Ever Heard of Mushroom Coffee? Yes, it’s In

An emerging new trend amongst health-conscious people, Mushroom coffee, which is pretty much-powdered mushrooms stirred into a regular coffee, is gaining immense popularity. It was first introduced by a company called Four sigmatic. As per the company, it is an excellent way to fortify your morning boost. They use dried matsutake mushrooms that have been boiled and liquefied into an extract, the resulting coffee contains extra vitamins and minerals.

For centuries, mushrooms have been used as a therapeutic ingredient in traditional Chinese medicines. Various research studies showed the antifungal, antibacterial, antiviral, and tumour attenuating properties of mushrooms. Some clinical studies also demonstrated the impacts of mushrooms on cognition, weight management, oral health, and cancer risk. Preliminary evidence suggests that mushrooms may support healthy immune and inflammatory responses through interaction with the gut microbiota, enhancing the development of adaptive immunity, and improving immune cell functionality. However each mushroom has different characteristics and nutritional profile, therefore the benefits depend on the type of variety consumed.

Mushrooms are found to be a good source of vitamins especially B group vitamins like thiamine, riboflavin, niacin, biotin, and ascorbic acid (vitamin C). Certain species also contain a detectable amount of vitamin D when exposed to UV light, therefore adding them to meals can enhance the overall nutritional quality of the diet.

The advantage of mushroom coffee is that functional mushrooms can help buffer the body against every one of coffee’s downsides such as high caffeine content induced insomnia, irritability (anxiousness), upset stomach, and a racing heartbeat. Additionally, mushrooms are also considered “Adaptogens”, which are non-toxic plant compounds that help the body resist stressors of all kinds, whether physical, chemical or biological. These adaptogenic properties of functional mushrooms help your body to fight occasional stress. It may also support digestion, thanks to the prebiotics and polysaccharides found in the fungi, which “may contribute to the production of healthy bacteria in the gut.

However, scientific researches regarding the health claims of mushroom coffee are not well evident. There is scarcity and more studies need to be published in mainstream journals to establish the positive effects on the consumption of mushroom coffee. It might be providing the above-mentioned effects, or, it might just be another fad. To date, the medicinal or health benefits of coffee remain speculative.

Over to you

If you’re trying to cut down on your caffeine intake but fail to do so, then sure, make the switch to mushroom coffee. However, the claimed health benefits still need validated research. Consult your nutritionist before introducing it in your diet as mushrooms have certain compounds which can cause interactions if you have any underlying medical concern. Pregnant women should completely avoid it due to the scarcity of research.