So, in response to this patient, I said, “Medicinal mushrooms are some of the botanicals called adaptogens, which boost human resilience to improve overall health and wellbeing. Although it does not act directly on stress, regular consumption of reishi can be incredible for relieving stress, anxiety, inflammation, in nearly all patients, particularly in those that are immunocompromised.”
As a part of a multimodal drug regimen, reishi could be an integral part of a Lyme patient’s regimen to alleviate some of the inevitable stress put on the body over time due to chronic infection. To learn more about other adaptogens and their unique properties, stay tuned for the next article on another medicinal mushroom,
lion’s mane.
Lin YL, Liang YC, Tseng YS, et al. An immunomodulatory protein, Ling Zhi-8, induced activation and maturation of human monocyte-derived dendritic cells by the NF-kappaB and MAPK pathways. J Leukoc Biol 2009;86(4):877‐889.
Lindequist U, Niedermeyer TH, Jülich WD. The pharmacological potential of mushrooms. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2005;2(3):285‐299.