Reishi mushrooms are a reddish-orange color and grow in a fan-like shape. Unlike portobellos or shiitakes, however, reishis aren’t typically tossed straight into a stir-fry, flatbread, or omelet. The taste is rather bitter and woodsy, and the texture is tough, so you’ll often find these mushrooms in a more easily consumable powdered form. These mushrooms have been around for centuries, so why the sudden attention? With a rise in interest in functional medicine and a growing curiosity in the advantages of adaptogens (which may help our bodies adapt to stress), it’s no wonder this medicinal fungus is garnering more notice in the U.S. While more studies are needed to fully prove the full range of health benefits, here’s how reishi mushrooms show health promise, according to preliminary research and RDs.
Reishi Mushroom Benefits
When looking for the right thing to buy, “first, make sure they’re organic and harvested from a trusted source,” Glen advises. “Look for products that say 100 percent reishi mushrooms without mycelium (a grain-based additive that often improves the taste, but isn’t reishi).” You’ll also often find this mushroom in powdered form (sometimes mixed with other mushrooms), dried, as in a tea, in a capsule, or even mixed into hot cocoa or protein bars as an ingredient. “The recommended dose is about 3 grams, or a half teaspoon,” Blatner says. “So a little goes a long way.” If you decide to give cooking with this mushroom a try, you might want to find ways to help mask or complement its earthy, bitter profile. “Understand this isn’t just a tasty succulent mushroom,” Blatner says. She suggests using the dried mushrooms to make a broth for a soup or ramen dish, since these mushrooms add rich umami flavor. To sneak it into your diet and fully mask the flavor, you can add reishi mushroom powder into hot chocolate, coffee, or even chocolate bark.
The Bottom Line
There’s no doubt that many mushrooms contain vast health benefits, and there’s promise that reishi can as well, with more studies needed to fully corroborate its current health claims. “Remember that one ‘superfood’ alone cannot solve our diet problems or make us ‘healthy,’ especially one that hasn’t been proven yet,” Glen says. “It’s the sum of all the efforts we put into our bodies: balanced nutrition, adequate hydration, sleep, physical activity, and stress reduction.”
