The marvellous medicinal mushroom
I love the healing powers of medicinal mushrooms, I use them myself and with clients within my practice. My favourite brand for mushroom powders has to be APE Nutrition. They produce quality organic supplements with a great ethos of protecting nature and using farming practices that support the ecosystem around them.
Each medicinal mushroom has amazing properties and benefits for our health, but if it is stamina and endurance you are looking for then Cordyceps is the fun-gi you need to meet (see what I did there) and is the mushroom that I will be focussing on today.
Medicinal mushrooms can help to reduce fatigue and have been proven in studies to enhance cognitive function, they can help to balance the immune system and nervous system thereby helping our mood, so pretty awesome nutritional powerhouses!
They have been shown to improve both our physical and mental performance, increasing our endurance and helping our recovery from exercise.
Cordyceps has been used for many years in traditional Chinese medicine but how exactly does it boost exercise performance?
Medicinal mushrooms are rich in natural active polysaccharides named beta-glucans, provitamin D, and essential amino acids, but it is the cordycepin content together with cordycepic acid and adenosine (a building block of RNA that carries the genetic information for cellular processes to occur) that provides the cordyceps mushroom with its unique, energizing formula. [1]
These bioactive compounds can increase ATP production in the mitochondria within our cells. ATP is our primary energy source and essential for delivering energy to the muscles and this may also improve oxygen delivery, especially during exercise. [2]
We generate many reactive oxygen species (ROS) during exercise, as a by-product of ATP production within each cell. These are known as free radicals that cause inflammation and cellular damage impeding any further energy production and inducing muscle fatigue.
Whilst exercise is good for our health in many ways, during training, especially high-intensity or training regularly, unless we ensure a dietary intake of nutrients rich in antioxidants we can be causing the perfect storm of free radicals damaging proteins, our DNA, and the degradation of our cell membranes. Cordyceps have been shown to help stimulate antioxidant enzymes that help to ‘mop up’ and remove these damaging compounds.
You may have heard the term ‘hitting the wall’ when running a marathon. This is when the body has a sudden and dramatic decrease in energy due to glycogen stores becoming depleted.
Lactic acid becomes present in the blood when muscles need energy to work faster than we can supply them oxygen. Our muscles break down glycogen for energy, but with a lack of oxygen, glycogen is turned into lactic acid causing muscle fatigue and pain.
Cordyceps has been demonstrated to mitigate fatigue by inhibiting blood lactic acid generation and increasing glycogen storage in the liver and muscle when supplementing at a dose of 200mg. Studies show that consistent, chronic supplementation during periods of training is more beneficial with a noted increase in physical performance from week 3 onwards. [3]
These amazing therapeutic properties of the cordyceps fungi have led me to create this pre-workout smoothie for one of my clients who has begun training for the London marathon. But of course, you do not have to be an athlete to benefit from the antifatigue effects of the cordyceps militaris.
If you are feeling weary, tired, lacking in motivation, and propping yourself up with caffeine and energy drinks, supplementation of this amazing mushroom alongside a healthy and balanced diet may just be what you need to increase your energy levels!
Power potion
300ml Unsweetened Almond milk
1/2 Banana - potassium for muscle function
2 Large pre-cooked Beetroot- nitric oxide for increased blood flow
Handful Blueberries- antioxidants to protect cells and lower inflammation
1 Tbsp. Chia seeds- omega-3 healthy fats, fibre, antioxidants
1 Tsp. Organic cordyceps powder- APE nutrition
1 scoop vanilla protein powder
2 scoops gluten free instant oats - Myprotein (optional, may need a drop more milk depending on how thick you like your shake)- Source of carbohydrate
Blend together and drink 1 hour before training
REFS
[1] Choi, E. Oh, J. Sung, G,H ‘Beneficial effect of cordyceps militaris on exercise performance via promoting cellular energy production’. Mycobiology(2020) pp. 512-517.
[2] Xu, Y.F (2016) ‘Effect of polysaccharide from cordyceps militaris(Ascomysetes)on physical fatigue induced by forced swimming, Int. JMedicinal Mushrooms’. 18 (12) pp 1083-1092
[3] P, Geng, K.C, Siu, Z. Wang et al (2017) ‘Antifatigue functions and mechanisms of edible and medicinal mushrooms’. BioMed research international. 10. 1155/9648496.
