Info: 60 gram Jar of Powder
Four Sigmatic has been making functional or medicinal mushroom blend coffees and hot chocolates for over a decade, using only the mushroom tops/fruiting bodies where most of the bioactive agents are, and with no fillers like the media they grow on. Although most of their blends only feature up to three types of mushrooms (sometimes accompanied with other sorts of adaptogens) geared to certain effects (like enhancing memory), this one boasts ten immunomodulating types altogether, in equal portions.
Info: 60 gram Jar of Powder
Four Sigmatic has been making functional or medicinal mushroom blend coffees and hot chocolates for over a decade, using only the mushroom tops/fruiting bodies where most of the bioactive agents are, and with no fillers like the media they grow on. Although most of their blends only feature up to three types of mushrooms (sometimes accompanied with other sorts of adaptogens) geared to certain effects (like enhancing memory), this one boasts ten immunomodulating types altogether, in equal portions.
Product Notes:
Many other parts of the world have been using mushrooms medicinally for hundreds if not thousands of years, but we're a bit late to the party here in North America, despite the great proliferation of products over the past decade. Also known as functional mushrooms because of their strong potential to benefit other aspects of our health beyond their mere their nutritional value, they not only serve as "prebiotics" to help sustain the probiotics in your GI tract which have important roles in immune function, but various types also have antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, and tumor-suppressing properties, and may even help keep blood sugar levels under control.
Although some types are heralded more for specific effects (e.g., helping endurance), there's also some evidence that there can be a synergistic effect for one's overall health by combining several types together, like here.
Rather than being paired with either instant coffee or cocoa and cinnamon for a more familiar taste (and a shot of caffeine) like most of their blends, this one combines the powdered mushrooms with Dog Rose or Rose Hip fruit (which is sometimes used to make jams, jellies, or pies, when fresh, although here of course it's been dehydrated). This is both to counteract some of the bitterness some mushrooms have and also because of their high Vitamin C content: which is not only a powerful antioxidant with many supporting roles for the immune system in its own right, but also helps increase the bioavailability of the mushrooms by breaking down the long molecules of their main active ingredients, the beta-glucans, into shorter chains that are easier for our intestines to assimilate.
Naming Note: This Organic Mushroom Blend Mix has also been marketed in the USA under the names 'Defend' or 'Protect'.
Ingredients:
Each jar contains:
- Organic Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Chaga (Inonotus obliquus) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Maitake (Grifola frondosa) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Shiitake (Lentinus edodes) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Tremella (aka Snow or Silver Ear Fungus) (Tremella fuciformis) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Flammulina (aka Enoki or Velvet Foot or Shank) (Flammulina velutipes) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Himematsutake (aka Sun Mushroom) (Agaricus blazei) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Cordyceps (Cordyceps sinensis) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Mesima (Phellinus linteus) fruiting body: 4.8 g
- Organic Dog Rose (Rosa canina) fruit: 12 g
Each level one gram scoop provides 80 mg of each type of mushroom (or 160 mg of wach for a full 2 gram serving).
Suggested Usage:
Adults: Mix one to two grams (with the 1 gram scoop included in the jar) of the Mushroom Blend Mix with one to cups of liquid, be it water, coffee, or tea. Take with food to avoid digestive upset. Consult a healthcare practitioner for continuous use beyond three months.
Refrigerate after opening to prevent clumping.
Warnings:
Do not use 4 Sigmatic Mushroom Blend Mix if you are pregnant or breastfeeding. Consult a healthcare practitioner prior to use if you have diabetes or are taking blood thinners. A diuretic effect may occur. May cause mild gastro-intestinal discomfort (such as gas, bloating, cramps). Stop use if hypersensitivity/allergy occurs.
Health Canada Natural Product Number: 80117539.
Supporting Science:
Łysakowska, Paulina et al. “Medicinal Mushrooms: Their Bioactive Components, Nutritional Value and Application in Functional Food Production-A Review.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2023.
Mallard, Brody et al. “Synergistic immuno-modulatory activity in human macrophages of a medicinal mushroom formulation consisting of Reishi, Shiitake and Maitake.” PloS One, 2016.
Mwangi, Ruth W et al. “The antioxidant potential of different edible and medicinal mushrooms.” Biomedicine & Pharmacotherapy = Biomedecine & Pharmacotherapie, 2022.
Negrean, Oana-Raluca et al. “Recent advances and insights into the bioactive properties and applications of Rosa canina L. and its by-products.” Heliyon, 2024.
Shamim, Mohammad Zaki et al. “Exploring Edible Mushrooms for Diabetes: Unveiling Their Role in Prevention and Treatment.” Molecules (Basel, Switzerland), 2023.