We understand why you’re taking the no-pressure approach to healthy eating and losing weight. There is a mind-numbing amount of dieting information out there.
Are mushrooms good for weight loss? The answer to that might vary, depending on what kind of mushroom you add to your diet.
Let’s zero in on functional mushrooms, whose low-carb, high-fiber qualities make them ideal for any lazy dieter who wants to improve their overall health.
“I encourage people to eat mushrooms because I look at mushrooms as the missing dietary link. A mushroom isn’t an animal or a plant. It sits right in the middle. Mushrooms have 20–40% protein, are low in fat, high in fiber, and have no starch.” - Jeff Chilton (Founder of Nammex)
Beyond the macronutrient content, mushrooms are also packed with active compounds, such as terpenoids and beta-glucans. These immune modulators work from the inside out to support the immune and digestive systems, which can affect your health and weight.
With these benefits in mind, we want to discuss four functional mushrooms (reishi, shiitake, maitake, and cordyceps) so that you can make informed decisions on what to add to your diet.
We’ll discuss the benefits, health claims, and food science behind mushrooms and weight loss journeys.
Reishi is a functional mushroom best known for helping support immune function. Additionally, it is useful as a mushroom supplement to ease occasional stress and anxiety, and as a sleep aid.
The duration and quality of your sleep affect your hunger levels, fat retention, and weight. Reishi’s positive impact on sleep quality and stress relief is an excellent addition to any diet.
Recent research shows that:
Basically, if you want your effortless dieting to pay off, you must improve the quality of your sleep and lifestyle habits. This is where taking advantage of the adaptogenic effects of reishi can lead to promising results.
Besides using reishi to make tea, you can also use reishi mushroom supplements to make all kinds of dishes and beverages.
Reishi is a tough, bitter mushroom. So, while it won’t be a great ingredient in mushroom sauces, you can consume it as a supplement in powder or capsule form.
The easiest way to consume it as a powder is to make reishi tea, but other delicious, dieter-friendly recipes use reishi for its health-supporting properties.
Start the day right with mushroom chia seed pudding, which includes reishi and cordyceps powders. Thanks to the full-fat coconut milk and fiber from the chia seeds, mushroom chia seed pudding is a filling yet effortless breakfast packed with nutritional value.
Just mix the milk, flavorings, chia, cacao, and mushroom powder together, and put it in the fridge overnight. In the morning, it’ll be ready to go.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for the mushroom chia seed pudding recipe.
Organic Remedies: Before mushrooms were turned into supplements for their nutritional value, Traditional Chinese medicine utilized different mushrooms with potent properties for spiritual and holistic health.
Up your snack game with these healthy reishi bounty bars, which mesh together the flavors of chocolate and coconut with the health benefits of functional mushrooms. All you have to do is melt some chocolate, mix the ingredients, and let your freezer do the rest.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for the healthy reishi bounty bar recipe.
Incorporate reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) into your evening dessert with these delicious paleo brownies, which take only 20 minutes to bake. Coconut flour has a lower carb content than wheat flour, and the healthy fats in cacao butter will fill you up.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for the healthy reishi brownies recipe.
Warm up your days with our nourishing mushroom elixir built with the nutritional value of five mushroom supplements in one. It’s packed with the health benefits of five functional mushrooms, namely:
The full-fat coconut milk and cacao make it deliciously rich, while the dates and honey sweetly counter the reishi’s bitterness.
Maca adds iron and iodine to the drink, both essential nutrients for regulating energy production and nutrient use in the body.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for the nourishing mushroom elixir recipe.
As part of your night routine, mix our Organic Reishi Mushroom Powder with cinnamon, turmeric, plant milk, and honey for a relaxing golden milk.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for our evening golden milk recipe.
If your reishi isn’t bitter, it’s not real reishi. You need to find supplement companies with products containing real mushrooms.
Obviously, sweeteners like honey can counter this bitterness. However, chocolate or coffee will meld beautifully with the naturally earthy and bitter flavor profile of reishi.
At the end of the day, if you simply don’t like the taste of reishi powder, you can always take your reishi supplement in capsule form!
When it comes to flavor, shiitake and maitake, mushrooms are probably the tastiest options in the functional mushroom roster. It’s fitting that these mushrooms are the most important when it comes to managing your diet and weight long-term.
Eritadenine is a chemical inhibitor found in shiitake mushrooms that lowers the level of fats in the body [6].
On top of that, beta-glucans, the dietary fibers that form the cell walls of mushrooms, positively impact the body by [6]:
Besides having the above benefits of beta-glucans, maitake mushroom extracts can modulate blood sugar levels, insulin sensitivity, and the composition of gut bacteria. [7] These three factors need to be balanced in order for your body to maintain a healthy weight.
Body Mass Index (BMI): A person’s BMI can identify their weight to indicate body fatness. Generally, a higher BMI can indicate that a person is overweight, and a lower BMI can indicate that a person is underweight.
When cooked, shiitake mushrooms are rich, buttery, and meaty, making them among the most versatile edible mushrooms when added to savory recipes.
Maitake mushrooms are more delicate than shiitake mushrooms but have a stronger savory flavor profile than porcini mushrooms.
You can pan-fry these culinary mushrooms, air-fry them, add them to soups, and even fold them into your omelet.
Preparing the mushroom and onion quesadillas seen above makes for a quick yet filling breakfast or lunch option, especially if you’re restricting calorie intake. Simply swap out the lion’s mane’s sweet flavor for the savory taste of shiitake and maitake mushrooms.
Preparing the five ingredients—shiitake and maitake mushrooms, onion, spinach, tortillas, and cheese—won't take you long. We love that the cheese and yogurt are calorie-dense, while the mushrooms are high in fiber—together, they keep you full for longer.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click our keto mushroom quesadilla recipe here.
Our gluten-free mushroom ramen or a simple stir-fry takes advantage of the savory umami flavor of the mushrooms. Make these recipes your own by using vegetables in season or ones you already have in your fridge.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for our paleo mushroom ramen recipe.
If, in the genuine spirit of lazy dieting, you can’t be bothered to cook, just add a teaspoon of our 5 Defenders Organic Mushroom Complex to your tea, coffee, or hot chocolate. Receive a boost in your immune system from our key functional mushroom products to get the health benefits of mushrooms as you start your day.
Our functional mushroom supplement blend includes three additional mushroom supplements: chaga, reishi, and turkey tail. As we mentioned earlier, these mushrooms support your immune system and help regulate your blood sugar and energy levels, which are vital when eating healthily and losing weight.
You can also use the 5 Defenders mushroom powder to prepare a pre or post-workout Cashew Mocha Mint Smoothie.
If you’re looking for more brews that taste delicious and feel great for your body, we have a slew of mushroom coffee recipes for you to try.
Check out our free recipe book for even more recipes.
Are there any functional mushrooms that help in exercise and endurance? Absolutely.
For an extra kick of energy to get you moving every day and increase your endurance during exercise, cordyceps mushrooms are your go-to.
When your body is breaking down food efficiently (into energy for your muscles and storing less fat, both notable effects of supplementing cordyceps), you may notice a reduction in your weight.
A weight loss fitness plan often means that you’re working out harder and more often. Cordyceps’ effect on endurance and post-exercise recovery means you can maintain your calorie-burning activities with less downtime.
One animal study showed that after supplementing with Cordyceps militaris [8]:
For an active body, these findings may mean more energy for the muscles and less post-exercise fatigue, which is usually caused by the release of free radicals and inflammation. Therefore, your body bounces back to action faster, burning calories and fat.
Another study examining performance in healthy elderly people found that supplementing with cordyceps increased their metabolic and ventilatory thresholds [9].
This means more oxygen delivered to the muscles and a longer exercise period before experiencing muscle fatigue from lactic acid buildup.
"Helped me with my workouts, I noticed I wasn't running out of breath as quickly, and I felt like I had more endurance," - Daniel
Cordyceps mushrooms are pretty scarce as culinary mushrooms. Your best bet is to source a high-quality cordyceps mushroom supplement with a USDA organic certification, such as our Organic Cordyceps Mushroom Extract Powder.
Since you’ll be using a powder-based ingredient, there are a ton of recipes you can try to enjoy the functional mushroom’s health benefits added to your diet.
Blend one teaspoon of Organic Cordyceps Mushroom Extract Powder with your cold brew, milk, nut butter, and protein powder for an energizing coffee drink.
Here are five recipes that make use of cordyceps extract powder.
Enjoy cordyceps extract powder in simple, healthy treats, like our keto cloud bread, which only has three base ingredients: eggs, cream cheese, and cream of tartar. You can add or leave out the toppings according to your taste preferences.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for the keto cloud bread recipe.
You can batch-cook these delicious paleo superfood butter biscuits, so you never leave your healthy snacking to chance.
For more detailed cooking instructions, click here for the paleo superfood butter biscuit recipe.
The role of functional mushrooms as herbal medicine has been proven long ago by the use of functional mushrooms in traditional Chinese medicine. In modern times, these are tested through human research and animal studies.
Here’s a table summarizing all the benefits you can expect when you incorporate healthy mushrooms into your routine. Basically, a mushroom cheatsheet:
Functional mushrooms, even when ingested as mushroom supplements, contain vitamin D, which is also said to aid in weight loss. There are claims that vitamin D can induce a feeling of fullness or boost metabolism, but further research needs to be conducted to confirm if it’s an effective treatment.
Safety First: It’s best to consult a registered dietitian or naturopathic doctor before taking any functional mushrooms, including cordyceps. For example, those on blood thinners or with blood clotting issues should be cautious when taking cordyceps.
Each of these functional mushrooms tackles a specific aspect of regulating your weight, whether it be boosting energy or regulating sugars and fats, to maintain good health.
It’s crucial to remember that all functional mushrooms contain a significant amount of beta-glucans and other compounds that balance out the immune system, which handles 40% of our body’s ability to regulate weight [10].
Getting the immune system to work better can allow the body to build healthy fat and let go of the weight, keeping you at a plateau. Lastly, your diet is only as good as what it’s made of.
If you’re kicking off your healthy weight-loss diet in the spring, consider doing a functional mushroom-supported spring cleanse using these instructions & recipes.
Make sure your mushrooms and supplements are organic and have no grain fillers to dilute their benefits. If you’re ready to boost your diet and health, start with our 5 Defenders Organic Mushroom Complex, which offers the benefits of five mushrooms in one supplement.
.Disclaimer: The information or products mentioned in this article are provided as information resources only, and are not to be used or relied on to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This information does not create any patient-doctor relationship, and should not be used as a substitute for professional diagnosis and treatment. The information is intended for health care professionals only. The statements made in this article have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Any products mentioned are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information in this article is intended for educational purposes. The information is not intended to replace medical advice offered by licensed medical physicians. Please consult your doctor or health practitioner for any medical advice.