Oyster Mushroom

Oyster Mushrooms are known as “tree oyster,” “oyster shelf,” and “hiratake,” which means “flat mushroom” in Japanese. The oyster mushroom may help relaxing and improving your mood, improving skin quality/looking younger, and lowering cholesterol. Oyster mushrooms contain lovastatin, which is a naturally occurring chemical that lowers cholesterol levels. This mushroom also contains high levels of iron, zinc, and vitamin B (B6 in particular). As well as high levels of protein. They also contain beta-glucans that hold great immunomodulating benefits and may help to be effective in combating certain cancers.

Fun Fact: Oyster mushrooms have a very significant environmental potential due to its ability to break down toxins and contaminants consisting of diesel fuel, gasoline, oils, plastics, and polychlorinated biphenyls. The oyster mushroom mycelium can be scattered over the pollution areas and start absorbing and breaking down the chemicals leading to purified soil that used to be contaminated. It’s interesting to consider the great potential that these mushrooms have on the planet - for example if they could be used for oil spills!