Medicinal mushrooms have been used in Eastern medicine for thousands of years and are finally being ushered into the West thanks to promising research and results.

Mushrooms are being used as a component in cancer treatments in some countries, many are extremely high in antioxidants and vitamins and minerals that boost the immune system, and others have properties that trigger your immune response before a pathogen has even entered your system.

However, not all medicinal mushrooms are good for men.

In this article we’ll cover which mushrooms will specifically help your immune system effectively fight viruses and pathogens so you can stay healthy and live a driven life.

Now, are these mushrooms a cure-all? No. Like all supplements, they should be additions to a healthy lifestyle and diet.

Lift weights. Do some cardio. Eat like a man. Get enough vitamin D3 and zinc. And supplement with ManShrooms Immunity if you want to stay healthy, strong, and driven.

The Good Shrooms for Immunity

Chaga

Chaga mushrooms are absolutely filled with antioxidants. There are studies that hint they may help prevent the growth of cancer. 

For men, Chaga is incredibly important because it also lowers bad cholesterol (LDL). We need cholesterol to produce testosterone, so Chaga helps ensure that you have the healthier form flowing through your blood.

On top of all of this, Chaga triggers your immune system BEFORE a pathogen breaches the walls because it contains beta-glucan. Consuming beta-glucan triggers your immune system response in an attempt to protect you from this substance that your body doesn’t make on its own. This results in your immune-system being on ‘high alert’, which helps it target and neutralize threats to your body before they infect you.

Turkey Tail

Turkey tail is a component of cancer treatments in some countries. The FDA has even approved turkey tail on a trial basis for cancer patients. 

And in Japan it’s already been approved as an anti-cancer prescription drug. 

They also contain a compound called polysaccharide-K (PSK) that stimulates the immune system and helps you fight off viruses and pathogens.

Turkey Tail includes antioxidants like phenols and flavonoids that improve immune system health both by reducing inflammation and stimulating the release of protective compounds.

The Organic Turkey Tail found in MANSHROOMS IMMUNITY also help with gut health, which has a big impact on your immune system and immune response. It does this by increasing beneficial bacteria - like Bifidobacterium and Lactobacillus - while reducing potentially harmful bacteria like Clostridium and Staphylococcus. (study, study, study, study)

White Button Mushrooms

These are the unsung heroes of the mushroom world because they’re more common and they actually taste okay. They’re especially unsung heroes for men, as they limit the conversion of your hard-earned testosterone into estrogen, which happens naturally in the body fat of men.

White button mushrooms are also very good for your immune system.

They increase the activity of critical cells to the body’s immune system.

They also increase the production of proteins that your cells release while seeking to protect and repair tissue. One study from the HNRCA Nutritional Immunology Laboratory in Boston, Mass, found that “white button mushrooms enhanced the maturity of immune system cells called ‘dendritic cells’, from bone marrow.”

Dendritic cells can make T cells, these cells both identify and eventually destroy antigens and pathogens - like viruses.

The Bad (for men)

Here’s a big reason why I made ManShrooms Immunity instead of just using someone else’s supplement…

Because most immunity-boosting supplements that contain mushrooms use reishi as a primary ingredient, and for good reason. Reishi is great for your immune-system, but so are the 3 we use in our supplement, the downside to reishi is the effect on your testosterone levels.

Reishi

Reishi does help boost immunity, but it comes at a cost, namely to your testosterone levels and the conversion of serum testosterone to DHT (dihydrotestosterone). 

DHT is a more powerful form of testosterone, which if you want sexual performance, fat loss, and other benefits of high testosterone, you don’t want to inhibit this conversion.

Reishi studies

1. http://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10086-004-0645-z. Accessed February 22, 2017.
2. Liu J, Tamura S, Kurashiki K, et al. Anti-androgen effects of extracts and compounds from Ganoderma lucidum. Chem Biodivers. 2009;6(2):231-243.
3. Liu J, Shiono J, Shimizu K, Kukita A, Kukita T, Kondo R. Ganoderic acid DM: anti-androgenic osteoclastogenesis inhibitor. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. 2009;19(8):2154-2157.
4. Fujita R, Liu J, Shimizu K, et al. Anti-androgenic activities of Ganoderma lucidum. J Ethnopharmacol. 2005;102(1):107-112.