Diving into the mushroom coffee trend: Is fungi fuel fact or fad?
Global News
Fans of mushroom coffee say the nutrient-packed fungi give their morning brew a healthy kick. Nutritionists say they're waiting on the studies before making up their minds.
Mushroom coffee, a blend of Colombian ground coffee and nutrient-packed Lion’s Mane and Shiitake mushrooms, looks and tastes like your usual morning brew. But as this health trend picks up steam, many are left wondering: does it actually deliver on its promises?
Mushroom coffee is a beverage that combines traditional coffee with medicinal mushrooms, such as Chaga, Reishi, and Cordyceps. The mushrooms are typically dehydrated and ground into a fine powder or turned into an extract before being mixed with ground coffee beans. The resulting blend is brewed like regular coffee.
Many wellness social media accounts praise mushroom coffee for its nutrient-rich blend, claiming it enhances brain function and immunity while offering a more balanced and sustained energy boost than regular coffee, without the typical jitteriness and crash from caffeine (due to the lower coffee beans count).
However, some people remain skeptical about the promised benefits and caution consumers to approach the beverage with a healthy dose of skepticism.
Mushrooms are packed with vitamins and minerals, but there isn’t much clinical evidence to suggest that brewing them offers the same benefits as eating them whole, explained Toronto-based nutritionist Kyle Byron.
“I think people are smart to be skeptical because if you look at the reviews on it, we should be skeptical of commercial products… be that a loaf of bread or mushrooms, coffee or a bottle of supplements,” he told Global News. “And with mushroom coffee, you would get similar benefits from making tea or coffee out of any vegetable.”
Andrew Langevin, founder of Nature Lion, an Ontario-based company that sells mushroom growing kits, coffees and powders, said he’s experienced the health benefits firsthand.
He credits drinking mushroom coffee and consuming a lot of different fungi to help alleviate his arthritis pain.
A chemical engineer out of the University of Calgary is piloting what she says is a more efficient, cleaner lithium extraction process.
The World Health Organization has authorized the first mpox vaccine for children, a decision experts hope will help make immunizations more widely available.
California's public health department reported a possible case of bird flu in a child with mild respiratory symptoms, but said there was no evidence of human-to-human transmission.
The AER says the company must report any hazards that present a risk to public safety or the environment.
Trump nominated Oz as administrator for the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services and Howard Lutnick as his next U.S. commerce secretary, who would oversee tariff policy.
Bird flu has spread far and wide, infecting a range of species like chickens, skunks, cows, foxes and polar bears. But it's the pigs that have experts on high alert.
The CFIA has recalled E. coli-tainted carrots, following a U.S. health warning about the contaminated produce linked to one death and dozens of illnesses.
Health Canada said there was an issue with the braking system of the Stokke YOYO baby stroller, sold between August and October this year.
These editorial stories and interviews will focus on the people, companies, research, and innovations leading the environmental and sustainable movement in B.C.
Bennett had just returned from the school run last week when she found the mom and a baby raccoon unconscious, with one of the babies sleeping on the furniture.
B.C. health authorities have announced the first case of a human avian flu infection acquired in Canada, with the teenage patient in critical condition in hospital.