People get a little weird about mushrooms. That’s probably because mushrooms are very weird. The more you learn about them, the more alien they become.
We can’t help but think of mushrooms as plants, even though biologists will sometimes argue mushrooms have more in common with animals. That’s largely because plants eat sunlight and soil while mushrooms eat plants.
Mushrooms are nature’s decomposers. They break down dead organic matter and do weird things underground, like shuttling around nutrients to feed their favored plants and acting as a kind of communication network for the forest.
That’s interesting but not super relevant for a health article. What’s important to know is that mushrooms are very distinct from plants and produce unique compounds as a result.
The brain-protecting aspect of mushrooms is of particular interest amid the rise in neurodegenerative conditions like Alzheimer’s.
If you typically only eat the common button mushroom, you can start expanding your fungal familiarity by eating some shiitake mushrooms, the second most widely grown mushroom in the world. These savory fungi go well with anything—including a healthy, long life.
