Episode 34

The Healing Power of Mushrooms

With Tero Isokauppila
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Did you know that 50% of human DNA is shared with fungi? Not quite plant and not quite animal, mushrooms occupy a pretty unique place in the biosphere. Mushrooms account for 25% of the Earth’s total biomass, and 92% of all plants are dependent upon mushrooms for their survival. When it comes to the idea of food-as-medicine, nothing really encapsulates the concept like mushrooms. Their antiviral and anti-inflammatory properties hold great potential to combat many of our largest health problems. Current research shows that functional mushrooms have a myriad of healing properties such as inhibiting cancer cell growth, balancing excess hormones, and reducing chronic fatigue. The list of vital nutrients found in mushrooms is extensive. With all these benefits packed into one delicate functional fungi, it’s no wonder mushrooms are referred to as the original superfood.

On today’s Broken Brain Podcast, our host, Dhru, talks to Tero Isokauppila, a Finnish foraging expert, and founder of Four Sigmatic, a company specializing in functional mushrooms, superfoods, and adaptogens. He is also the author of Healing Mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health and Santa Sold Shrooms, the untold story of Saint Nicholas. In this podcast, we discuss all things functional mushrooms and the power that these superfoods have to improve our health. We also talk about the difference between functional and culinary mushrooms, how mushrooms can improve our gut health, as well as the research on how mushrooms support cognitive function. Tero also shares with us the surprising story of the most famous person on earth, Santa Claus, and how he sold shrooms!

There are so many incredible benefits yet to be realized from the fungi kingdom. Tero has dedicated his life to studying the link between health and mushrooms and shares with us how incorporating them into your daily routine can take your health and longevity to the next level.

I know you’ll love this episode of The Broken Brain Podcast as much as I did.

PS – For more on Tero Isokauppila, be sure to follow him on Instagram @iamtero and @foursigmatic. Check out his website http://www.teroisokauppila.com and https://us.foursigmatic.com. You can also find his books Healing Mushrooms: A Practical and Culinary Guide to Using Mushrooms for Whole Body Health and Santa Sold Shrooms, right here.

Interested in joining Dhru’s Broken Brain Podcast Facebook Community? Submit your join request here: https://www.facebook.com/groups/2819627591487473/
For more on Dhru Purohit, be sure to follow him on Instagram @dhrupurohit, on Facebook @dhruxpurohit, on Twitter @dhrupurohit, and on YouTube @dhrupurohit. You can also text Dhru at (302) 200-5643 or click here https://my.community.com/dhrupurohit

I hope you enjoyed this conversation as much as I did.
Wishing you health and happiness.
Dhru Purohit

In this Episode, you will learn

  1. Why mushrooms are important for humans and the similarity between our DNA
    (5:54)
  2. The difference between culinary mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms
    (9:17)
  3. How functional mushrooms support our immune system and the best mushrooms for health
    (12:45)
  4. Mushrooms and brain health
    (14:29)
  5. The best herbs used for cognitive function
    (17:18)
  6. The connection between mushrooms and gut health
    (18:55)
  7. How Tero got into medicinal mushrooms and made it his life mission to make mushrooms more accessible to everyone
    (23:35)
  8. Why people with certain conditions should avoid some mushrooms
    (32:58)
  9. Tero’s advice on creating something in the health space
    (40:17)
  10. The story of Santa Claus and how he sold shrooms
    (47:19)
  11. Tero’s recommendation for people who are just starting off using mushrooms
    (53:08)

Guest

 
Dhru Purohit

Dhru is the host of the Dhru Purohit Podcast, a top 30 health podcast with over 30 million downloads.

As an entrepreneur, Dhru is also the CEO Dr. Hyman Enterprises, Farmacy and the UltraWellness Center, a functional medicine based clinic that specializes in treating chronic disease through personalized medicine.

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Tero Isokauppila

Tero Isokauppila, the founder of Four Sigmatic, is on a mission to make medicinal mushrooms, some of the world’s most researched superfoods, more accessible to everyone.
Born in Finland to an agronomist father and nursing teacher mother, Tero grew up on a farm his family has owned since 1619. There, he foraged for mushrooms and other wild foods while learning about the natural food space at an early age.

Following his early education on the farm, Tero later completed a Degree in Chemistry and a Certificate in Plant-Based Nutrition from Cornell University. In 2006, he won a Finnish innovation award for discovering that the sought-after Japanese culinary matsutake mushrooms also grow in Finland.
Tero has lived in eight countries on three continents. He has a strong personal interest in health and wellness, which includes activities like making raw chocolate and practicing yin yoga. He has also recently taken up a unique practice of napping on a nail mat, which is a modern form of acupressure and helps to energize his busy life.

Tero founded Four Sigmatic in 2012 and its products are now sold in over 25 countries. In 2015, the company launched in the U.S. and relocated its headquarters to Los Angeles, California. Four Sigmatic’s functional mushroom coffees, hot cacaos and elixirs are sold at retailers nationwide, including Whole Foods and other natural grocers, as well as online at FourSigmatic.com and through online health websites like Thrive Market.

Tero is a reputable source on superfoods, an expert on natural health and has been a featured speaker for example at Summit Series, Wanderlust, Further Future, Culinary Nutrition Conference, and WME-IMG.
Tero was also chosen as one of the world’s TOP 50 Food Activists by the Academy of Culinary Nutrition.
Tero and Four Sigmatic have been featured in prominent media outlets, including Vogue, Time, Forbes, W Magazine, Harper’s Bazaar, BuzzFeed, Bon Appétit, Goop, Well+Good, MindBodyGreen and many others.

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