Key Takeaways

• “Humans separated from fungi 650 million years ago”
  • We share more in common with fungi than any other kingdom
• Our best antibiotics come from fungi (i.e. penicillin)
• 35% of food is directly dependant on the bee pollination 
• “I think psilocybin should be looked upon as a nootropic vitamin”
• There’s a hypothesis that as our ancestors cross continents, they ingested different mushrooms/fungi which led to an increase in the size of their brain as well as cognitive output
• Whatever mushrooms you’re consuming, “Make sure they are certified organic, and please don’t buy them from China”
  • Chinese mushrooms sometimes have up to 2,200 ppm of lead (so 2-3 capsules would be considered toxic)
• One study found that with just one psilocybin experience, people were 18-27% less likely to commit criminal activities 
• Microdosing is when you take ~1/10th of a gram of psilocybin/magic mushrooms (a full-trip experience requires 2-4 grams)
  • When microdosing, Paul suggests dosing for 5 days in a row and then taking 2 days off
• Lion’s mane is a safe and legal mushroom people can use to increase neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons in the brain)
  • Paul’s company makes lion’s mane capsules

Products Mentioned

• Check out Paul’s mushroom supplement company: Host Defense
  • MyCommunity (for immune support) and Lion’s Mane (for cognitive enhancement) have been recommended widely across the podcast world

Intro

• Paul Stamets (@PaulStamets) is a mycologist, author, and advocate of bioremediation and medicinal fungi

Books Mentioned

• Paul’s books:
  • Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save the World
  • Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms 
  • Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World: An Identification Guide

Mushrooms

• Mushrooms have the power to heal you, hurt you, kill you, or take you on a spiritual journey
  • 23 primates consume mushrooms, humans being one of them
• There are about 5 million species of mushrooms
• 30% of soil is fungal mass (living and dead)
  • Fungi outnumber plants about 8 to 1
    • “For every meter of a tree root, there is a kilometer of mycelium”
• “Humans separated from fungi 650 million years ago”
  • We share more in common with fungi than any other kingdom
  • The oldest multicellular organism in fossil records is a fungus (2.4 billion-years-old)
  • A fully grown mushroom fossil was recently discovered – it was 1.4 billion-years-old
    • Mushrooms have had their form for nearly a billion more years than humans
• “Fungal networks are the foundation of the food web”
  • Our best antibiotics come from fungi (i.e. penicillin)
    • Having access to penicillin helped the British and the U.S. win World War II since most soldiers tended to die from infection (the Germans and Japanese didn’t have penicillin)
• The largest living organism in the world is a mycelial mat at about 2,200 acres in size (about 665 football fields!)

Fungi is Saving Bees

• Bees are dying off at an enormous rate 
  • Oklahoma lost 85% of its beehives last year (2016-2017)
  • Maryland lost 75%
  • Nebraska lost 60%
• Deforestation and GMOs are making it harder for bees to prosper
• One bee can pollinate 1,000 flowers in a day 
  • 35% of food is directly dependant on the bee pollination 
• Fortunately, Paul discovered that the amadou fungi doubles the lifespan of bees and reduces the deformed wing virus by more than 1,000 fold in just 10 days 
• Paul is working with Washington State University to fund research to improve bee health
  • Learn more here
  • “Honey bees are the single most important pollinator contributing to a healthy global food supply. Declines in insect pollinators worldwide present a challenge for food security.”

“Magic” Mushrooms

• There’s a hypothesis that as our ancestors cross continents, they ingested different mushrooms/fungi which led to an increase in the size of their brain as well as cognitive output
  • Studies show that psilocybin (the psychoactive ingredient in magic mushrooms) allows one to “reset” and form different neurological pathways which aid in overcoming fear (and even PTSD)
  • It’s possible that clan leaders who took psilocybin overcame their fear of predators/natural disasters and as a result, had more courage and empathy, both great leadership skills 
    • “I think psilocybin should be looked upon as a nootropic vitamin”
• One study found that with just one psilocybin experience, people were 18-27% less likely to commit criminal activities 
• After his first psychedelic mushroom experience, Paul stopped stuttering
• One Johns Hopkins controlled experiment with psilocybin found that 70% of people had a positive experience while only 30% had a negative one
  • 12-14 months later, the 70% of users who enjoyed their trip found themselves to be kinder and more optimistic
  • The 30% of users who reported a negative experience were not affected in any significant aspect – in other words, they may have had a negative experience but they weren’t negatively impacted 
• Paul’s friend took magic mushrooms and claims he was able to hear ants walking (despite not being able to hear the waves of the ocean, even though he was wearing a hearing aid)
  • During a psilocybin experience, more nodes in your brain connect and do so in a stronger manner – this is what allows people to experience new levels of cognition
    • “This is why microdosing is the rage in Silicon Valley”
      • Microdosing is when you take ~1/10th of a gram of psilocybin/magic mushrooms (a full-trip experience requires 2-4 grams)
      • When microdosing, Paul suggests dosing for 5 days in a row and then taking 2 days off

Which mushrooms should you eat?

• Paul recommends eating gourmet mushrooms when you can
  • “All gourmet mushrooms are medicinal mushrooms”
• “All mushrooms should be cooked” – especially portobello mushrooms 
• Paul will frequently eat lion’s mane, maitake, shiitake, reishi, and chaga mushrooms 
  • The big stars by far are reishi, chaga, and lion’s mane
• There’s research showing that the consumption of enoki mushrooms results in a reduction of cancer – “Across the board of all cancers”
• Whatever mushrooms you’re consuming, “Make sure they are certified organic, and please don’t buy them from China”
  • Chinese mushrooms sometimes have up to 2,200 ppm of lead (so 2-3 capsules would be considered toxic)

Additional Notes

• Mushrooms were used by our ancestor to carry embers in order to rekindle fires 
• The rule of natural selection is reproduction: Everything steers towards reproduction
• Lion’s mane is a safe and legal mushroom people can use to increase neurogenesis (the growth of new neurons in the brain) – Paul’s company makes lion’s mane capsules
  • It also helps with memory and nerve support
    • One study took mice and induced them with a neurotoxin that gave them dementia-like symptoms. After a few weeks of giving the mice lion’s mane mushrooms, the mice returned to near-normal cognitive function.
• Some mushrooms have antiviral properties – Paul has identified an anti-smallpox and anti-tuberculosis molecule from fungi strains
  • He’s also found 5 molecules that are potently active against the HPV (human papillomavirus)
  • Imagine how many more fungi benefits there are that have yet to be discovered!