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From more magic mushroom research, microdosing and retreats \u2013 to a profusion of superpower mushrooms infused in foods, drinks and beauty products<\/p>\n
The 2017 Global Wellness Summit kicked off with a serious dose of\u2026mushrooms.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Award-winning filmmaker Louie Schwartzberg\u2019s opening talk sneak-previewed his extraordinary new film on the unappreciated power of mushrooms: from their crucial role in Earth\u2019s ecosystem to the mounting medical evidence that they\u2019re uniquely effective human medicine. Largely hidden from our eyes (mushrooms only come to the surface to \u201cfruit\u201d, i.e. spread their spores) the kingdom of fungi \u2013 neither vegetable or animal, but somewhere in between \u2013 is actually the largest set of organisms on the planet. A vast underground network (like the \u201cInternet\u201d of nature), mushrooms are Earth\u2019s main decomposers and their constant \u201cmunching\u201d makes possible soil \u2013 and all plant, animal and human life. And while most westerners only toss a few white button mushrooms into their spaghetti sauce (unlike Asian cultures that embrace so many mushrooms as food and medicine), Schwartzberg detailed the surging medical evidence for so many mushroom breeds: From lion\u2019s mane\u2019s ability to regrow nerve cells and prevent dementia to strong evidence that turkey tail mushrooms help our immune system fight cancer.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Schwartzberg also analyzed the ancient history, and eye-opening new clinical evidence, for that most \u201cunderground\u201d variety of all: psychedelic magic shrooms, those 200 species containing psilocybin that alter the mind by forging new neural pathways in the brain. For thousands of years magic mushrooms were used in cultures worldwide: from the Ancient Greeks (yes, Plato and Socrates) to the Aztecs. And, in the 1960s, leading medical institutions like Harvard undertook studies indicating magic mushrooms\u2019 serious promise for things like depression and addiction. All of which came to a crashing, counterculture-fearing halt when many countries, like France (1966), the U.S. (1970), and the UK (2005), made them (and other psychedelics) highly illegal drugs, putting the kibosh on this important research for decades.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Well, now the research is again on fire, with dozens of studies coming out of top universities like Imperial College-London, NYU, UCLA, the University of Zurich, and Johns Hopkins (with its dedicated Psilocybin Research institute) on magic mushrooms\u2019 too-powerful-to-be-ignored impact on everything from nicotine and alcohol addiction, PTSD, headaches, OCD \u2013 and especially depression and anxiety\u2026often with a single dose, and with the positive effects lasting months. As Roland Griffiths, PhD, one of the top U.S. psychopharmacologists and lead psilocybin investigator at Johns Hopkins, put it, \u201cIt\u2019s a Rip Van Winkle effect\u2014after three decades of no research, we\u2019re rubbing the sleep from our eyes.\u201d Important research is just ahead: Compass Pathways (with high-profile investors like Peter Thiel, Mike Novogratz and Christian Angermayer) is about to start major clinical trials testing magic mushrooms\u2019 impact on depression in eight European countries in early 2018 \u2013 the largest clinical trial of psilocybin ever. Non-profit Usona is also in the development stages for new studies on psilocybin\u2019s impact on depression and anxiety.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
So, if Louie Schwartzberg\u2019s opening presentation at the Summit on the unique \u201cmagic\u201d that mushrooms deliver to our brains and bodies may have at first seemed far out, it\u2019s anything but.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Because the rediscovery and creative uses of mushrooms \u2013 in mental wellness, as true superfoods, and in beauty products (and more) \u2013 will be a top wellness trend in 2018 and beyond. \u201cBrain resetting\u201d magic mushrooms will start to emerge from underground: more people will microdose them as creativity and brain boosters (a Silicon Valley \u201cstart-up\u201d practice now spreading around the world). And, yes, magic mushroom retreats (like MycoMeditations) will keep popping up in places where legal (whether Jamaica or the Netherlands), where the \u201ctrip\u201d gets combined with increasingly luxe wellness experiences. And we\u2019ll see movement on the legalization front, making this magic mushroom moment reminiscent of the early days of the cannabis-as-wellness trend.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
And as medical evidence also ramps up showing that non-magic mushrooms are magical for human health (with adaptogenic, anti-aging and other powers), we\u2019ll see a new world of mushrooms like reishi, chaga, lion\u2019s mane and cordyceps get worked into so many more foods and drinks, from coffee to chocolate \u2013 as well as a growing profusion of shrooms in beauty products. And on both the psychedelic and non-psychedelic fronts it\u2019s a trend driven by new medical studies\u2026how welcome in an era with so much \u201cevidence-free\u201d wellness.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
FUELING THE MAGIC MUSHROOMS TREND<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Roland Griffiths, professor of psychiatry and neurosciences at Johns Hopkins University, is one of the world\u2019s leading researchers investigating magic mushrooms\u2019 eye-opening impact on everything from depression to anxiety to nicotine addiction to end-of-life distress.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Johns Hopkins, University College (London) and NYU are the leaders now researching the wide-ranging effect of psilocybin, and a raft of studies show its positive impact on alcohol and nicotine addiction, OCD, depression, anxiety, and as powerful treatment for those facing end of life. What these conditions have in common, researchers argue, is that brain circuitry may have become \u201cstamped in,\u201d and what they\u2019re finding is that a single dose of magic mushrooms seems to uniquely reset the brain\u2026and not just during a trip, but for months. Using brain-scanning tools (like fMRI) they\u2019re discovering what happens to the brain on psilocybin. First, parts of the brain that are typically hyperactive (the ego or \u201corchestrating centers\u201d that, say, make you worry) shut down. At the same time, other brain regions that normally don\u2019t communicate suddenly strike up conversations, eliciting new emotions, memories, wishes, etc. \u2013 essentially returning us to the state of a child (or long-term meditator). Which is why people report such a sense of connection with the world and other people and a new ability to see the \u201cbig picture.\u201d And psychedelics knock down old brain patterns and jumpstart new ones by acting on the too-little-studied serotonin 2A receptor (while commonly prescribed SSRIs only activate the serotonin 1A receptor).<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
As lead researcher Dr. Robin Carhart-Harris at Imperial College put it, magic mushrooms essentially \u201cshake the snow globe\u201d and benefit people that suffer from disorders involving excessively rigid patterns of thinking \u2013 as well as unlocking creativity.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
This Mechanism Underpins Why Studies Have Been So Exciting for:<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Depression:<\/strong> A headline-grabbing 2017 Imperial College study revealed clear changes in brain activity and significantly reduced symptoms for treatment-resistant depressives lasting weeks after a single dosage. The findings proved so exciting that the researchers are undertaking more robust studies testing psilocybin against a leading antidepressant in 2018.<\/p>\n End-of-Life Distress:<\/strong> Many psilocybin studies focus on patients with a terminal cancer diagnosis to measure impact on end-of-life anxiety. The results: powerful. In NYU\/Johns Hopkins studies 80% of cancer patients showed dramatic reductions in anxiety sustained seven months after a dose. Two-thirds of participants rated the magic mushroom experience as one of the top five most spiritually significant experiences of their lives; a third ranked it #1. As Roland Griffiths at Johns Hopkins put it, \u201cI don\u2019t want to say mind-blowing\u2026but to a scientist, that\u2019s just incredible.\u201d<\/p>\n Addiction:<\/strong> Studies reveal brain-resetting psilocybin\u2019s impact on various addictions. One small study showed that after two psilocybin treatments 80% of long-term heavy smokers had still quit six months later, while another indicated that a couple of mushroom doses had a significant effect on reducing drinking at eight months for the alcohol-dependent.<\/p>\n Deepening Spiritual Life:<\/strong> Because mystical experiences are at the heart of most religions (Moses saw that burning bush\u2026), NYU and Johns Hopkins are now studying clergy to investigate the neurobiology of both mushroom and religious experiences. And while the study isn\u2019t yet published, the researchers report very similar brain states with a psilocybin dose and what religious leaders have experienced at meditation retreats.<\/p>\n Improving Personality:<\/strong> While research has long indicated that after age 30 your personality is pretty much a done deal, studies show that a single psilocybin dose has a positive, maybe even permanent, effect on people\u2019s personalities: making them more open-hearted, creative and curious.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n This new evidence is so unexpected that a year ago, nearly the entire issue of the Journal of Psychopharmacology was devoted to the impact of magic mushrooms (14 studies). Because many studies are small (true for most wellness studies that aren\u2019t funded by the deep pockets of Big Pharma), the familiar chant is \u201cmore, larger, high quality studies are needed.\u201d Agreed. But as Professor Craig Blinderman of Columbia University noted in his commentary in the Journal of Psychopharmacology, \u201cIf these findings are confirmed in large randomized controlled studies\u2026the classification of psilocybin as a Schedule 1 drug should be challenged, for this would represent a treatment unlike anything in psychiatry: a rapid sustained reduction in depression and anxiety with a single dose of a psychoactive compound.\u201d Professors at Ivy League universities don\u2019t often fling these kinds of statements around. The pace of research is seriously quickening in 2018, and it\u2019s the research that will determine whether laws banning their use \u2013 and consumer attitudes \u2013 get a reset.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Safest Recreational Drug<\/p>\n The 2017 Global Drug Survey (examining data from over 50 countries) concluded that magic mushrooms are the safest recreational drug in the world: dramatically less likely to require post-usage medical treatment than alcohol, LSD, cocaine or opioids like OxyContin. Studies also show that there are no significant abuse concerns: they\u2019re non-addictive and non-toxic to the body\u2019s organs. And while psilocybin\u2019s effects are similar to LSD, it\u2019s less strong and long lasting, and doesn\u2019t carry the negative cultural baggage. And crucial to many wellness consumers: They\u2019re natural, rather than concocted in a lab. However, very few would argue that this should be seen as license to \u201ctry a pile of shrooms at home\u201d as the positive effects in clinical trials have much to do with correct dosage, setting and supervision.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Movement on Legal Front<\/p>\n The legal status of magic mushrooms varies complexly worldwide. The UN categorizes them as Schedule 1 drugs, so most countries regulate or prohibit them \u2013 but with much selective enforcement. However, they\u2019re legal in countries like Spain, the Czech Republic, Jamaica, Costa Rica and Austria; and while technically illegal in the Netherlands, a loophole means the sale of \u201cmagic truffles\u201d is rampant. Some interesting legalization action is now underway: a measure to decriminalize them in California has cleared the first hurdle for the ballot in 2018, and there is a push to put them on the Oregon ballot in 2020 (for use in organized clinics, not at home). We know that with cannabis legalization where California went, so went much of the U.S. And when you wrap your mind around how fast and radically laws and attitudes toward cannabis have recently changed, you can see how a safe, evidence-backed psychoactive like magic mushrooms might soon see a similar legal and mindset shift.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n EXAMPLES OF TREND<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Microdosing: Straight Outta Silicon Valley<\/p>\n Psilocybe azurescens: One of about 200 species of psilocybin-containing mushrooms. Magic mushrooms have been used for centuries, possibly millennia, within some cultures in structured manners for healing or religious purposes. [Image by Paul Stamets] YouTube tutorials and Reddit groups on how to microdose mushrooms are spawning. Tech entrepreneur, Paul Austin, a professional microdosing coach, offers Skype consulting sessions and an online course through his website The Third Wave \u2013 and is building a Microdosing App that will track people\u2019s progress and experiences. And if no formal studies have analyzed the science behind microdosing, that will change in 2018 as UK-based nonprofit the Beckley Foundation undertakes the first research.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n A New Kind of Wellness \u201cTrip\u201d \u2013 Magic Mushroom Retreats<\/p>\n It\u2019s striking that when a psychiatrist like Julie Holland imagines the future of psychedelic experiences she envisions a place that\u2019s \u201ca cross between a spa\/retreat and a gym\u2026where they can be experienced in a safe, supportive environment.\u201d And it\u2019s a fitting model: an expert-led, sensory-focused retreat where a psychedelic \u201ctrip\u201d happens within a wellness trip (as psilocybin, unlike cannabis, is hardly an everyday drug). We\u2019ve had ayahusaca retreats in South America for years (and the media had delighted in chronicling these spiritual journeys favored by the hip and famous). But now all-inclusive magic mushroom retreats in countries where psilocybin is legal (like Jamaica, Costa Rica and Holland) are on the march and quickly getting more luxe.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n MycoMeditations is a pioneer with weeklong retreats on a private Jamaican bay, with airport pickup, lovely food, guided hikes and massages, and evening by-the-fire-and-ocean group mushroom sessions. Last month MycoMeditations\u2019 founder and comedian Shane Mauss teamed up for a luxury mushroom retreat on the island. The exclusive Alquimia Centre of Healing Arts in the Colombian jungle (that accepts guests who receive one of their much-sought internships) serves up serious education on Amazonian medicine and enlightenment through expert-led natural psychedelic experiences like magic mushrooms. Paul Austin\u2019s The Third Wave has begun full-blown magic mushroom retreats in Costa Rica, the British Virgin Islands, Jamaica and the Netherlands. Sites like OpenMindTrips.com aggregate psychedelic and mushroom retreats worldwide, and while there are far more hea<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Non-Psychedelic Shrooms Bloom in Food-as-Medicine & Beauty<\/p>\n Non-trippy mushrooms, which have played a starring role in traditional Eastern medicine for millennia (and are part of an everyday food-as-medicine philosophy in places like Japan, China and Russia), are now getting overdue global recognition as equally \u201cmagic\u201d functional foods \u2013 and are wildly proliferating in foods, beverages and beauty products. Global Wellness Summit keynote speaker Dr. Andrew Weil (in conversation at the conference) noted that people outside Asia are finally grasping the \u201cphenomenal\u201d health benefits of so many kinds of mushrooms for medicinal purposes: \u201cWith such a great range\u2014mainly Asian mushrooms\u2014that enhance immunity, protect us from cancer and infections\u2026and have all sorts of remarkable qualities.\u201d<\/p>\n<\/p>\n The remarkable qualities of different mushroom varieties would be impossible to chronicle here: mushrooms contain polysaccharides and beta-glucans that jumpstart the immune system; they\u2019re a massive natural source of Vitamin D; they stabilize blood sugar and fight inflammation. And some varietals, like reishi, cordyceps, chaga, lion\u2019s mane and maitake, are adaptogens (a concept buzzed about in earlier trends reports), which means that they have a unique power to help our bodies resist the biological, chemical and emotional stressors that attack us every single day. And it\u2019s not just supermarket, but also beauty aisles, that are experiencing a great mushroom invasion. They\u2019ve long been a key component in Asian beauty products and now mushrooms are hitting global skincare, cosmetic and haircare lines for their unique powers: as super-hydrators, antioxidants that repair skin cells, collagen boosters and skin tone eveners.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n New processes make it much easier to extract the active nutrients in mushrooms so they can be snuck into tonics, powders, bottled drinks, snack bars, chocolates, coffees, cocoas, teas, broths and oils. Yes, they\u2019re trendy: you can grab a mushroom latte from Melbourne to Miami. And we join other trends forecasters in spotlighting mushrooms as a fast-moving functional food and beauty ingredient (Whole Foods named them a top-ten food trend for 2018, MindBodyGreen for 2017). What\u2019s important is that this rediscovery of mushrooms-as-medicine is not only trendy\u2026it has the virtue of being backed by evidence.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n FUELING THE TREND Plant-Based Diets Boom<\/p>\n While mushrooms aren\u2019t \u201cplants\u201d they\u2019re benefitting from one of the biggest global wellness trends: more people moving to less- or no-meat diets. Consider: The number of vegans in the UK skyrocketed 350% in the last decade, and 42% are aged 15-34. In the U.S., veganism jumped 500% since 2014.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Examples of Trend<\/p>\n Innovating Mushrooms in and as Food Mushrooms Everywhere: From Powders to Coffee to Chocolate<\/p>\n Mushrooms \u2013 especially the stress-effect-fighting adaptogenic breeds like reishi, cordyceps, chaga and maitake \u2013 are being infused and brewed into everything imaginable.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mushroom-mad company Four Sigmatic (brainchild of a Finnish chemist) serves up a whole range of adaptogenic mushroom-packed coffees and hot chocolates. Gaia Herbs recently rolled out a whole line of mushroom supplements targeting everything from brain to liver health. Mushrooms are the star ingredients in Choice Organic Teas\u2019 Wellness Teas collection. And before you say \u201cblech,\u201d companies are working overtime to make them delicious. Rebbl\u2019s reishi chocolate milk blends up cocoa and coconut milk with reishi, while Love Grace\u2019s new mocha drink whips up adapatogenic mushrooms with cold-brewed coffee, coconut milk, cacao and cinnamon. And yes, there\u2019s chocolate: both Freaky and Wild Alaska chocolate brands are infusing a host of healing mushrooms.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mushroom Beauty<\/p>\n Many mushrooms are skin and hair superfoods so they\u2019re on the serious rise in beauty products. Chaga mushroom is a natural antioxidant and anti-irritant with zinc and melanin that helps repair skin cells and eliminates free radicals that cause wrinkles; Chinese cordyceps is known for creating cellular energy necessary for the skin\u2019s protective barrier; tremella mushrooms are prized for their antioxidant and deep hydrating benefits.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Mushrooms are skin superfoods and are blooming in beauty products \u2013 like Dr. Andrew Weil for Origins Mega Mushroom Collection, blending supershrooms like chaga and reishi.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Too many products to name: Dr. Andrew Weil\u2019s \u201cMega-Mushroom Skin Relief Collection\u201d blends chaga, reishi and more. Korean beauty companies have been pioneers in the use of mushrooms as a skin elixir, and tremella extract is found in K-beauty brands like Earth\u2019s Recipe lotions and potions. Makeup artist Charlotte Tilbury\u2019s products use shiitake mushrooms in their ingredient \u201cFermiprotect\u201d which appears in products like her Magic Foundation. Kerstin Florian\u2019s Correcting Brightening Facial Treatment is loaded with Chinese mushrooms to attack skin inflammation and hyperpigmentation \u2013 and there is an entire \u201cMushroom Collection\u201d from Prana Spaceuticals. And more hair care is mushroom-powered, like ANUVA\u2019s Tonifying Shampoo with reishi or Beauty 4 Ashes\u2019 Maitake Healthy Hair Growth Shampoo.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n More Shroom Foraging & Cuisine at Wellness Retreats<\/p>\n Foraging is of course a buzzword in the food and hotel industry: Not only do chefs handpick wild mushrooms and herbs, now more properties let guests experience that sense of place and nature with more mushroom foraging and unique mushroom cuisine. For instance, at Emerson Resort & Spa in upstate New York, guests can opt for summer \u201cMushroom Walk\u201d packages where the local \u201cMushroom Man\u201d leads them in mushroom foraging while educating them about each breed\u2019s healing powers. And at the amazing Stanford Inn (Mendocino Coast, California), the first vegan resort in North America, there\u2019s mushroom foraging experiences and a cool, ongoing \u201cMedicinal Mushroom Breakfast\u201d that not only serves up mushrooms on the plate it educates diners on their medicinal impact.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Microdosing psilocybin (and other psychedelics) means taking very small amounts (maybe 1\/10th of a dose) every few days over several months. It doesn\u2019t cause a consciousness-altering trip, but is designed to be large enough to affect thinking, creativity, problem solving, connection to others, and anxiety. It\u2019s all about cognitive enhancement \u2013 a biohacking of the brain \u2013 so it\u2019s no surprise it was pioneered among Silicon Valley professionals, whether engineers or artists. Popularized by Ayelet Waldman\u2019s 2017 book A Really Good Day, microdosing is now spreading around the world, attracting white-collar professional experimenters far beyond some \u201cdruggie\u201d fringe.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Mushrooms ARE Medicine
Mushrooms are at the root of many modern pharmaceuticals, from penicillin (which has saved more human lives than any medication) to anticancer drugs. And evidence for their body and brain benefits just keeps mounting. Example: A new Penn State University study reveals that all mushrooms (but especially delicious wild ceps or porcini) are the #1 source of two important anti-aging antioxidants, ergothioneine and glutathione, that protect the body against cancer, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer\u2019s disease, while keeping the brain healthy. Researchers speculate that that\u2019s why countries like Italy and France (who eat more mushrooms) have much lower rates of neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer\u2019s and Parkinson\u2019s than countries like the U.S. Hitting Italian levels isn\u2019t hard: just 5 button mushrooms a day.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n
Companies are busy developing technologies that infuse more mushroom-medicine into foods. M&S has developed Ireland-grown Active Health mushrooms with a 100% daily dose of Vitamin D and vitamin B5 to fight fatigue. MycoTechnology\u2019s new vegan mushroom protein PureTaste has raised $35 million in funding (and a big investment from Kellogg) \u2013 a clear sign that innovating mushroom infusion into foods is going mainstream. The nutritionally complete food brand Soylent has launched Coffiest (a caffeinated alternative for the breakfast skipper) packed with vitamins and L-theanine, a stress-relieving, brain-enhancing nootropic derived from mushrooms.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n