilocybin (again, in combination with psychotherapy) to treat treatment-resistant depression. This means that the FDA recognizes that the drug may significantly improve the condition of certain patients compared to other treatments available today.

More recent results keep coming. A clinical study conducted by researchers at Johns Hopkins University also showed that psychotherapy supported by psilocybin helps to bring patients to a state where they show prolonged and consistent overcoming of their depression.

Researchers also agree that careful and controlled use of psilocybin can be an appropriate treatment for states of profound existential anxiety and despair that often accompany advanced-stage cancer. Additional studies examine the effect of a low dose of the substance on the cognitive and emotional functioning of Parkinson's patients, its effect on the immune system, and its ability to help the body deal with various types of cancer.

But you don't have to be sick to enjoy the effect of the mushrooms. Thousands of years of public use, alongside clinical studies, show that psilocybin can give healthy people in body and mind experiences of significant and lasting personal meaning. I can testify to this personally and anecdotally, although I have experimented with microdosing more than with trips (and about that in another list). That's why I sympathize with the researchers who call for psilocybin to be re-categorized in the FDA's lightest category, alongside CBD (the active ingredient in cannabis) and cough syrup.

Mushrooms: A Whole World of Benefits

Unfortunately, in Israel, this substance and its derivatives are not yet legal. However, those interested in this can find treatment centers in several European countries (in the Netherlands and England for sure) where it is possible to undergo psilocybin retreats in a group, as a couple, or alone, under medical supervision and therapeutic accompaniment. All you have to do is write in Google: Psilocybin retreat Europe. Keep in mind that the coronavirus limits the possibilities, and that the price is dauntingly high. But you can always dream, and in any case, it is a thread that, if you follow it, is likely to lead you to additional solutions.

Six Ways Mushrooms Can Save the World

Hallucinogenic mushrooms are not the only ones that benefit us. I start the morning with a cocktail of reishi, chaga, and lion's mane mushrooms, each of which is known for promoting health. The promises are great: various animal studies show that these mushrooms have the ability to protect against neurological degeneration, fight the cognitive decline that comes with age, and help the mental functioning of the elderly.

They can also improve the function of the heart and blood vessels, increase the body's anti-inflammatory response, lower blood pressure, regulate cholesterol, and help us maintain a healthy weight. No wonder the forecast is that the market for products based on mushrooms such as chaga and reishi is expected to grow by billions of dollars in the coming years.

Yes, mushrooms are a whole world. The mushroom cap is only the tip of the iceberg—below it grow the slender capillaries that make up the mycelium, a kind of mysterious and amazing web that spreads in the bowels of the earth. This is the mass of branched fibers that make up the vegetative part of the mushroom. Mushrooms with caps more than three meters in diameter have been found in West Africa, but the largest mushroom on record is Armillaria ostoyae, which is often seen in the Oregon National Forest, whose mycelium covers more than 2,300 acres.

The Versatile Mycelium: Beyond Food and Medicine

Mycelium has unimaginable uses. For example, new and young companies produce green and relatively cheap building materials from it. In 2014, a Hy-Fi tower was built consisting of bricks made of corn fibers and mushroom mycelium. It was exhibited at the Museum of Modern Art in New York and won many awards. Some claim that abandoned houses can be recycled by mixing the remains of building materials with mycelium to produce new material, and that this process will help build temporary homes in disaster areas with simple and portable means.

Clothing manufacturers are increasingly turning to mycelium to create green alternatives to leather and other textile materials. Such a move could reduce the carbon footprint of the fashion industry, which is one of the biggest polluters in the world. Compostable packaging is fully biodegradable and can reduce our reliance on plastic and polystyrene. Another use for mycelium is the production of a plant-based meat substitute, and there are companies that believe it will be possible to produce medical products and even organs based on mycelium in the future.

And what about the coronavirus? In the past year, picking forest mushrooms was an economic lifeline for many families in poor Ukraine, showing once again that nature can help us survive in different ways. But seriously, celebrity mycologist Paul Stamets is currently trying to set up a research station on a remote island to protect forests that contain a rare type of ancient fungus that he believes could protect people from the coronavirus and possibly even future pandemics.

These are mushrooms, including a species called Agarikon, which according to historical sources have been used for thousands of years to treat respiratory infections. The ancient Greek physician Dioscorides called this mushroom "the elixir of longevity" and described its properties for the treatment of tuberculosis.

So what will happen? The start-ups are sparkling and the psychiatric research is promising, the regulation adjusts itself, and the investors are enthusiastic. The global market for edible mushrooms is expected to reach $69 billion by 2024, and even jewelry designers and artists are turning to mushrooms for inspiration. Therefore, it doesn't matter if you see mushrooms as sacred representatives, luxury goods, healthy food, medicine, or luxury items—the mushroom celebrations are in full swing and you should join.