Image courtesy of Real Mushrooms.
If you haven’t yet heard of turkey tail mushrooms, you might just be missing out. Turkey tail mushrooms are known for their benefits, and can be taken in different ways. Some of their benefits could come as a surprise to you, especially the estrogen related benefits. Having low estrogen can lead to a host of negative symptoms, and turkey tail mushrooms can potentially be a remedy. When you choose to eat turkey tail mushrooms, your symptoms can potentially take a turn for the better.
How do turkey tail mushrooms interact with estrogen? And how will it affect you or interact with your menopause symptoms? Everything you need to know about turkey tail mushrooms and their impact on the estrogen in your body is written below. Everything from what turkey tail mushrooms are to how to eat them will help you make some impactful changes to your life and feel a lot better from day to day.
What Happens When Someone Has Low Estrogen?
Low estrogen can come with a litany of effects that can significantly change someone’s life. If you are suffering from low estrogen, it makes sense that you would want a remedy to combat the worst effects. Though if you’re not sure whether or not you have low estrogen, here are some of the symptoms. If one or more of these symptoms impact your life from day to day, you should probably see your doctor to confirm what’s causing them.
- Insomnia. Insomnia is a side effect of low estrogen because estrogen produces serotonin, which regulates sleep. Serotonin is a neurotransmitter in the brain that triggers melatonin, and melatonin is a hormone that helps people sleep. The loss of estrogen causes a chain of reactions that degrades a person’s quality of sleep.
- Hot flashes. One of the most well known side effects of low estrogen is hot flashes. Hot flashes have been depicted so often in the media, everyone has an idea of what they may be like. Hot flashes come on as a feeling of intense heat. It also comes with sweating and a rapid heart beat, and it is common to experience night sweats. These episodes can last anywhere from a minute to 30, and can come on one or multiple times per day.
- Vaginal dryness. Low estrogen also comes with sexual symptoms. When estrogen isn’t there to regulate your sexual organs, they can take a turn for the worst. It can lead to vaginal dryness, which can cause discomfort during sex, and even vaginal shrinking, also known as vaginal atrophy. With a shrunken vagina that is dryer than normal, inflammation can also occur. Alongside all these issues, a lack of sex drive also comes with a loss of estrogen.
- Weight gain. Weight gain is one of the effects of a loss of estrogen, and that is because estrogen plays a part in how the body regulates fat. The hormones in your body have a big effect on your metabolism, and on how your body regulates weight. Estradiol, a type of estrogen, controls the way your body stores fat, and where it stores fat. When estrogen is lost, those mechanics fall out of function, which can lead to weight gain.
What Are Turkey Tail Mushrooms?
Turkey tail mushrooms are a type of mushroom found all over the world. It is colorful in a standout way, and very recognizable if you know what to look for. Turkey tail mushrooms are several different shades of brown. On any individual mushroom, you will find stripes of sandy brown, mahogany and more. These mushrooms are also curved and rounded, and some come with multiple parts and wrap together like a rose bud. They are used for multiple health purposes, and that includes weight loss and even estrogen regulation.
Turkey tail mushrooms are also called Coriolus versicolor. They can be taken in supplement form, powdered form, or eaten fresh, but it is best when it is in powdered or supplement form. Turkey tail mushrooms have a tough texture to them that makes people prefer them crushed and grounded, but you can eat them fresh if you are fine with that. You can always go with one or the other, or both. And a great part is, it comes with minimal, if any, side effects.
Turkey Tail Mushroom Benefits
Turkey tail mushrooms come with several unexpected benefits. One major rkey tail’s benefit is that they are packed with antioxidants. These antioxidants are called phenols and flavonoids, and there are multiple different types. They release protective compounds that improve the overall immune system. Antioxidants protect cells from the free radicals that cause them damage. When the antioxidants and unstable molecules in your system are unbalanced, it can lead to inflammation, which can lead to other health issues. Turkey tail mushrooms can help prevent those problems, including cancer cell development.
Turkey tail mushrooms also positively impact the gut. This is because they contain prebiotics, and prebiotics feed the gut’s good bacteria. This is something that has a direct effect on the immune system as well, since the gut impacts the immune system. Turkey tail mushrooms increase the presence of good bacteria like Lactobacillus, and reduce the presence of bad bacteria like Staphylococcus. Good bacteria in the gut improves cholesterol levels, digestion, and keeps your system running smoothly.
Turkey tail mushrooms can also suppress certain tumors. They contain a type of polysaccharide that may have the ability to suppress certain tumors. The more turkey tail mushroom you eat, the more this effect is likely to take place. The cancers these mushrooms have the biggest impact on are intestinal cancers. Turkey tail mushrooms also have an effect on immune cells. They activate certain immune cells, and suppress others. They increase the number of white blood cells in the body, which helps your body’s entire immune system.
Turkey tail mushrooms can even help you lose weight. It does that because it controls the gut microbiome, enhances insulin sensitivity, and increases metabolism. Increased insulin increases weight loss by controlling glucose levels, and an increased metabolism leads to more fat burning. Not as many people use turkey tail mushrooms for weight loss now, but with growing research, use of turkey tail mushrooms for weight loss is growing.
Does Turkey Tail Mushroom Raise Estrogen Levels?
Turkey tail mushrooms have a lot of impact, and one thing it has a big impact on is estrogen levels. There is evidence that turkey tail mushrooms can affect estrogen levels by inducing estrogen-like effects. These physiological effects can relieve some menopause symptoms, symptoms that are caused by a lack of estrogen. When estrogen is pumped back into the body, symptoms like vaginal dryness and hot flashes can be reduced.
Studies have shown that postmenopausal women have produced more estrogen after being given a certain amount of turkey tail mushrooms. Some studies have shown this, and other studies have shown that turkey tail mushrooms can cause a reduction in certain illnesses that excess estrogen can cause. Some types of cancer are caused by estrogen, and turkey tail mushrooms have been found to inhibit the growth of those tumors. And while some information on how turkey tail mushrooms affect estrogen production are unclear, they have been shown to increase estrogen production in women who have gone through menopause.
Turkey Tail Mushroom Side Effects
Turkey tail mushrooms don’t come with many side effects, but they can come with a few in very rare instances. Turkey tail mushrooms can cause gastrolienal side effects, and those can include stomach pain, gas, bloating, constipation, and nausea. And in even more rare instances, turkey tail mushrooms can cause low blood sugar, low white blood cell count, heart palpitations, and rashes. People with mold allergies are likely to experience throat swelling, trouble breathing, and skin rashes. The best course of action to take when experiencing these symptoms is to stop taking turkey tail mushrooms to put a stop to them. You can always resume eating them at a slower pace later on.
How to Take Turkey Tail Mushrooms
If you want to try raising your estrogen levels naturally, you’re going to need to add more turkey tail mushrooms to your diet. This is not a mushroom that you will find in every supermarket, but you can manage to find it. It will be even easier to get turkey tail mushrooms in powder or capsule form than fresh since it isn’t sold in many stores. You can use mushroom powder to make smoothies, soups, and tea, and supplements can simply be taken with a glass of water or another beverage.
Supplements
You can find different turkey tail supplements to buy, mostly online. Some of these supplements use the whole mushroom, and some only use extracts from the important parts of the mushroom. There are benefits to both, and which type you buy depends on your preferences. The best turkey tail mushroom supplements come from natural sources. They also don’t use grain or other fillers to take up space. These supplements can be taken just like any other. Just take a capsule with water however many times is advised on the bottle and you will be good to go. Places you can find turkey tail mushroom capsules are Real Mushrooms, FreshCap, and Ancient Nutrition.
Powdered Turkey Tail Mushroom
Powdered mushrooms are another way to get more turkey tail mushrooms into your system. If you’ve never had powdered mushrooms before, getting a hang of them will be pretty easy. You just have to make sure to use them in the right applications. Mushroom powder can be used the way most powdered foods are used, by stirring them into foods. Some powdered foods are flavorless, but powdered mushrooms come with flavor, and you need to pair it with foods it works well with. You may find that these mushrooms taste best when used in coffee, soups and stews. So what’s one thing you can make with powdered mushrooms?
Banana Mushroom Shake
One way to drink your mushrooms is to put them in a complementary shake, and a banana mushroom shake is a good choice. This shake is made with a few of the simplest ingredients, and will keep you full for a while as you go about your day.
Ingredients:
- Turkey tail mushroom powder
- Milk
- Frozen banana
- Mushroom powder
- Ground ginger
- Ground turmeric
- Protein powder
All you need to do to make this shake is blend all the ingredients together until it reaches a smooth and creamy consistency. This drink is best served cold!
Fresh and Dried Turkey Tail Mushroom
When using the mushrooms themselves, turkey tail mushrooms can be eaten fresh or dried, and can taste best dried. Using dried turkey tail mushrooms can add an umami flavor to soups and stews, giving them a more intense flavor. You can get dried turkey tail mushrooms from Amazon, Far West Fungi, and Essential Spice. Here is one broth recipe you can use.
Turkey Tail Mushroom Soup
You can make a delicious soup using turkey tail mushrooms. You can use dried mushrooms to get a concentrated flavor into the broth, and you can use fresh turkey tail or any other mushroom in the soup. You can even make plenty of broth in advance, freeze it, and use it to make many other soups. This turkey tail mushroom soup is a great start.
Ingredients:
- Mirepoix (carrots, onions, celery)
- Olive oil
- Garlic
- Potatoes
- Soy sauce
- Cashews
- Turkey tail mushrooms
To make this soup, you need to chop and saute the vegetables, add everything including the broth, and let it simmer for about 30 minutes.
If you are suffering through low estrogen, turkey tail mushrooms can help. And now that you know how to take them, you can try them out at home and find out if they work for yourself.
