Episode 202
Anna Sitkoff:5 Medicinal Mushrooms That Actually Balance Your Overactive Immune System
Anna Sitkoff:
5 Medicinal Mushrooms That Actually Balance Your Overactive Immune System
Dr. Anna Sitkoff shares how medicinal mushrooms can support immune regulation and healing for people with autoimmunity by promoting gut health, reducing pathogen load, and calming the nervous system - without overstimulating the immune response.
First Aired on: Jul 28, 2025
Episode 202
Anna Sitkoff:5 Medicinal Mushrooms That Actually Balance Your Overactive Immune System
Anna Sitkoff:
5 Medicinal Mushrooms That Actually Balance Your Overactive Immune System
Dr. Anna Sitkoff shares how medicinal mushrooms can support immune regulation and healing for people with autoimmunity by promoting gut health, reducing pathogen load, and calming the nervous system - without overstimulating the immune response.
First Aired on: Jul 28, 2025
Table of Contents:
Table of Contents:
In this episode:
In this episode:
Introduction
Dr. Anna Sitkoff is a licensed naturopathic doctor and medicinal mushroom expert with over a decade of experience, blending clinical practice with laboratory research. As Co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Lucidum Medicinals, she formulates evidence-based mushroom supplements. In this episode, she joins me to talk about how medicinal mushrooms can support people with autoimmunity.
Episode Highlights
How Mushrooms Support Immune Tolerance
Mushrooms offer unique benefits for autoimmune conditions by promoting balance rather than overstimulation.
- Mushrooms are largely amphoteric - they support what the body needs without pushing strongly in one direction
- They help bring homeostasis and balance to the human system
- Most mushrooms are immune modulating, not immune stimulating
- Only shiitake and Agaricus blazei are more immune stimulating and should be used with caution
Mushrooms and Gut Health
The gut microbiome plays a crucial role in immune regulation, and mushrooms provide powerful support through their polysaccharide content.
- Mushroom polysaccharides (beta glucans, chitin) act as prebiotics
- They increase levels of beneficial bacteria like bifidobacteria and lactobacillus
- They boost important postbiotics like butyrate
- Chitin breaks down into N-acetyl glucosamine, which supports intestinal barrier function
- Improved gut barrier helps prevent molecular mimicry that can trigger autoimmune responses
Antiviral Properties of Mushrooms
Many autoimmune conditions are triggered by pathogens, and mushrooms offer powerful antiviral support.
- Mushrooms increase natural killer cell function and cytotoxic T cells
- Reishi, turkey tail, and maitake are excellent for reducing Epstein-Barr virus load
- They stimulate the body's innate antiviral mechanisms
- This viral load reduction can help prevent autoimmune flares
Stress and Nervous System Support
Chronic stress is a major trigger for autoimmune disease, and certain mushrooms excel at nervous system regulation.
- Reishi is a shen nourisher that calms the nervous system
- It helps regulate cortisol levels and supports both daytime energy and nighttime sleep
- Lion's mane can help with depression, anxiety, and PTSD symptoms
- These mushrooms work by bringing balance to the stress response rather than sedating
Quality and Safety Considerations
Understanding how to choose and use mushroom supplements safely is crucial for therapeutic benefit.
- Look for mushroom powdered extracts, not myceliated grain products
- Quality supplements should list beta glucan or triterpene percentages
- Always cook whole mushrooms before eating
- People with digestive issues may do better with extracts than whole mushrooms
- Start with single mushroom products rather than complex blends
Targeted Mushroom Recommendations
Different mushrooms have specific benefits for particular autoimmune conditions.
- Lion's mane for MS (supports remyelination), ulcerative colitis, and atrophic gastritis
- Tremella (snow fungus) for Sjogren's and other "drying" autoimmune diseases
- Reishi for scleroderma and conditions involving fibrosis
- Oyster mushroom for everyone due to high ergothionine content (antioxidant)
- Reishi as the top medicinal mushroom - known as the "mushroom of immortality"
Notable Quotes from this Episode
Mushrooms have an amazing way of improving immune tolerance on many, many, many levels. They are largely amphoteric... They help to bring homeostasis and balance to the human system, that's what we need.
Dr. Anna Sitkoff
I have yet to really honestly meet somebody who has an autoimmune condition that hasn't experienced some aspect of trauma in their life.
Dr. Anna Sitkoff
Be gentle with yourself. Do not create suffering about the suffering.
Dr. Anna Sitkoff
Other Resources:
Other Resources:
Connect with Anna Sitkoff
Connect with Anna Sitkoff
Watch this interview:
Watch this interview:
Episode Transcript
Anna Sitkoff: mushrooms, have this way of doing what the body needs. They help to bring homeostasis and balance to the human system,
Julie Michelson: Welcome back to the Inspired Living with Autoimmunity podcast. I'm your host, Julie Michelson, and today we're joined by Anna Sitkoff, a licensed naturopathic doctor and medicinal mushroom expert with over a decade of experience blending clinical practice with laboratory research and hands-on experience.
As co-founder and chief science officer of Lucidum Mu Medicinals, she formulates evidence-based mushroom supplements designed to support immune lung and nervous system health, using only bioavailable fruiting body extracts for maximum EEC efficacy. Ana's clinical experience combined with her commitment to educating practitioners and patients on the therapeutic benefits of mushrooms has earned her recognition as a leading expert in the field.
In today's conversation, we're talking about medicinal mushrooms as immune modulators and how to use them safely with autoimmunity to support your health.
Anna, welcome to the podcast.
Anna Sitkoff: Hi. Thank you so much for having me, Julie.
Julie Michelson: I'm really excited for this conversation. I already warned you that I am planning on learning a lot, um, but I wanna just introduce you to listeners in a way that they feel like they get to know you a little bit and, and you wear many hats, I think, in the wellness space, and I definitely understand how they all go together.
Um, but how, we'll, we'll focus on mushrooms, but how did you, what brought you into natural medicine? We'll start there.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. I've been interested in herbs and nutrition from a pretty young age. I have two, well, I have, I grew up with two parents that both had chronic illness. My dad had chronic lymphocytic leukemia.
My mom had and still has Lyme disease and all of the complex chronic illness stuff that goes with that. Um, and I always saw them going to natural practitioners, acupuncturists, homeopaths, naturopaths, in addition to their. Medical doctors, they're allopathic medical doctors. And so it was all very normal to see that kind of integrative holistic care.
And my first love was nutrition, and I have my bachelor's degree in nutrition. And while I was in, um, school studying nutrition, my father was going through, I don't know, maybe his fourth or fifth round of chemotherapy and he was seeing an integrative, um. A Chinese medical doctor that was part of his integrative oncology team, and she prescribed a medicinal mushroom blend, and I had been aware of using mushrooms as like food medicine.
I knew they were good for you. High in fiber. Had various benefits, but, um, I just got really interested after that. That was kind of the thing that like made, put the light bulb off in my head.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, and I was also studying herbal medicine at that time, and it felt like that was kind of a hole in my knowledge and just in the, any of the curriculums that I had been a part of verbal and a specific thing.
It's so specific. Yeah. Yeah. Um, and so. After, after, um, studying nutrition, I moved to Seattle where I worked as an herbalist at an apothecary for about eight years. And during that time, I really just delved into. All things mushrooms. I was out in the forest collecting mushrooms. I was, um, chopping them up and using different extraction methods and really just getting to know them on all levels.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: And then, um, my mentor and my boss at the time, um, she basically told me like, you should go to naturopathic medical school. I feel like you need. More. Yeah. Um, and I agreed and so I went and I had amazing opportunities. While I was there, I got to do laboratory research with medicinal mushrooms and cancer cells and had the opportunity to, um, write the medicinal mushroom chapter in the textbook of natural medicine.
And the joy of actually being part of the clinical experience, which I hadn't had before, of, you know, seeing how effective natural medicine is and how effective mushrooms and herbs could be in clinical practice. And, um, I just. So I just love natural medicine and I love being doctor and telling your face lights up.
Yeah. I really love it. Yeah. Um, I'm like sitting in my office now and I, yeah, I come home from work just like really. Happy with my job. That's great. All the time. And love my patients. And I think it, yeah, this road led me to the perfect, perfect job for me. And I just love mushrooms. I'm just obsessed and I get to talk about mushrooms all the time.
And, um, I, I mean, I have a mushroom supplement company, but that was really just. From grew from passion, not any like desire to make money,
Julie Michelson: honestly, probably, I'm assuming from a desire to be able to offer people the quality of Yes. Whatever it is you wanted them to take. Totally. Yeah. Yeah. It's
Anna Sitkoff: like I'm an expert in this thing and I want to be able to prescribe mushrooms to my patients that are actually gonna work that are right, the exact mushrooms that I want and the combinations that I want, and.
I couldn't find that, so I created it and a girl. Yeah. Amazing. Thank
Julie Michelson: you. Yeah. That's awesome. One of the reasons I was so excited for this conversation, as I was saying before I hit record, um, is I feel like I know there's, I would say, three categories of people with autoimmunity when it comes to things like adaptogens and mushrooms and, um, those that.
They haven't heard of 'em, don't know about 'em, or maybe even use them and don't know what they are or how they work. Mm-hmm. Um, then there are those that have heard, well, we shouldn't do anything, you know, to stimulate immune system or rev up immune system, which is definitely true for some of us with autoimmunity.
I am one of those people. Um, but so they avoid all of these wonderful things that actually could be supportive because they think it's. Stimulating. Mm-hmm. And then there are those of us who are far enough down the road that we understand the difference between immune modulating and immune stimulating.
So the, the, I'm leading you to like, well these are the things I wanna kind of talk about 'cause I want everybody to end. This conversation in category three where they're not overlooking things that could be really health supportive. Yeah. And feel good. Yeah. Um, but let's just talk about like why, first of all, like why mushroom?
Like I get now how you got to be interested in mushrooms. Yeah. But, um, what is it? About mushrooms and I already threw out the word adaptogen and people probably maybe not, don't even know what that is. So, yeah. What's so special about mushrooms?
Anna Sitkoff: So mushrooms have an amazing, uh, way of improving immune tolerance on.
Many, many, many levels. They are largely amphoteric. There are a few that I will talk about that are more on the immune stimulating side. Mm-hmm. That people should just be more cautious of. Not everyone with autoimmune disease is going to have a bad reaction. It's not gonna like trigger for everyone, but there are a few that make sure that I mention them if I forget.
Okay. Um, but mushrooms, they have this way of kind of doing what the body needs. They are. Really, um, supporters of the overall system. They don't like push in one direction really strongly. They help to bring homeostasis and balance to. The human system, that's what we need. Yeah. And that's what we need. And that is like, especially with autoimmune disease, like we need to just like calm and balance things and mushrooms do that on multiple levels.
Um, and so I can just kind of go through those main levels and so, um. I always think about like what are the main triggers for autoimmune disease and the things that we need to think about with prevention and where does that play into immune tolerance and immune regulation. So for me, what I talk about a lot in my practice and what I'm sure you're highly aware of is like the gut and the gut microbiome and the gut microbiomes role in.
Immune tolerance and immune balance and T regulatory cell function and mushrooms contain polysaccharides that act as prebiotics, so they have beta glucans in the cell wall and then also chitin and it's derivative cin, which are also. Polysaccharides, they feed the good gut bacteria. There's a lot of evidence showing that mushroom polysaccharides increase levels of bifidobacteria and lactobacillus and important postbiotics, uh, short chain fatty acids like butyrate.
All of these things play such an important role in immune regulation. Um. And when there is dysbiosis or an imbalance in good and bad gut flora, that can create an environment where autoimmunity is more likely to happen. One of the main mechanisms is through intestinal permeability. Yes. And so if you've got leaky gut and you have these dietary proteins, for example, going into the bloodstream.
Your immune system might attack those alarm molecular mimicry where it's going to attack those dietary proteins, and then there's certain organ systems tissues that look similar. Mm-hmm. It'll start this autoreactive process, so. Mushrooms through improving the gut microbiome and feeding the good gut bacteria, increasing levels of short chain fatty acids like butyrate.
They also help to maintain a good, um, intestinal barrier and intestinal tight junctions. And there's, um, so kite chitin, what I mentioned, one of the polysaccharides. Mm-hmm. So most people make an enzyme that breaks down chitin into its derivative. Kein, which is also known as N-Acetyl glucosamine or nag, which in the functional medical world, or at least in the naturopathic medical world, that's like a kind of a go-to supplement for a lot of people when they're looking to improve barrier function, whether that be like bladder barrier function or intestinal barrier function.
So, um, that's kind of my, my cool fact about mushrooms kind of containing that, that substance, it's not usually talked about. Um, yeah, and so. Then when we move on to other kind of important factors with immune regulation, we think about pathogens or I think about pathogens. Mm-hmm. And so there's a lot of evidence showing that certain bacteria and certain viruses can trigger an autoimmune response.
Right. And mushrooms are antiviral. They're antimicrobial. They even stimulate your body's innate antiviral mechanisms. And so they can be really helpful for decreasing the viral load. One big one is Epstein-Barr virus. Yeah. I mean that's associated with a number of autoimmune conditions. Mm-hmm. And REI mushroom and Turkey tail mushroom.
That's a great combination for decreasing the load of Epstein-Barr virus and a combo that I use in my practice lot. I actually usually put my Taki in there as well. I love that, that combination for decreasing viral load. Interesting.
Julie Michelson: Amazing. Yeah, and I guess we should have started as, as I'm, I'm listening and learning.
I'm, I'm thinking. Okay. I, I should have like really backed it up. Mm-hmm. And like medicinal mushrooms versus this grocery store. Store. Mushroom mushrooms. What is the mushroom? Right? Yeah. Yeah. I forgot. That's so
Anna Sitkoff: excited. Yeah, totally. Um, so I think there, I mean, there's a big overlap. There are many grocery store mushrooms that are medicinal mushrooms.
So when I'm talking about medicinal mushrooms, I'm talking about mushrooms. Specifically the above ground portion of the fungal organism that has, that plays a role in human health and disease that has shown mechanisms to improve health. Okay. Um,
Julie Michelson: and mushrooms, even like button mushrooms are really nutrient dense.
Like the, they're, they seem like nothing. They don't have a lot of flavor, but
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Yeah. They're nutrient dense and they have a mushroom cell wall, so they have beta glucan and they have chitin. Wow. All right. Yeah, so they're
Julie Michelson: not worthless.
Anna Sitkoff: They're not worthless. I wouldn't totally like, depend on them for healing mushroom medicine, but they're not worthless, especially.
Yeah, just don't do the like raw button mushrooms in the salad bar. Make sure they're cooked.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Okay.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, yeah. Um, but thinking about grocery store mushrooms that are also medicinal, because I think that can be really useful for people. Um, so oyster mushroom, especially like the, the king oyster, um. And Maitake, uh, lion's, Maine.
Those are kind of oh and shataki.
Julie Michelson: It's fun. It's fun to start seeing more. Varieties. And you know, I, when last year at the farmer's market there was, somebody had the most beautiful Lion's, Maine, you know, I was like, wow, we're, we're making progress.
Anna Sitkoff: Oh, definitely. Yeah. There's been a huge mush boom. And people are into, into the mushrooms more now than ever.
Julie Michelson: Um,
Anna Sitkoff: at least in the west. Yeah. Um. Yeah. And then shiitake would be another common edible, which since we're talking about shiitake, I'll just take this moment to say that Shiitake is a more immune stimulating mushroom. Okay? So it will not be a problem for everyone. It's not like echinacea. But it is definitely more on the immune stimulating side and so, um, it's gonna be person dependent.
Julie Michelson: Sure. I was just gonna say, and not everybody knows their autoimmune pathways and whether they need to be careful of that or not.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah,
Julie Michelson: exactly. Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, yeah. And so those are kind of the main grocery store medicinals and then the other medicinals that aren't necessarily edible in that same way. Like you're not gonna cook 'em up and eat 'em.
Right. Because they're usually like a little, like too woody to eat or they don't taste very good. Mm-hmm. Are gonna be like Rei mushroom and Turkey tail, um, chaga. Wow. Which isn't actually like a mixture of mycelium and birch tree. It's not really a mushroom. It's like this whole other interesting kinda organism.
But, um, and Cordyceps would be another one that people are, are familiar with. And I should say, as far as the edible Medicinals, enoki would be one that fits in there as well. I really like that. An noka taki, it's kind of, you can use it almost as like a noodle. Um, they're like really long and skinny often in like Korean soups and stuff.
Yu
Julie Michelson: Yeah. You make No, it's, it's lunchtime and making me hungry. Yeah. Which was not the purpose of this conversation, so thank you. You were talking
Anna Sitkoff: about food generally. Yeah.
Julie Michelson: Thank you for detouring with me. And I know I, I, you were talking about like typical, um, autoimmune triggers and gut integrity, gut microbiome.
Um. Yes. And decreasing
Anna Sitkoff: pathogen load, I think is, yeah, where we were at. Yes. That's where we got
Julie Michelson: that. I took us off path there, so yeah, that's okay.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, yeah. And so mushrooms generally, um, many, all of those medicinal mushrooms that I just named are going to increase natural killer cell function and cytotoxic T cells, which are both really important aspects of our antiviral.
Immune system.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Amazing.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, yeah. And then the next thing I think of is like chronic stress. Chronic stress plays a huge, I
Julie Michelson: know a huge role. Do you ever get, I'm sure you see this with your patients. I get it with my clients all the time. They're like, I'm not stressed. And I'm like, you're so chronically stressed, you don't even know what stress is.
Yeah, you've lost your awareness of
Anna Sitkoff: Totally.
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah, yeah. It's like, put someone else in your life and they will be like, what?
Julie Michelson: I know. I'm like, oh, well, tell me about your life. Okay, well now I'm stressed. Thanks. You know? Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. And stress plays a huge role in the immune system and um, especially the kind of stress that comes with.
Complex trauma. Yeah. And epigenetic trauma and adverse childhood events. And for anyone that's read the body keeps the score. Mm-hmm. It's like. Yeah, I have yet to really honestly like meet somebody who has an autoimmune condition that hasn't experienced some aspect of trauma in their life.
Julie Michelson: Well, and to be fair, I don't think I've, I've really met any adult that hasn't, you know, I mean,
Anna Sitkoff: that's true.
Yeah. It's
Julie Michelson: just what impact is it having and, and how is it expressing? But it is so true. And even like reading that book, it's like, oh yeah. You know, the, it yeah. It, it's just so clear.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Yeah. And I'm like, I'm very interested in that whole field of psycho neuroimmunology and mm-hmm. Um, so I think mushrooms do actually fit in there as well.
I mean, mushrooms, especially like reishi mushroom is this, she nourisher. It's very calming to the nervous system, to the heart spirit. Um, it can help to regulate cortisol levels. And so, I mean that's like a huge aspect. Yeah. Chronic stress and often with autoimmunity and you know, there can be dysregulated cortisol, especially if you're experiencing like chronic fatigue as a symptom.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, and Reishi can help with energy during the day and also help you to sleep at night. Good. Sleep is very important for immune tolerance and Yes. Um, and then. Lions Maine as well. I think of as far as that stress response goes, it can really be helpful for, um, depression and anxiety. I've, I've seen interesting results with mushrooms for, for certain patients who have PTSD where I wasn't even use, that's not why I was using the mushrooms.
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, but they, they saw some, some form of improvement in just like how their nervous system was relating to the world. Amazing. And it's amazing and it can be an, an amazing, um, like therapy, I think in combination with things like EMDR and other kinds of psychedelic therapy and other mushroom therapy.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. All different, all different levels. Um, mm-hmm. And I, I love, like when, when you're saying how reishi can be really calming for the nervous system, I, I think that the, back to the balancing, right? Like how does it work? And it, it, it, because it, it's not sedating, right? Right. Like a calmer nervous system can allow us to have more energy and focus during the day, and.
Sleep better at night. And so I think that that's one of the kind of magical, and most, not all, but most pharmaceuticals are, are they're, they're not balancing, right. They're either adding more of something or blocking a pathway and they're not actually helping the body regulate.
Anna Sitkoff: Exactly. And yeah, lion's Mane is that way as well, where it's like, you know, a lot of people use Lion's Mane to help them focus.
Um, linesman also helps with anxiety and depression. It's not like this intense kind of like Adderall focus. Right, right. Um, it's not a stimulant. It is, yeah. It's like this like
Julie Michelson: balanced focus. Yeah. Um, it's, yeah. I mean, which is kind of magical that, you know, and you think of like, okay. If mushrooms are the, it is the, you know, the largest living organism is, is mushrooms.
And I live in Colorado, so number two would be, you know, the, the tree system we have. Yeah. Um, but it's like, oh yeah, why wouldn't there be this synergy? Mm-hmm. Um, and why wouldn't we have always had the medicine we needed available back when we knew how to use it. Yeah. Um, so I, I love, you know, that to me that that is something I could see.
I feel like I dip my toe in and I know I use certain mushrooms for certain things and, and, um. It is such a vast topic, like I feel completely uneducated other than I know what feels good. Mm-hmm. Um, and so I could really see how this led you to like, okay. Which leads me to the next part of the conversation is, is because I do think now with podcasts and social media and um, you know, good word gets out, but how, how do we know the quality?
Of the mushrooms, you know, that mm-hmm. That we may find to, to take and how do we know how much to use or mm-hmm. You know what I mean? Like where, where's that part come in, other than like, okay, well Anna did it for us.
Anna Sitkoff: So, yeah. I mean, and honestly, it, other than there's not like a lot of resources where you can just like Google online, like.
How much of this mushroom should I take for this condition? Right. Um, it'll say like between one and three grams or something. And it really, um. It's like that information is not just like easily available anywhere. It's like I have my or trustworthy blog.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. And I have
Anna Sitkoff: my Instagram account. Like my, I feel like the, the mushrooms have hired me to like speak for To, for their representative.
Yeah. And be like, this is how I use them. This is the mushroom Whisperer. Use them for this and this is the dose. And, um. Yeah, I, I think that quality is a really important topic, and especially for people who have autoimmune disease because they do tend to be more sensitive to certain things and supplements and certain, um, yeah, additives.
Yeah. And so for mushrooms, there's been a, a kind of, the biggest issue has been, um, do you use the mushroom or do you use the myceliated grain and. For a long time, and still today, but there's been pushback is that there's been a lot of my grain products that are labeled as mushroom, and that can be very deceiving for a number of reasons.
One is that if there's. OAT in there because often my CM is grown on oat. A lot of people are sensitive to gluten or even just grains, generally uhhuh, and they can have like a really bad experience. They'll be like, oh, I took this mushroom and it may not be the mushroom. And they got sick and they're like, well, mushrooms are bad.
Yeah. It's like, well, what did you take? Was it my ated oats? And that could explain it. And so I really think that just to avoid all of that, mm-hmm. Just focus on the mushrooms, the above ground portion of the fungal organism, and look for products that have the mushroom powdered extract, especially.
Julie Michelson: Okay.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, then you know that it has gone through some kind of cooking process and so those medicinal compounds are gonna be more bioavailable and you don't have to worry about heating it or cooking it. Um, you put it in
Julie Michelson: your coffee.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Yeah, that's like an interesting conversation too, where it's a whole nother, I
Julie Michelson: could tell by the look on your face.
She's like, that's a whole nother podcast.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. It's like, if that's, if that's the only way you'll take 'em, then do it. Oh,
Julie Michelson: no.
Anna Sitkoff: If, yeah, for some people though, they're like, if the mushrooms aren't in my coffee, I won't take the mushrooms. I'm like, well, better they get in you somehow than, that's funny. Not at all.
Julie Michelson: Um, I look at it just as a way to uplevel the coffee. Like, not that it's the only way I would. You know.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. So, yeah. Um, yeah. And I, I think for a lot of people, the, the powder, the powdered mushroom extract mm-hmm. Just tends to be easiest.
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, there's a lot of high quality liquid extracts out there, but you have to be very aware of how those are processed as well.
A lot of people are sensitive to even a small amount of alcohol. Sure, sure. To be considered. And then dosing is also just a little more challenging with liquid products, so. Gotcha. I just like the, the mushroom powdered extracts. And ideally it would say it's like a high quality supplement would say, if not on the label, then on the, the company's website, um, the percent of beta glucans or triterpenes, if we're talking about like REI or Chaga.
Um, so you would have some information about the medicinal components. Nice. Which
Julie Michelson: is, and that's really helpful because, I mean, I feel like if you pick up a package and it, even if it says mushroom powder extract, but doesn't have any other information, or like you said, maybe you have to go, but like, I feel like anybody selling a high quality supplement, because this is, I is a supplement.
Mm-hmm. Why wouldn't you have something like that on there?
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Yeah.
Julie Michelson: You know,
Anna Sitkoff: I mean, yeah. And that's also a good point of like, like mushrooms. It's interesting, right? 'cause it's a supplement we're talking about, but it's a food. There's a supplement, but it's a food, right? And so when we talk about any kind of supplement, it's like this is a supplement to your diet, right?
Like if you are not eating mushrooms, then you can supplement with mushrooms. And that's not the only way to get the benefits, right? Yeah. And if anything, especially for like gut health, I think that you're more likely to get a lot more benefit if you're just eating mushrooms every day.
Julie Michelson: Wow. Every day. I mean, ideally every day.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. That's, I think that's amazing. And it's funny, I went through in my own healing journey, so I'm sure this means there's a listener out there that needs to hear this too. Um, part of, of my, you know, many triggers was mycotoxin illness. Um, and way back when, when I found that out, I became afraid of all mushrooms, like anything that might have fungus, mold.
Mm-hmm. You know? Um, and actually it took a long time of, you know, my fiance was the one who was like, not all mold is created. You know, like, yeah, stop it. This is, and then when I found out how nutrient dense they are, I was like, why am I avoiding. Something in my, our bodies are intelligent. There isn't innate intelligence.
Um, but I, you know, I too, I did that like extreme and while I was healing and, um, they're, yeah. Yeah, they're on my shopping list.
Anna Sitkoff: I get that question all the time. Yeah. I have a lot of patients who have mycotoxin illness and they're afraid of mushrooms and Yeah, I think that. Speaking of quality, like it's true that if the mushroom is not well, um, if it's not well packaged or if the transportation, if something was weird in the process of collection and transportation.
Yeah, and packaging. It is totally possible that certain mushrooms might contain mycotoxins, but mushrooms do not Innately. Contain mycotoxins that will make you sick. Right. The mycotoxins that it has are not from that mushroom, it's from a different kind of molder yeast that is growing on the mushroom.
Um, I love that
Julie Michelson: clarification. Yeah. Is is important. I'm gonna up my mushroom game, although we do, I do eat a good amount of mushrooms. I don't know that I get them daily, but they are on my shopping list. Yeah. I'll probably have, it's been raining in Colorado for like two weeks, so I'll probably have some.
Growing soon, but I won't eat them.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. What kind of mushrooms do you like to eat?
Julie Michelson: I really love all of them. I really do. I tend toward like, um, for like everyday cooking things like Baby Bella and I like a little bit. I don't need them to hide, you know? I think growing up I probably only ever had buttoned mushrooms ever.
Um, but we also only had iceberg lettuce, so, you know, I, I just, but I love the variety. I love oyster, I love, you know, it's fun. My, my daughter, uh, would really was the one who inspired me to like, you know, play with the fun mushrooms and Yeah. Um, which makes so much more sense if I'm, you know, adding, intentionally adding mushrooms anyway in powdered form and mm-hmm.
Um, that why not get just like. Any other food I eat, I think the variety. It is really important. I think we are meant to have the most varied diet that that supports us. And so, yes. Yeah,
Anna Sitkoff: I agree. It sounds like you've got some good family support for mushroom conception. Everyone's trying to get you to eat more mushrooms.
Well, it's just funny, you know, it's, it's
Julie Michelson: been like this is natural evolution of, and now that my kids are all adults, it's also fun to see like the one who is the pickiest still, when he comes over, I'm like, do you eat? And he's like, I eat everything. Like, why you keep, you know, and I'm like, yeah, because I remember.
So it's, you know, but we grow a lot of our own food. Not, again, not mushrooms is for consumption, but Yeah. Um, and I think that that helps with the experimental and the, uh, just trying new things and mm-hmm. Um, not being afraid of food. I have, I have a nice list of things I do need to avoid. Um, and even that though, I was not.
Gluten because I have celiac and I just don't, you know, I've worked too hard to heal my gut integrity. Yeah. Um, but like, I'm nightshade sensitive, but I now know at least last year and the year before, like tomatoes, we grow at home. I can eat all summer long, like amazing. Um, and so I, I'm always, I tell people all the time, like never, like nothing is forever unless you make it so.
When it comes to food restrictions and we're always healing, our cells are always turning over, why wouldn't I maybe be able to eat something I couldn't eat five years ago?
Anna Sitkoff: Yep.
Julie Michelson: I know. So it's, it's a lot of fun. Yeah. Um. So, okay. So we want to look for like, and you're very generous. I'm a little more hardcore.
Like if it's not on the package, check the website. Yeah, yeah. She's very cotton. That's fine. That's great. Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: You wanted to say mushroom powdered extract. Yes. And even better, if it says what percent beta glucan, or. Triterpenes. Um, or it'll be more like if it's a, a ratio or a Chaga supplement, it'll say more likely to say triterpenes, but other mushrooms, it'll probably just show beta glucans, which is totally appropriate and fine.
Gotcha. Okay. Yeah,
Julie Michelson: I love it. I want to make sure, and then I wanna circle back to, you mentioned already some of your favorite mushrooms for, you know, things like Epstein Bar or viral stuff, but. Really important, I think, and you did mention one, but what, what are those immune stimulating mushrooms that people should be aware of, especially if they're going to be using blends?
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah, so shiitake. Uh, Lin Dodi, which is the, the Latin name for Shiitake. And then, oh, good. I don't have to spell that. Thanks. Um, and then a Garis. Blasi is the other one. Um, that one's not. You're, most people aren't going to see that as much unless they have a supplement that says like, it's also known as like Gerrick.
Um, those, those two are the more immune stimulating. That's
Julie Michelson: it.
Anna Sitkoff: Just those
Julie Michelson: two. Wow. Interesting. Okay.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Yeah. Huh. Um, and, and even then, like I said earlier, it's not gonna be like echinacea. Yeah. And it's not across the board, but I do not put those mushrooms in any of my supplements because I don't. I, I just, people can eat shiitake if they wanna get shiitake in their bodies.
Right. And shiitake is, you know, it's an, it's an amazing antiviral, Shiitake's really high in this important antioxidant. Amino acid called ergot. Thionine. Like shiitake's. Great.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm. But
Anna Sitkoff: you can eat it if you want to, if you wanna. Get it in you and, um, we don't
Julie Michelson: need you to make us a supplement to Yeah.
It's
Anna Sitkoff: not for everyone. And there's even like a, a percentage of the population that gets something called shiitake dermatitis, um, where they eat shiitake and then their skin kind of breaks out and becomes inflamed. And so I just,
Julie Michelson: yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Don't need people to take my supplements and have some kind of reaction and then have it be on blamed on Shiitake.
I'm like, well, I'll
Julie Michelson: just, we'll just, yeah. Let them get their shiitake elsewhere if they choose to. Yeah. Yeah, exactly. Amazing. And I haven't, or the shi, I've like, my wheels are spinning already with the shiitake. Um, yeah,
Anna Sitkoff: and it is more in populations, like people who have eaten it raw are more likely to, to get that.
Okay. So it is really important for people to cook their mushrooms, all mushrooms across the board, all mushrooms across the board, cook them. Yeah. Um, and then I should say two, I mean, this is also a whole other rabbit hole, but I'll just mention it and then if people wanna read more, I have a whole blog post about Chiton, but there's a certain.
Percentage of the population that does not make the enzymes to oh, to break down, break down chitin. And in that situation, you are more likely to have a bad reaction to mushrooms. Um, especially like thinking about autoimmune disease. It's like people who have a trophic, gastritis.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: You're probably not gonna be able to break down the chiton.
Okay. So in that situation, I would say definitely do a mushroom powdered extract rather than eating the mushrooms.
Julie Michelson: Okay.
Anna Sitkoff: The more concentrated powdered extracts or the liquid extracts will not have chitin in them.
Julie Michelson: Oh, interesting. Okay. Yeah. Wow. Okay. So, and I love that because then you're not saying, you know, if you can't break it down, don't you know Yeah.
Don't ever have mushrooms in your life. So it, it kind of seems like the. I don't wanna use the word safest. Maybe the, um, least risky mm-hmm. Thing, uh, way of, if you want to start experimenting and playing with mushrooms would be to use the powdered mushroom extract.
Anna Sitkoff: Totally. That is, yeah. That will be like the kind of least reactive Yeah.
Option.
Julie Michelson: Do you have people like start slow and see if they notice anything or, I mean, so yeah, it's
Anna Sitkoff: hard. The noticing. Mm-hmm. Right? Is, yeah. Mushrooms are kind of a silent medicine. They're like behind the scenes, like they're like a behind the scenes. Yeah. I mean, with certain things, like I think with the reishi and, and Lion's, Maine, there is more noticing because there's that nervous system component.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, but with a lot of the immune regulation, um, there's not a lot of. Noticing maybe other than not, other than noticing that you maybe like haven't had a flare in a while. Right, right.
Julie Michelson: It's almost, it's that like, oh, this isn't doing anything for me. And then you stop and you're like, oh yeah, it was right.
Like that kind of, yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Or like maybe your bowel movements are like more normal or more regular. It's like, I think these kind of subtle mm-hmm. Things. Um, that would be the, the noticing, um, or. People may be like, I don't know if the mushrooms are doing anything. And then I, we do some lab work and I'm like, oh, well look, your white blood cell account improved.
Right. And they normalize. So that's good. It's probably the mushroom. Yeah. Um, and yeah, and then it, it also, mushrooms have certain, um, they have like an, an immune training kind of aspect to them. So even if you take them for a period of time and then you stop taking them for a number of months. You will continue to have the same immune benefits, which is really cool.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. Which is amazing, and it goes back to that kind of balancing supportive, synergistic quality that mm-hmm. I don't know of what else has that, you know, I mean that, that, that's where I get like, oh, I think we were made to, to work together. Mushrooms in humans. Yeah. You know, I really
Anna Sitkoff: think so. Yeah.
Julie Michelson: Yeah.
Uh, that's amazing. So. And you already gave us a bunch of them. Um, but I know, especially with autoimmunity, do you have the favorites? Mm-hmm. Um, are there, are there different, I, I almost don't even wanna ask you this question because, but I will. Um mm-hmm. But to me, like the diagnosis is really based on the symptoms and the processes.
Yeah, the process. Right. But that being said, are there certain things top of mind for you that you're like, oh, you have, I mean, you already mentioned like the, the viral stuff, um, but like, oh, you have ra, or Oh, you have this, or are you more looking at, you know, what are the main drivers in this particular person?
Anna Sitkoff: So, like I said, there's, yeah, you can think about mushrooms on all the levels. I think in addition to what are the main drivers and how can mushrooms kind of support that or decrease load of those things. There are some mushrooms that are, I think of, are more specific for certain autoimmune disease. So for example, lion's mane.
Mm-hmm. And ms. Multiple sclerosis. Okay. Lion's mane can increase nerve growth. Factor Synthes, which is a really important aspect of remyelination. So I think that Lion's, Maine can be helpful for Ms. Um, lion's, Maine. Also, there's some research for ulcerative colitis showing that it really helps to decrease inflammation in the gut and also for atrophic gastritis.
So some of those more inflammatory, um, bowel disease or just like inflammatory intestinal diseases. Mm-hmm. I think of Lion's, Maine, there. Um, and then t trella, which we haven't really talked about yet, Trella fusiform, it's also called snow fungus. Um, I, I think that mushroom is, it's really high in polysaccharides, really, really high in like, specifically like kind of mucus forming polysaccharides.
Mm-hmm. It's really moistening and so I use that mushroom most for. Conditions like Sjogren's
Julie Michelson: mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, that, you know, kind of like the drier of autoimmune diseases. Yeah. Um, and then REI has specific effects on decreasing fibrosis. And so I think about, I use REI more for like scleroderma. Mm-hmm. And can be helpful there.
Um, and those are kind of like the main. Like mushroom condition connections, but then it's like, so depends on the person what else they have going on and. Yeah. But, um, that is like the simple version of that answer. Yeah,
Julie Michelson: no, that was like really, that was good. Um, and again, those are still the symptoms, so it doesn't disqualify that, that idea of, you know, how is it presenting and how do we help with that?
Yeah. Yeah. Um, is there such a thing like as too many mushrooms if you're, if you're not in including. The ones you know, maybe that are revving and, and you are sensitive to that. Mm-hmm. Like. How many do you take?
Anna Sitkoff: So, yeah, I think they, it depends. So there's definitely like a dose response curve and more mushrooms is not always better.
Okay. Um, it's like nine grams of Turkey tail is actually not going to stimulate the immune system more than six grams of Turkey pill. Right.
Julie Michelson: Okay.
Anna Sitkoff: Or stimulate, modulate the immune system. Um. So it would just be kind of, but
Julie Michelson: like as far as varieties where it's like, okay, they all, you know, have the little different mechanism.
Mm-hmm. Should we be including a large variety of mushrooms? Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: So I think it, yes, yes. You should include a large variety of mushrooms and. Don't take a supplement that has 10 different mushrooms in it. It's like if you wanna have a large variety of mushrooms, then eat a large variety of mushrooms and then your supplement can have like, yeah, I'd say like five mushrooms maximum.
Okay. It gets to a point where, you know, if you're using, um, reishi to, to help decrease fibrosis or trem to help moisten your tissues. They're gonna be diluted. If there's 10 mushrooms in a formula you're not getting, yeah. You're not gonna have the, the therapeutic dose of any single mushroom. Mm-hmm. So there is definitely synergism.
I think that mushrooms work really well together. Okay. But. Yeah, kitchen sink formulas not necessarily the way to go. Right. I shouldn't even call it a formula mixtures, right? Yeah. Right. Yeah. Not necessarily the way to go. Um, and then, yeah, yeah, no, go ahead. Oh, I was just gonna say as far as like, is there such thing as too much, um, I think there's, there is like, this is a totally rare thing that can happen sometimes, but.
There's been situations where people have like eaten a lot of mushrooms and all of the chitin from those mushrooms can actually form a plug in your intestines and not good. Don't do that. So don't just like eat a bunch of mushrooms at lunch. Mushroom crazy. I'm like, don't just like go on a fast where you're eating mushrooms for every single
Julie Michelson: meal.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah, yeah. Moderation.
Julie Michelson: Yeah. And I, I would say like, again, extreme, we're not talking about extremes of. Anything. Um, and, and most things there is a point at which you can take it too far for sure. Yeah.
Anna Sitkoff: Even with mushrooms. Yeah.
Julie Michelson: Is there a mushroom that you think everybody should include in their diet or supplement with?
Um, you have a favorite?
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. So dietary. Mm-hmm. Oyster mushroom. Okay. Um, mostly for the benefits of ergot thionine, which is an amazing antioxidant that works very similar to glutathione in the body. It even acts as like a backup system to glutathione. Mm-hmm. When glutathione becomes depleted.
Julie Michelson: Mm-hmm.
Anna Sitkoff: Um, and then, um, non-edible, medicinal, I would say reishi.
Um, reishi is the mushroom of immortality. It is like been talked about for centuries. Mm-hmm. And for good reason. It's, it's good medicine and it's, um, works so well with the human system.
Julie Michelson: You had me at mushroom
Anna Sitkoff: of
Julie Michelson: immortality, right? Yeah. Yeah. That's amazing. Yeah. So you've already given us a lot. Um, but listeners know when they're leaning in.
This is the point where I ask you, and it could be not even mushroom related, so, okay. Um, which makes it better and more difficult all at the same time. Okay. What is one step that listeners can take starting today to improve or support their health?
Anna Sitkoff: Um, I. I would say is to be gentle with yourself. Love it. Do not create suffering about the suffering.
Julie Michelson: Uh, brilliant. Yeah. Uh, amazing. So amazing. I. Huh. And for those that are listening on the go before I let you out of here, and they're not gonna check the notes, where is the best place to find you? And also is Lucid Dem.
Mm-hmm. Like where? Because now listeners are gonna be like, well, where do I get those quality? Extracts, so yes.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah. Um, my website is dr ana sitkoff.com. You can find my blog and writings on there. Um, and I am on Instagram as Dr. Ana Sitkoff. And then my, um, company website is Lucidum Medicinals. Dot com and um, yeah, you can find a lot, even more information about mushrooms there.
Julie Michelson: Yes, I know you have like, lots of good, lots of goodies on the website. So, uh, Ana, thank you so very much for your time, your wisdom, your love of mushrooms, and sharing that with the rest of us and really inspiring people who again, may have just thought they should be avoiding mushrooms to to dabble.
Anna Sitkoff: Yeah.
Yeah. Thank you so much, Julie. This was a really nourishing conversation for me.
Julie Michelson: Thanks for everyone listening. Remember, you can get the transcripts and show notes by Visiting Inspired Living Show. I hope you had an amazing time and enjoyed this episode as much as I did. I'll see you next week.
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Anna Sitkoff
Anna Sitkoff is a licensed naturopathic doctor and medicinal mushroom expert with over a decade of experience, blending clinical practice with laboratory research and hands-on experience. As Co-founder and Chief Science Officer of Lucidum Medicinals, she formulates evidence-based mushroom supplements designed to support immune, lung, and nervous system health, using only bioavailable fruiting body extracts for maximum efficacy. Anna’s clinical experience, combined with her commitment to educating practitioners and patients on the therapeutic benefits of mushrooms, has earned her recognition as a leading expert in the field. She is the author of the Medicinal Mushrooms chapter in The Textbook of Natural Medicine and has published research in the Journal of Immunology. Anna's dedication to research and patient care drives her mission to empower others with effective, evidence-based natural therapies.
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