3 Best Mushrooms for Gut Health (Backed by Science)
Mushrooms are one of those things people either love or hate, but they’re so much more than a controversial pizza topping. Medicinal mushrooms are fungi that can pack some serious health benefits. In fact, they usually don’t even look like the button mushrooms you’re used to seeing in the grocery store.
Functional mushrooms can have many uses, from supporting brain power to promoting gut health. But why is gut health so important, and which mushrooms are best for the gut? Here’s the lowdown on everything you need to know.
What Is Gut Health?
The “gut” is a simple term that basically includes the entire digestive tract. Specifically, when people talk about their “guts,” they usually mean their stomachs and intestines.
These organs are part of every human body, so it might seem strange to think that they can be healthy or unhealthy. In fact, there are a few key factors that make up gut health.
These include:
- The Gut Microbiome: There are trillions of bacteria that live throughout your intestines, but mostly in your large intestine. These bacteria produce digestive enzymes and other compounds that are important for health. That said, this delicate balance is easily upset.
- Gut Motility: This refers to how long it takes the body to digest food. If food moves slowly through the digestive tract, it can cause indigestion. Normally, it should take between two to five days to digest food.
- Intestinal Permeability: The intestinal walls naturally allow nutrients to pass through them into the bloodstream. However, they can sometimes be a little too open, allowing toxins to pass through as well.
- Irritation: The gut can get irritated by bacteria, viruses, toxins, and even the food you eat.
Why Is Gut Health Important?
You might not spend a lot of time thinking about what goes on inside your digestive system, but we can pretty much guarantee you’ll notice when something’s off. It could start with indigestion, bloating, nausea, or constipation. However, the gut deals with far more than just digestion.
The gut is the physical center of the body, both in location and function. Having poor gut health means you won’t be able to absorb as many nutrients from your food, you might experience gut irritation, and you might even feel stressed.
There’s something called the gut-brain axis, which basically explains how gut health affects emotional and brain health, and vice versa. For instance, the gut creates 95 percent of the body’s serotonin. This chemical doesn’t just play a role in mood and digestion — it’s also an ingredient in melatonin, the body’s sleep hormone.
The gut also affects immune health, and having poor gut health can leave you more open to catching colds. There’s even something called the gut-skin axis, which describes how gut health can affect skin health. It turns out that poor gut health could be behind your breakouts, dryness, or overall lackluster skin tone.
3 Best Mushrooms for Gut Health
Clearly, the gut is the star of the show when it comes to health. Fix your gut, and you might just fix a host of other issues along with it!
There are plenty of ways you can support your gut health, such as exercising, getting sunlight, managing stress, getting plenty of sleep, and eating gut-healthy foods. However, another major thing you can do is consider taking mushroom supplements. Here are our favorites for gut health.
1. Lion’s Mane
Lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) is well-known for its neuroprotective properties, but its benefits extend to gut health, thanks to the intricate connection between the brain and the gastrointestinal system.
Lion’s mane can support the body’s production of NGF, a protein essential for the growth and maintenance of neurons. This includes the enteric nervous system, often referred to as the "second brain," which helps control gut function.
Lion’s mane mushroom is also a rich source of beta-glucans. These are carbohydrates that double as prebiotic fiber, which acts like food for the bacteria in your small and large intestines.
Lion’s mane can also bind to toxins, encouraging the body’s natural detoxification pathways. This can ease irritation in the gut and help support the gut-brain connection. This leads to some other benefits of lion’s mane, such as supporting brain health, focus, and mental health.
2. Reishi
Reishi mushrooms can support the intestinal lining, encouraging healthy intestinal permeability. Reishi can also support a balanced gut microbiome, specifically when it comes to the balance between bacteria and yeast.
Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum), often dubbed the "mushroom of immortality," has been used in traditional medicines for hundreds of years. This mushroom has many benefits, especially when it comes to gut health.
Reishi contains polysaccharides and triterpenoids that may support the integrity of the intestinal lining. By supporting a strong gut lining, Reishi could help keep harmful substances from escaping the gut into the bloodstream.
Reishi also has antimicrobial properties that may stop or slow the growth of Candida albicans, a common yeast that can overpopulate the gut and cause some less-than-pleasant side effects. These can include brain fog, indigestion, sugar cravings, and more.
3. Chaga
Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) is a fungus that thrives on birch trees. Chaga is also a great source of antioxidants, which are molecules that can help neutralize the effects of free radicals. The gut lining is especially susceptible to damage from oxidative stress, which can cause it to not work as well.
Chaga mushroom alsois another mushroom that contains lots of beta-glucans. Beyond its prebiotic properties, chaga can also support balance within the gut microbiome and support the immune system. Both chaga and lion’s mane contain certain compounds that can help soothe irritation within the gut, along with classic symptoms of conditions like irritable bowel syndrome, Crohn's disease, and ulcerative colitis. , as well.
These can help support gut health and also overall health in both the short term and long term.
4. Turkey Tail
Turkey tail (Trametes versicolor) is packed with polysaccharopeptides, especially PSK (polysaccharide-K) and PSP (polysaccharopeptide). These unique compounds have drawn the attention of researchers for their potential prebiotic effects. They can feed the good gut bacteria like Bifidobacteria and Lactobacillus, supporting a healthier and more diverse microbiome.
Beyond its prebiotic properties, turkey tail can also help clear the gut of unwanted bacteria. Studies have shown that extracts from turkey tail can slow or stop the growth of harmful bacteria such as Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, and Listeria monocytogenes, as well as the fungus Candida albicans.
5. Shiitake
Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) aren’t just a stir-fry staple — they’ve got serious gut-supporting potential, too. Like the other mushrooms on our list, these mushrooms contain beta-glucans, a class of polysaccharides that may act as prebiotics.
These complex carbs aren't digested by our systems, but instead pass through to feed the bacteria in the gut. The result is an increase in short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs) like butyrate, which can improve intestinal barrier function and the body’s response to inflammation.
Shiitake mushrooms are also rich in bioactive compounds that may support gut health by changing the immune system. Regularly eating shiitake has been linked to increased levels of secretory immunoglobulin A (sIgA), an antibody that helps promote immunity in the gastrointestinal tract.
Higher sIgA levels can strengthen the gut's defense against bad bacteria and viruses. Additionally, shiitake intake has been associated with reduced levels of C-reactive protein (CRP), a marker of systemic inflammation .
How Can You Take Mushrooms for Gut Health?
When you’re looking for a mushroom supplement, don’t fall victim to clever marketing. There are three key things you need to be aware of:
- How the Mushroom Is Processed: The human body cannot use the beneficial compounds in raw mushrooms unless they’re extracted, so make sure you specifically look for supplements that use mushroom extract.
- How the Mushroom Is Fed: Some brands feed their mushrooms grains instead of wood to help speed up production. However, this can lead to a lower-quality supplement that might not have all of the benefits you’re looking for.
- Which Part of the Mushroom Is Used: Mycelium, or the underground part of the mushroom, is commonly used in supplements. However, it’s also not as high in beta-glucans and other beneficial compounds. Instead, you may want to look for supplements that use mushroom fruiting bodies.
Our Mushroom Coffee+ checks all of these boxes and more. Featuring double-extracted, wood-fed lion’s mane and chaga fruiting bodies, our formula is made with your gut in mind. Plus, it contains other ingredients that can help support gut health. For instance, collagen can help support the intestinal lining, while L-theanine can help ease feelings of stress.
How To Get the Most Out of Your Mushrooms
Your gut is connected to digestion, immunity, mood, and even skin health. And while probiotics and mushroom powders often get the spotlight, it’s your everyday choices that really set the tone for your gut microbiome.
Start with your plate. A fiber-rich diet full of fruits, veggies, legumes, and whole grains feeds your beneficial gut bacteria. Meanwhile, fermented foods like kimchi, sauerkraut, and kefir help deliver live cultures that help maintain balance in your microbiome. Prebiotics like garlic, onions, and leeks can also act as fertilizer for those good bacteria.
Hydration keeps things moving (if you know what we mean), while regular movement, like walking or yoga, promotes digestion and lowers inflammation all around. Sleep and stress management are also so important. Chronic stress and erratic sleep can disrupt gut flora and increase intestinal permeability, which can cause inflammation all over the body.
Last but not least, make sure you don’t use too many antibiotics, NSAIDs, and artificial sweeteners, which can alter the diversity of your gut microbiome. Remember, gut health isn’t about one new supplement or one choice, it’s based on a lifestyle of good habits and consistency.
How Can You Tell if You Have Poor Gut Health?
Your gut has ways of letting you know when things aren’t going well. And, contrary to popular belief, it’s not always through your stomach.
Yes, bloating, constipation, diarrhea, and gas are the usual suspects. But gut dysfunction can also show up as brain fog, fatigue, mood swings, sleep issues, skin flare-ups (think eczema or acne), and even bad breath.
Frequent sugar cravings might be another sign that your gut microbiota is out of whack. The bad bacteria feed on refined carbs and send signals for more.
An imbalanced gut can also damage your immune system, leaving you more prone to colds, infections, or even autoimmune reactions. Food sensitivities can also creep in, and once-tolerated foods could suddenly cause discomfort or inflammation.
What About Digestive Disorders?
Ulcerative colitis (UC) and Crohn’s disease are two forms of inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), conditions marked by chronic inflammation of the gastrointestinal tract. UC affects the colon and rectum, while Crohn’s can target any part of the GI tract, often in patchy areas. Both can cause abdominal pain, bloody stools, fatigue, weight loss, and difficulty absorbing nutrients.
However, reishi has adaptogenic and anti-inflammatory properties that may support barrier function and reduce inflammation in the gut. Meanwhile, lion’s mane could support nerve regeneration in the enteric nervous system, which may help your food move at a normal pace during IBD flare-ups. Finally, chaga may help minimize oxidative stress to support the gut.
The Bottom Line
We’re not exaggerating when we say gut health is one of the keys to full-body health. Whether your issue is brain fog, skin breakouts, indigestion, stress, or poor sleep, it’s likely that you can trace it back to your gut.
At Everyday Dose, we designed our nootropics stack to take advantage of this knowledge. We knew our formula shouldn’t just provide cognitive support — it should support the gut, too. That’s why we developed our full selection of mushroom blends with only five of the highest-quality ingredients out there. Shop all of our blends today and find one that works for you!
Sources:
The Gut-Brain Axis: Influence of Microbiota on Mood and Mental Health | PMC
The Gut-Skin Axis: Interaction of Gut Microbiome and Skin Diseases | Frontiers Research Topic
5 Reasons to Consider Chaga Mushrooms | American Association of Naturopathic Physicians
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