What Are Medicinal Mushrooms?

Medicinal mushrooms - like Reishi, Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Chaga, Tremella, Turkey Tail and more - have been used for thousands of years to nourish immunity, support digestion, balance mood and hormones, and promote deep vitality. In this comprehensive guide, you'll learn how to identify high-quality mushroom extracts, how they work within the body, and which mushrooms are best for your specific health goals. Whether you’re starting out or deepening your herbal practice, this guide is your foundation.

The mushrooms we’re referring to here carry the weight of empirical use across generations. Their potency depends not only on species, but also on how and where they are cultivated and extracted. This is where sourcing and extraction methods make all the difference.

Let’s explore what these mushrooms offer, how to discern quality and authenticity, and how to respectfully integrate them into your herbal practice.

Medicinal mushrooms are a revered category of adaptogenic herbs long used in Chinese medicine and Taoist herbalism. These fungi nourish the body’s vital energy (Qi), modulate immune function, support gut and brain health, and help the body adapt to physical, mental, and environmental stress.

Unlike culinary mushrooms, these are potent tonics with therapeutic effects when grown, harvested, and extracted correctly.

Common Benefits of Medicinal Mushrooms

Traditionally used in Chinese medicine to:

• Support immune system health and function

• Promote digestive strength and gut balance

• Enhance cognitive performance and memory

• Cultivate emotional balance and resilience

• Encourage radiance, vitality and longevity

How Do Medicinal Mushrooms Work?

These mushrooms work across systems by:

• Modulating the immune system, not stimulating it - ideal for long-term balance

• Adapting to your needs - whether calming stress or fuelling vitality

• Supporting gut and liver function, the foundations of health

• Nourishing Jing, Qi, and Shen - the Taoist trifecta of core energy, circulating energy, and spiritual clarity

The Power of Mushroom Constituents

There are many well-studied compounds that contribute to the therapeutic effects of medicinal mushrooms - adaptogenic triterpenoids, polysaccharide-K (PSK), polysaccharide-P (PSP), cordycepin, hericenones, erinacines, melanin, and ergosterol, among others. These active constituents are important to acknowledge, yet modern efforts to isolate or standardise extracts around just one or two often come at the expense of the mushroom’s full-spectrum profile.

Whole Mushroom Wisdom: Traditional Meets Modern

Traditional extraction methods, using optimal pressure and heat, prioritise the integrity of the whole, ensuring that both the known bioactive compounds and those yet to be identified remain intact. This approach preserves the full-spectrum character of the mushroom and reflects the complex synergy that has supported human health for over two millennia of documented use.

Deep Adaptation: Beyond the Physical

In addition to their rich history of use, medicinal mushrooms have increasingly drawn interest for how they interact with foundational cellular processes. Compounds found in mushrooms are being explored in relation to areas such as ATP production, oxidative stress modulation, mitochondrial health, and cellular signalling pathways. While the mechanisms are still being studied, traditional use and emerging research both suggest that these fungi may help the body maintain balance and adaptability in the face of internal and external stressors.

This systems-based perspective reflects the Taoist view of mushrooms as deeply intelligent allies - working across physical, energetic, and emotional terrain rather than targeting a single outcome. In this way, the synergy of full-spectrum mushroom extracts may support the body’s innate capacity for resilience, clarity, and long-term vitality.

What to Consider When Buying Medicinal Mushrooms

When choosing medicinal mushroom supplements, it helps to understand the key elements that influence quality and effectiveness. Below, we walk through the essentials - everything from how your mushrooms are grown to how they're extracted.

1. Sourcing: Organic vs. Dì Dào

Organic Mushrooms

• Certified organic mushrooms are free from non-organic pesticides and fertilisers.

• Organic farming practices are often sustainable, but also industrialised.

• However, organic certification does not guarantee optimal potency or natural growing environments.

Dì Dào Mushrooms Dì Dào (地道) refers to the traditional Chinese practice of growing herbs in their native environment - conditions that best support their medicinal potential.

• Grown in their natural habitat for superior bioactive expression.

• Exposed to the elements to develop an optimal medicinal profile

• Supports small-scale farming and local ecosystems

• Preserves the traditional integrity of the herb or mushroom.

2. Quality and Purity

High-quality mushrooms undergo careful testing to ensure safety and potency:

• Every batch should be tested for contaminants including heavy metals, pesticides, and microbes.

• Fingerprint chromatography confirms the correct species is used.

• Trustworthy brands provide Certificates of Analysis (CoA) for transparency.

3. Growth Medium: Wood vs. Grain-Grown Mushrooms

The medium a mushroom is grown on influences its final composition.

Wood-Grown Mushrooms

• The mushroom’s natural growing environment.

• Result in higher concentrations of active compounds like beta-glucans and triterpenoids.

Grain-Grown Mushrooms

• Often contain more starch and fewer medicinal constituents.

• Common in lower-cost, less potent supplements.

For a more in-depth exploration, read our blog: Wood vs. Grain-Grown Medicinal Mushrooms

4. Fruiting Body vs. Mycelium

Fruiting Body

• This is the visible, above-ground part of the mushroom, traditionally harvested and used in Chinese medicine.

• Contains the majority of bioactive compounds, including beta-glucans, triterpenoids, and polysaccharides.

Mycelium

• Is the root-like structure of the mushroom, grown on grain and often included in products as filler.

• Typically contains fewer medicinal constituents.

Mushroom products made from the fruiting body are generally more potent and in line with traditional use. More on this here: Fruiting Body vs. Mycelium

5. Choosing the Right Form and Extraction Method

Mushroom extracts are available in a few different forms, each with its own benefits:

• Powder: Traditionally extracted powder is highly potent and bioavailable. Ideal for mixing into teas, elixirs, or food. Be mindful of brands claiming 'extracts' that include unextracted mushroom powder as filler - these often dilute the potency and reduce the effectiveness of the final product.

• Capsules: Convenient for daily use, travel, or those who prefer not to taste the herbs.

• Liquid Extracts: Bioavailable and easy to take. While often described as concentrated, not all liquid extracts are created equal - some are diluted or overly reliant on alcohol as a carrier. It's important to choose a brand that honours traditional methods while maintaining therapeutic strength and purity.

Dual Extraction: The Gold Standard

The preferred method for producing potent medicinal mushroom extracts is dual extraction, a combination of water and alcohol. This approach ensures a full-spectrum result by capturing both water-soluble compounds such as beta-glucans and polysaccharides, and fat-soluble compounds like triterpenes.

The SuperFeast Way: Potency with Purpose

At SuperFeast, we use a 10:1 extraction ratio. That means 10 kilograms of raw mushroom yield 1 kilogram of concentrated extract with high therapeutic potential. We process these extracts traditionally using Hòu Huǒ (厚火), a classical Chinese method meaning “deep fire” or “thick fire.”

Hòu Huǒ: Extraction with Intention

This process involves long, slow exposure to varied heat to extract the full medicinal essence of herbs and mushrooms. Unlike flash processing or high-pressure techniques that prioritise speed or yield, Hòu Huǒ focuses on time, temperature, and intention. It allows for a gradual breakdown of tough cell walls while preserving the herb’s subtle energetics and full spectrum of compunds.

For Tonic Herbs, Time is Medicine

This method is especially suited to tonic herbs and medicinal mushrooms, which often require extended time to release their full spectrum of bioavailable compounds. The result is an extract that maintains the integrity and spirit of the herb, aligned with classical Taoist herbalism.

Honouring Tradition, Meeting Modern Standards

In modern practice, Hòu Huǒ is combined with alcohol extraction to complete the dual-extraction process. Together, they deliver a broad profile of active constituents - including those already studied and many yet to be identified - in a form that honours both tradition and contemporary scientific standards.

How to Take Medicinal Mushrooms

Powders - mix into hot water, tea, broths or smoothies
Capsules - simple and convenient for travel or routine
Dosage - start with 1/4 to 1/2 tsp daily and increase as needed
Frequency - daily is ideal for cumulative benefits

Wood vs. Grain Grown Mushrooms

If you're new to medicinal mushrooms, you may have noticed that not all products are created equal. One of the biggest factors impacting a mushroom’s quality is what it’s grown on - grain or wood.

Grain-Grown Mushrooms: The Industry Shortcut

Grain-based cultivation involves growing mushrooms (often just the mycelium) on rice, oats, or similar grains. It’s fast and cheap - but comes with major downsides:

• Often results in myceliated grain - up to 60–70% grain starch

• Lower concentration of active compounds

• May contain filler and minimal fruiting body material

Even though some claim the mycelium is effective, it lacks the full spectrum of constituents found in fruiting bodies grown on wood.

Wood-Grown Mushrooms: The Taoist Way

Wood-based cultivation is traditional, slow, and profoundly effective. At SuperFeast, we grow all our mushrooms this way.

• Mimics the mushroom’s natural environment

• Results in higher potency of key compounds

• Absorbs medicinal chemistry from the host wood

The wood the mushroom feeds on directly contributes to its energetic and therapeutic profile. When you ingest that mushroom, you’re absorbing a much richer biochemical and spiritual signature.

Why Dì Dào Sourcing Matters

We don’t just stop at wood-grown - we follow the Taoist concept of Dì Dào (地道) sourcing: growing herbs in their native, energetically correct environments. It ensures:

• Maximum spiritual integrity of the herb

• Complete expression of its intended medicine

• Deep alignment with the ancient Taoist lineage

This is why you’ll find that SuperFeast mushrooms are not only wood-grown and fruiting-body only - they’re also energetically aligned with their place of origin.

Top Medicinal Mushrooms and Blends - Explained

Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) - The Spirit Mushroom

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Reishi is traditionally used in Chinese medicine to:

• Improve deep sleep

• Calm and balance the spirit

• Support healthy heart and cardiovascular function

• Maintain a robust immune system to fight illness

Revered as the “mushroom of immortality,” Reishi works across multiple systems to cultivate emotional equilibrium, enhance blood flow, and regulate the nervous system.

Studied active constituents: Triterpenoids, beta-glucans and polysaccharides.

Shop Reishi

Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus) - The Brain Optimiser

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Lion’s Mane is the ultimate nootropic mushroom, traditionally used to: 

• Support focus and clarity

• Promotes cognitive performance

• Boosts memory

• Supports nerve health

In Taoist herbalism often used to nourish the Spleen and Stomach, supporting digestion and gut-brain communication. Scientific interest continues to grow around its neuroprotective qualities.

Studied active constituents: Hericenones, erinacines, beta-glucans

Shop Lion’s Mane

Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris) - The Performance Enhancer

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Cordyceps is famous among athletes for building stamina and endurance, while clinically esteemed for its role in supporting deep respiratory and energy health.

Revered in Chinese medicine for its ability to:

• Enhance stamina and physical endurance

• Nourish the lungs to support respiratory function

• Promotes lasting energy levels

• Supports the body’s adaptation to stress
  
  

In Taoist tradition, it nourishes both Lung and Kidney systems, helping to support stamina, oxygenation, and a healthy libido.

Known active constituents: Cordycepin, adenosine, polysaccharides

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Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) - The Immune Guardian

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Chaga is a powerhouse of antioxidant compounds including betulinic acid and melanin, traditionally used to:

• Support immune system function and resilience

• Provide antioxidant support to reduce free radical damage

• Help regulate blood sugar and energy levels

• Support a healthy stress response
  

This ancient medicinal mushroom, rooted in both Scandinavian folklore and Taoist herbalism, delivers a powerhouse of antioxidants and immune modulators, fortifying the body’s defenses against threats.

Known active constituents: Betulinic acid, melanin, polysaccharides

Shop Chaga

Tremella (Tremella fuciformis) - The Beauty Mushroom

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Known as the “beauty mushroom,” Tremella is used to deeply hydrate tissues, support skin elasticity, and promote overall fluid balance in the body. Used traditionally by emperors and concubines to:

• Deeply hydrate tissue to support skin elasticity

• Support tissue repair and overall healing

• Soothe dry coughs and internal dryness

• Promote digestive and lung health

Its ability to nourish Yin makes it a valuable ally for skin radiance and internal moisture.

Known active constituents: Polysaccharides (tremella-specific), beta-glucans

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Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor) - The Immune Multitasker

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

A comprehensive immune system mushroom, brimming with bioactive compounds. Used traditionally in Chinese medicine to:

• Support cellular health, repair, and renewal

• Enhance immune defense

• Support digestive and gut health

• Enhance respiratory health and vitality

This world-renowned mushroom activates the body’s natural defense mechanisms and promotes immune resilience. Additionally, it offers benefits for digestive and respiratory health, making it a powerful ally for enhanced energy and a fortified foundation for long-term health.

Known active constituents: Polysaccharide-K (PSK), Polysaccharide-P (PSP), beta-glucans

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Mason’s Mushrooms - The Everyday Foundation

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Mason’s Mushrooms is a broad-spectrum blend featuring eight of the world’s most potent medicinal mushrooms. These mushrooms are traditionally used to:

• Support immune function

• Promote digestive health and gut balance

• Support mood and cognitive function

• Support hormonal balance

Contains: Reishi, Cordyceps, Lion’s Mane, Turkey Tail, Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), Poria (Poria cocos), Maitake (Grifola frondosa), Agaricus blazei

Known active constituents: Broad spectrum of beta-glucans, triterpenoids, cordycepin, hericenones, and polysaccharides

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Mushroom M8 - Convenience and Coverage

Benefits, Traditional Use & Active Compounds

Formulated with eight immune-supportive mushrooms in capsule form, Mushroom M8 is perfect for those wanting full-spectrum support without the need to prepare powders or teas.

Contains: Cordyceps, Reishi, Tremella, Turkey Tail, Shiitake (Lentinula edodes), Maitake (Grifola frondosa), Zhu Ling (Polyporus umbellatus), and Poria (Wolfiporia cocos).

Known active constituents: Beta-glucans, triterpenoids, cordycepin, PSP, PSK, ergosterol, and a range of polysaccharides including tremella- and poria-specific fractions.

Shop Mushroom M8

Conclusion

The world of medicinal mushrooms is as ancient as it is expansive. These powerful fungi offer deep nourishment for the immune system, nervous system, digestion, and overall energy. Whether you begin with a single extract like Reishi or Lion’s Mane, or opt for a broad-spectrum blend like Mason’s Mushrooms, you are reconnecting with a lineage of wisdom that sees food and herbs as vital medicine.

SuperFeast is honoured to walk with you on this path. With transparency, tradition, and third-party tested quality, we are committed to delivering the full expression of these powerful allies—so you can cultivate your own long-lasting vitality.

Start your mushroom journey with intention and integrity. Explore Mason’s Mushrooms or browse our full Medicinal Mushroom collection.

Learn More

• Wood vs. Grain Grown Medicinal Mushrooms

• Fruiting Body vs. Mycelium

• What Are Beta-Glucans?

• Everything You Need to Know About Mason’s Mushrooms