How Moms Can Balance Physical and Mental Stress with Adaptogenic Mushrooms
Motherhood is often stressful, no matter where you are on the journey. Moms carry the weight of daily to-do lists and finding time to relax doesn’t always come easy. Although moms are notorious for handling the stress of raising kids like rockstars, it never hurts to find something that helps to find more balance.
Adaptogenic mushrooms are getting a lot of hype, especially for their impact on stress.
Unlike so many other products in the wellness industry, adaptogens are much more than just a trend. Here’s everything you need to know about adaptogenic mushrooms and how they could help to balance stress.
What are Adaptogenic Mushrooms?
No, adaptogenic mushrooms aren’t the same as the ones that people bought from a sketchy dorm in college to make them hallucinate.
Adaptogenic mushrooms are a functional food, which means they benefit the body beyond nutrition. And yes, they’re totally safe. In fact, mushrooms have been used for thousands of years in traditional Chinese medicine.
To go into a little more (but not too much) detail, these mushrooms contain compounds that stabilize the connection between your brain and hormones. When your body is stressed in any way, these compounds help your body adapt. Most types also support immune function.
What are the Different Types of Adaptogenic Mushrooms?
There are several different types of adaptogenic mushrooms, each with its own function and benefit to the body. Here are some common types:
Reishi – Good for stress, better sleep, and the immune system.
Chaga – Good for the immune system, with strong antioxidant properties.
Cordyceps – Good for the immune system and athletic performance.
Lion’s Mane – Good for memory, mental clarity, and brain health.
Maitake – Good for the immune system and blood sugar control
Shiitake – Good for the immune system with antioxidant properties
Turkey Tail – Protects the liver, good for the immune system and gut health.
Adaptogenic Mushrooms to Manage Stress
Let’s deep dive into how eating a mushroom can actually help with stress relief.
Physical Stress
There are a number of reasons why your body may experience physical stress. Illness, injury, and intense exercise are all examples of very common events that put stress on the body.
Mushrooms help the body not only handle the impact of physical stress, but they also facilitate recovery. First, they work against inflammation, which speeds recovery and provides some relief from symptoms of inflammatory illness such as arthritis. Mushrooms also support the immune system, which encourages better healing.
Mental Stress
As a parent, you’re no stranger to mental stress. Even though it’s completely normal to experience, unmanaged stress can have detrimental effects on the body over time.
Adaptogenic mushrooms contain compounds that help the body adapt to situations of stress. They reduce the “fight or flight” response to mild stressors, making it easier to stay calm, think clearly, and work through tough situations. These compounds also help the body return to baseline more quickly.
How a Mushroom Can Help Moms Manage Stress
Moms take on a lot. While they take care of everyone else, it’s just as important that they care for themselves.
However, sometimes it’s hard to stick to the pillars of stress management, like eating well, exercising, and getting plenty of quality sleep. Life gets in the way, and self-care goes on the backburner.
This is where mushrooms come in. Incorporating adaptogenic mushrooms into your routine can help balance stress levels even on the days all of your other stress management techniques go out the window.
The benefits from these mushrooms get better with time, as they help your body respond to stress. They also help you relax so your body can recover from stress, and even get better quality sleep.
In other words, mushrooms prepare your body to remain calm and handle almost any parenting situation – from tantrums, to picky eating battles, to teenage angst.
How to Include Mushrooms in Your Day
One of the most appealing things about adaptogenic mushrooms, especially for moms, is how simple they are to use.
There are a lot of ways to incorporate these into your diet. You can find them in capsule form to keep things really simple, but many people enjoy drinking mushroom tea. This works really well in the evenings, when the goal is to unwind before going to sleep.
Adaptogen powders are also very convenient, as you can mix them into snacks, smoothies, or your favorite beverage any time of day.
A mushrooms recovery supplement like Naked Recovery from Naked Nutrition contains adaptogenic mushrooms and other adaptogens to enhance stress relief, recovery, relaxation, and mental clarity.
This all-in-one recovery drink helps with physical and mental stress.
Are Adaptogenic Mushrooms the Missing Piece to Your Stress Management Regime?
More and more people are discovering the benefits of functional foods, including adaptogenic mushrooms. If other efforts to manage stress just aren’t cutting it, you may be pleasantly surprised at the power of a mushroom.
Tags: adaptogenic mushrooms, functional foods, mom health, self care. nutrtiion, stress management