Medicinal mushrooms for athletes: which and when to take them

Edited by Ilaria Porta, Iridology Naturopath

Medicinal mushrooms are used by athletes to improve their athletic performance thanks to their beneficial properties on muscles, blood and tissue oxygenation and on the nervous system. Let's find out better.

Activity and athletic performance

Athletic activity and athletic performance, especially for competitive athletes, is very important and is determined by various factors, partly by physical characteristics, such as body structure, which may represent a predisposing factor for a given discipline, in part from training, through which specific adaptations can be induced in the body of the athlete in order to develop its full potential.

A specific training then induces both functional and morphological adaptation processes of the organism. As we know, these factors can be modified for each individual with adequate training: for example, the volume of the heart can increase by several hundred milliliters in response to resistance training, as well as the muscles and bones can be changed qualitatively and quantitatively, in response to a sporting load.

The same considerations apply to the chemical-physical characteristics of the individual organs: for example, the liver of an individual who has performed a specific resistance training has a greater amount of glycogen. The nervous control of a single muscle, or a group of muscles, is decisive in many sports, and even the humoral one needs specific conditions to achieve above-average performance. The determining characteristics for the purposes of sporting performance are therefore: coordination, flexibility, strength, speed and resistance, and among these, strength and resistance are fundamental.

Discover also homeopathic remedies to improve athletic performance

Mushrooms useful for athletes

Cordyceps and Reishi are the 2 main mushrooms used for athletes whether they are athletes or simply lovers of a sport.

Reishi is beneficial for the nervous system, muscles, heart, hormones and bones. It is an ally of sports performance because it contains a high concentration of two rare elements in nature: germanium which increases oxygenation and adenosine, which determines a vasodilation of blood vessels, increases the volume of blood circulation throughout the body . The muscles, receiving greater quantities of blood, nourishment and oxygen, have a more powerful yield in the effort. We can say that Reishi fights performance anxiety, relaxes, but on the other hand increases mental energy, improves mood.

Also thanks to adenosine, contained in Reishi, which determines the vasodilation of blood vessels, distributing more blood throughout the body. The muscles receiving more nutrition and oxygen with the blood, have a more powerful yield in the effort. Even better feeding the brain and heart is important in sports performance. (Rajasekaran M, 2012)

Cordyceps contains Cordicepine, a beta-glucan that increases blood oxygenation by 30%, producing 30% more personal energy. Increasing blood oxygenation and distributing more blood to the whole body with a balance of mood and so-called "performance anxiety" enhances the athlete's athletic prowess. They also improve aerobic performance and the elimination of lactic acid after exertion.

We can therefore say that medicinal mushrooms are real allies of sports performance on several fronts, acting entirely on the organism.

Indications for the use of medicinal mushrooms for sports activities

Always contact a professional in the field who will be able to indicate the type of mushroom or the best mushrooms to be used will be evaluated according to the subject and its constitution. In addition , soil work must first be done to ensure optimal action of medicinal mushrooms on the entire body.