#284 Reishi, Lions Mane, Cordyceps, Maitake and more with Tom Baxter Farmer and Mushroom Expert

Feb 12, 2025

Tom Baxter, founder of The Bristol Fungarium, delves into the magical world of mushrooms, focusing on medicinal varieties like Reishi, Lion's Mane, and Cordyceps. He discusses their unique health benefits, including cognitive enhancements and stress reduction. Tom highlights the importance of sourcing quality mushrooms and addresses the environmental impact of cultivation. Listeners are encouraged to explore mushrooms as natural allies for wellness, all while navigating the complexities of supplementation and its potential interactions with medications. A fascinating journey into fungi awaits!

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INSIGHT

Mushroom Medicinal Properties

Mushrooms possess medicinal properties due to their ancient biochemical defenses against bacteria and viruses.
These compounds interact with human receptor cells because the animal kingdom sits below the fungi kingdom evolutionarily.

INSIGHT

Fruiting Bodies vs. Mycelium

Fruiting bodies (the part we eat) contain higher concentrations of beneficial compounds than mycelium.
Some pharmaceutical products use mycelium-based isolates, like PSK from turkey tail, due to scalability, not superior efficacy.

ANECDOTE

Cultural Mushroom Use

Ancient cultures, like Druids and Northern Cree people, used mushrooms medicinally.
Solzhenitsyn highlighted chaga's use in his book "Cancer Ward."

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What makes a mushroom ‘medicinal’ and are they worth the hype? How do these fungi differ from the everyday varieties we cook with? On this week’s episode of The Doctor’s Kitchen podcast, we’re diving deep into the fascinating world of mushrooms with our expert guest Tom Baxter.

From Lion’s Mane to Reishi, we’ll explore the unique healing properties of these incredible organisms and what the research reveals about their potential benefits. We’ll discuss their effects on cognitive function, stress, fatigue, and even menopausal symptoms.

You’ll learn:

🍄 How to source high-quality mushroom products to avoid contaminants

🧑🏽‍🍳 The culinary and nutritional benefits of everyday mushrooms and their environmental impact

🧠 Whether there is evidence that mushrooms can improve mental well-being and support immunity.

🔎 Whether you’re a skeptic, a mushroom enthusiast, or just curious about these fascinating fungi, this episode is packed with insights to inspire you to add more mushrooms to your diet and daily life.

Tom Baxter is a farmer and founder of The Bristol Fungarium, which produces the UK's first organic certified medicinal mushrooms. Ever conscious of the unfolding ecological collapse that confronts us, Tom made the fateful move away from city life in 2008 to find meaning through working the land. After several educational years establishing his organic vegetable farm and two decades of largely unsuccessful foraging excursions he pivoted from farming and invested everything into creating The Bristol Fungarium, pioneering organic medicinal mushroom production in the UK.

If you’re in the mood for mushrooms, one of my favourite recipes on the doctors kitchen app is the “Cashew Curry with Chickpeas and Crispy Mushrooms” or better still, type in mushroom into the search bar at doctorskitchen.com to see what comes up ;)