This is my second year of guiding mushroom gathering tours to the general public, and over 1500 people have already been through my activities, the hope, perhaps prophetic, I had about two years ago that people would be interested in mushrooming was largely due to my personal interest in the field, It was really unclear what it was based on...
So what is the secret of this magic and why are people so passionate about mushrooms?
I don't think there is one answer, I think every person you ask will give you a different answer, but many people will say that they like mushrooms, or are curious about mushrooms, or really love them. In any case, they obviously have an attraction that is not always explained.
In my opinion, We are attracted to mushrooms because we feel they have something to give us.
I don't think we are attracted to Champignon mushrooms at food stores because they are so delicious; they are not that tasty, They are certainly different and provide us with an experience different from eating any other food, but our tremendous attraction to this kingdom is for other reasons. In my humble opinion, it's because we know that they hide a content that can actually change our lives, or as mushroom thinkers say They can fix the world we live in.
So what’s on the menu?
Here are some significant transformations that fungi have to our lives. And that's just the tip of the iceberg:
On the physical, health scope:
Mushrooms are a source of many substances that nourish our body and make us healthier. A large part of the nutrients in nature are ones that are very difficult for us to obtain effectively from other sources. For example:
Vitamin D- That famous vitamin which we mammals can get mainly from low sunlight radiation. Mushrooms are capable of absorbing sunlight on an highly effective level, and when we consume them for food we actually consume the D vitamins which mushrooms can produce and make available to our body.,
Studies have also shown that "loading" mushrooms in sunlight increases the available vitamin D levels that they can provide us with ( 1 ) ( 2 ).
Strengthening the immune system - Polysaccharides are chains of sugar that, when entering our bloodstream, simulate viruses and germs, training for the battle - so when we encounter these viruses and bacteria "in real life" we can better deal with them. Fungi contain a large amount of polysaccharides available for use in our immune system Some experts say that mushrooms are one of the most successful sources of external polysaccharides (3).
Wastewater treatment:
Mushrooms have the ability to purify wastewater. What do you mean, and how?
Well, can you imagine that a large percentage of wastewater treatment facillities we know will use fungus technology?
This is a largely unknown technology, but very important,and has great potential for changing and improving the wastewater treatment world.
It's inventor and thinker is a key man in the mushroom field. And without further ado here is the way the method is presented in an article on his website:
"The technology, known as “mycofiltration” refers to the intentional and judicious use of cultivated networks of fungal mycelium to facilitate water quality improvements in engineered ecosystems. This ecologically rational biotechnology is a promising technique for enhancing management of stormwater, graywater, and agricultural runoff. The approach of adding cultivated fungi to surface water management practices was invented by Stamets in the late 1980s when a serendipitously placed ‘garden giant’(Stropharia rugoso-annulata) mushroom bed reduced bacteria runoff from upland pasture (Stamets, 2005). He named this technology, “mycofiltration” based on the Classic Greek“mykēs”meaning “fungus” (Stamets, 1993)". ( 4 )
Mushrooms to help overcome mental illness symptoms including depression:
Of all the transformations the mushrooms can give this person, it is probably the most clear and intuitive value for all of us. The use of psychoactive drugs, although illegal, is a very common phenomenon in our culture - Western culture.
Usually, the consumption of mushrooms will be festive or at parties, a percentage of people who consume psychoactive mushrooms at parties will also continue with them in events in daily life But what is common to all the people who consumed psychoactive fungi in more frequent events in their daily lives is that they experienced something, something happened to them.
When you tell the average person there is hope for psychoactive fungi in the treatment of mental disorders - it makes some kind of sense, and with good reason. The study on hallucinogens and depression started in the US in the 1960s presented results that were far-reaching, and showed signs of hope, but, along with the general curbing of the drug and liberal movement. The US surgeon general outlawed them and they were banned.
New interest in the field has resurfaced in recent years, and not much time has passed since they began re-researching until far-reaching results have been found that indicate the buds of new hope for the
treatment of mental disorders by psychoactive fungi. Recently, the Buckley Foundation, based in Oxford, England, published results of a reasearch conducted in the institute that was not less than amazing( 5 ) Researchers reported that patients who had been depressed for over 18 years in their adult lives experienced complete relief of the symptoms of depression. What was even more remarkable and noteworthy is that these were patients who did not respond to any other treatment for depression, that is, patients for whom there is no other hope for recovery. This means that they have actually responded to the treatment, and if these results are indeed maintained over time, it is a treatment that is no less than a life-saver. All the things written in the last paragraph are the very tip of the iceberg, so you can definitely look forward to more texts on the subject (which every time I turn to study I find innovative and up-to-date - it's a hot topic that is developing fast!)
here is a new TED video on the subject ( 6 )
Mushrooms and Communication – Can it be?
Are you familiar with this theory - that mushrooms predicted the Internet?
So yes, there are some scholars who actually claim it and I'll be the last one to refute
this theory, because my logic, after a few years of mushroom research, tends to say it's true
Mushrooms are the queens of communication. The structure of the fungus body - which simulates a tangled web from which breeding bodies burst out of the ground, their role in nature as a link between different mediums, as well as its intensive research and development ability in recent years, are all sufficient evidence of the hope of anchoring that They are an example and model for smart communication on the planet. Oren Huberman in his article "What do mushrooms think?" have interviewed a number of leading mushroom philosofers in the world and laid the cornerstone in conception in Israel that there is some solid spark of information we can learn from mushrooms about communication, including human communication . This fascinating article also illustrated a plethora of additional contributions that fungi have to offer us humans. . ( 7 )
In conclusion Mushrooms have a message to tell us , Whether we are graduates of nature parties
natural therapy containing fungi patients, or waste water engineers, or are none of these, we are intuitively connecting to the idea that mushrooms have some message to convey to us, humans.
One of the reactions I hear most often in my workshops and tours, as well as just like that on day to day life is the word "WOW”! I don't think that much more is needed to explain how powerful, tangible and intense this response is when meeting mushrooms. Ionly we open our eyes, and begin to look at the tremendous potential for fungi to affect our lives, then who knows, we might even have a better world to live in.
* The above article is the first in a series of articles dealing with the transformation of the mushrooms into our daily lives.
And in the meantime- See you soon!!
Maya
* Big thanks to Or mizrahi for assisting in writing this article.
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