Benefits of Mushrooms
As illustrated in the film “Fantastic Fungi – The Mushroom Movie” shown in the Panorama Auditorium Theater on June 14, 2023, mushrooms have many beneficial properties. This film describes the efforts of Paul Stamets and others to support the health of people and the planet. Paul is a famous mycologist, film producer, author of many well-known environmental books and owner of the company Fungi Perfecti, a family-owned business dedicated to promoting the cultivation of high quality gourmet and medicinal mushrooms. Paul’s central premise is that mushrooms are vital to a healthy immune response in both people and habitats. This film enlightened us about many uses of fungi, including saving bees, killing termites and numerous medicinal applications.
For more about this film, see imdb.com/title/tt8258074/
More about health benefits of mushrooms:
Health benefits of eating mushrooms include decreasing cancer risk, lowering sodium intake, promoting lower cholesterol, protecting brain health, providing a source of vitamin D, stimulating a healthier gut and supporting a healthy immune system.
More about how mushrooms can save the world:
See TED Talk: Paul Stamets – 6 ways mushrooms can save the world (2008). Methods include cleaning polluted soil, making insecticides, and treating smallpox and flu viruses)
More about saving honey bees:
Mushroom mycelium solutions for saving bees:
https://fungi.com/pages/bees
Scientific Reports: Extracts of Polypore Mushroom Mycelia Reduce Viruses in Honey Bees
October 2018 article by Paul E. Stamets et. al.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-32194-8
Additional references
7 Health Benefits of Mushrooms from UCLA Health
Recommended books written by Paul Stamets: