Don’t Ignore This Magic Food Group

Midnight

And seeing two fifteen-year-old boys carrying an upside-down bicycle attracted my attention. One thing guaranteed to rouse my suspicions is the unusual.

One held the front wheel, the other gripped the rear wheel.

I stopped to speak with them.

The bicycle was in perfect working order — the two boys weren’t. I couldn’t smell alcohol, but they were tripping on something. I could see it in their eyes.

“Why are you carrying your bicycle?” I enquired, suspecting they had stolen it.

“The cows told us to carry it home,” front wheel boy asserted — as if I was the stupid one.

It’s psychedelic, man

Psilocybin is a classic hallucinogen, a chemical produced by over 100 species of mushrooms. The boys had found some magic mushrooms in a field and experimented. A herd of curious cows wandered across and their intoxicated minds engaged the cows in conversation.

I took them home to the safety of their parents.

I called at their respective homes the following night and gave them a lecture on the dangers. Carrying a bicycle upside down wouldn’t cause them any harm, but they could have a bad reaction to the magic mushrooms.

What I didn’t know then…

It’s not all curious cows and carrying bicycles

There’s more to magic mushrooms than kids experimenting with their minds — studies show psilocybin can help manage mental health conditions:

Depression

At both 2 months post drug sessions and 14 months follow-up, patients had increased ratings of positive attitudes, mood, social effects, and behaviour.

Anxiety

Anxiety significantly decreased as measured by the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory at 1 and 3 months post-treatment in the psilocybin group compared to those not taking the drug. Mood improved for 2 weeks after treatment and reached statistical significance on the Beck Depression Inventory at the 6-month point with the same comparison.

Obsessive-compulsive disorder (OCD)

Studies found the oral administration of psilocybin may be helpful in reducing OCD symptoms

Alcohol dependence

Patients all had a significant decrease in alcohol use post psilocybin administration.

Tobacco cessation

The results of a study were promising with 80% of the participants remaining abstinent at the 6-month follow-up point.

And it’s not just good for the brain…

Immune booster

Mushrooms are being studied to find out how they affect the immune system and if they stop or slow the growth of tumours or kill tumour cells. Certain chemical compounds, such as polysaccharides (PSK) in some mushrooms, strengthen the immune system to fight cancer.

A review published in 2007 combined results from 8 randomised controlled trials in 8,009 patients who had surgery to remove gastric cancers. After surgery, they gave the patients in the trials chemotherapy, some with PSK and some without PSK. The results suggest that receiving chemotherapy and PSK helped patients live longer.

A great big red caveat

Before you go out and start popping any old mushrooms in your mouth, you should be aware there are 70 to 80 known poisonous mushrooms and about 7 that might kill you — some so similar to the non-poisonous varieties, I defy you to tell the difference.

So, unless you know what you are doing, probably best to get your mushrooms from a reputable source.

There are roughly ten thousand species of known mushrooms.

Of these,

• · 50% will be inedible
• · 25% will be edible but not incredible (i.e. tasteless)
• · 20% might make you sick
• · 1% might cure you or kill you

That leaves a delicious 4%

Very little advice about diet mentions mushrooms, but don’t dismiss them or you’ll miss out.

The edible fungi (mushrooms and truffles) are nutritionally rich organisms. They are an excellent source of proteins, minerals and dietary fibre. They provide many of the same benefits as vegetables and have many similar features to those found in meat and beans.

Here are some of the lovely boxes they tick:

• · Low in calories
• · Fat-free
• · Cholesterol-free
• · Low in sodium
• · Gluten-free
• · Source of B vitamins
• · Source of minerals — copper, selenium and potassium
• · Source of ergothioneine — an antioxidant
• · Sustainable food choice

And they taste great

Mushrooms have an umami savoury flavour and improve food texture when substituted for ground meats.

Don’t dice with the cows — fry with a little extra-virgin olive oil, garlic, soy and enjoy.