That mushroom on your plate may look like an alien being, but it comes in peace and may do you a world of good. Lowered cholesterol counts, stabilized blood sugar levels, and better ability to fight infections are only a few of the benefits these invaders can bring. The whole time your kids have been turning up their noses, common local fungi have been offering them medicinal properties, along with being tasty, low-fat foods.
At the 22nd Annual Fungus Fair this weekend, you can learn all about the health benefits of different mushrooms - and view and taste them as well.
Some of the best known favorable fungi are shiitake, reishi, and oyster mushrooms."Shiitake's good for preventing and treating heart disease, diabetes, and even some types of cancer," says longtime herbalist and local mushroom expert Christoper Hobbs, who will be at the Fungus Fair. "Reishi is a powerful immune system booster; it also has a calming effect, so it's good for stress, anxiety, and insomnia." Anti-allergy effects have also been documented for reishi, and oyster mushrooms have been shown to reduce people's levels of "bad" cholesterol while increasing the "good" ones.
Extensive tests provide evidence for the mushrooms' therapeutic powers. Both shiitake and reishi are licensed for use as medicines in China and Japan, usually as supplements for patients undergoing chemotherapy or radiation treatment for cancer.
Some of mushrooms' fungal relatives actually contain antibiotics. Usnic acid, from a cross between fungi and algae, is more potent than penicillin.
But like all medicines, the wrong amount of the wrong one can leave you in much worse shape than you were in to begin with. Herbal medicines must be used with the same care and knowledge as standard medicines. While you may be able to pick the right mushrooms, only herbal healers like Hobbs can tell you how to use them properly. It's like going to a regular doctor and having drugs prescribed for you.
For most people, though, the value of these mushrooms lies in their preventive qualities, applied with a generous dose of common sense. Eating mushrooms that can lower cholesterol levels may help keep your arteries from clogging, but not if 16-ounce steaks make up the rest of your diet. Again, consulting an herbalist first is the best way to go.
Teas and soups are good ways to use medicinal mushrooms, Hobbs says. A typical tonic is Wei Qi soup, which calls for one medium reishi mushroom, a Chinese herb called Astralagus, and parts of other mushrooms such as shiitake and maitake along with vegetables like broccoli, carrots, potatoes, and beets. The medicinal compounds in these mushrooms can be extracted from them through boiling, so cooking them makes their active ingredients more accessible.
Eating one or two small bowls once or twice a week and drinking the broth can help your body fight disease better and may increase stamina, says Hobbs. You may not notice improvement right away, but herbs are much gentler to the body than standard medicines and need more time to work. For general toning, results should be evident in three months.
This doesn't mean that you should run out immediately and start picking your own, though. "There are two rules of mushroom picking," Hobbs advises. "First, always know exactly what you're gathering. Read David Arora's book, Mushrooms Demystified. Join the Fungus Federation, or at least go on a few mushroom gathering trips. Second, when you try a new mushroom, eat only a small amount at first. Wait 24 hours. Even if the mushroom isn't poisonous, you could still be allergic to it. If you get sick to your stomach, better leave that particular mushroom for others."
There should be plenty of mushrooms for everyone this year. It was touch and go for a while, says Fungus Fair gathering coordinator and display manager Lee Yamada, because there hadn't been enough rain. But the rains did come, and with them a good variety of the fungus fanciers' long-awaited quarry. Although the prized shiitake doesn't grow wild in this area, its spitting image, the honey mushroom, is enjoying a population boom this year. Not only are they delicious, says Hobbs, but honey mushrooms may also improve your night vision.
Yamada hopes to collect representatives of more than 200 different species for display at the 22nd Annual Fungus Fair. The Fair will be held Saturday, Jan 13 and Sunday, Jan 14 at the Harvey West Park Clubhouse, 326 Evergreen St, Santa Cruz. Harvey West Park is located west of Highway 9 near its intersection with Highway 1. Hours are 10 am to 5 pm each day. Admission is $4 general, $3 seniors and students, and free to children under 12.
John Anderson, the Events Coordinator for the Santa Cruz City Museum of Natural History, says that the Fungus Fair is among the Museum's most popular events. In the last several years, especially, the number of attendees has mushroomed. Enthusiasts flock from as far away as the San Francisco Bay Area and the Central Valley.