8 Powerful Benefits of Maitake Mushroom: The Shroom King

Medical mushrooms are finally getting the wide recognition they deserve as some of the most super of all “super foods.” Yet some varieties, such as maitake mushroom, are still flying under the radar in these parts of the world despite their amazing health benefits.

Maitake mushrooms are often referred to as the “king of mushrooms” because they are so nutritious and delicious. Now, they do have some royal competition from chaga mushrooms, which have also been called the “king of mushrooms.”

However, maitake may reign supreme, because they’re truly bursting with powerful nutrients and plant compounds that boost many aspects of your health. In fact, they have been celebrated in Japan for eons because of their off-the-charts health-boosting properties.

Read on to learn about this remarkable mushroom and why you may want to routinely consume it!

What is Maitake? The 10 Pound Dancing Mushroom

Maitake mushroom (Grifola frondosa) grows natively in certain regions of China, Japan, and North America. It’s usually found growing at the base of maple, oak, and elm trees and has a distinct frilly, almost coral-like appearance.

Over the years, maitake has gained many nicknames beyond “king of the mushrooms.”

For example, in Japanese, the word maitake means “dancing mushroom.” This is not because the mushroom dances, however. It’s because of people dancing with happiness after finding the mushroom in the wild!

Yet another common nickname for maitake is “hen of the woods,” and that’s because of its resemblance to a fan-like hen tail.

And back to the “king of mushrooms” nickname. Beyond it’s outstanding health benefits, this moniker also refers to its size, because maitake mushrooms average ten pounds in weight and can grow to over 100 pounds!

Finally, unlike some other medicinal mushrooms that don’t have the best taste, maitake has a delicious, earthy flavor and a delicate texture. This is why it has been prized for both its medicinal and culinary value for centuries.

A Japanese Love for Maitake

Asian cultures have long recognized the outstanding benefits of maitake mushroom. It’s held in high regard in traditional Chinese medicine, but this mushroom has made even more of a mark in Japan.

According to lore, it was a group of Buddhist nuns and woodcutters who first discovered maitake in Japan.

The mushroom would go on to gain such prominence in both Japanese herbal medicine and cuisine that it may have been worth its weight in silver to anyone fortunate enough to find it in the wild (another reason people danced when finding it!) It was also given as a gift to Shoguns by local lords to gain favor and rewards.

The popularity of maitake mushroom, particularly among royalty, led to the development of expert Japanese mushroom foragers who still continue their work today. Even though maitake has become largely cultivated, many believe that the wild-grown fungi are superior.

On the medicinal side, maitake mushroom was especially prized for helping the immune system, blood pressure, and overall vitality.

Interestingly, all of these properties have received confirmation from modern research and more, as you’ll see below!

Top Benefits of Maitake Mushroom

Loaded with Nutrients & Antioxidants

Maitake is sinply loaded with nutrients, powerful plant compounds, and antioxidants.

For example, maitake is a very good source of B vitamins (niacin, riboflavin, thiamine, folate), copper, potassium, and phosphorus. The mushrooms also contain smaller amounts of zinc, manganese, selenium, and vitamin B6.

Maitake may provide significant amounts of vitamin D as well, although the amount will vary based on how much sunlight the mushrooms were exposed to.

In addition to vitamins and minerals, a one cup serving of maitake provides you a decent amount of protein and nearly 2 grams of fiber. You’ll also be consuming highly beneficial polysaccharides known as beta glucans. Beta glucans have documented support for immune health and other benefits (more on this below).

Finally, no superfood would be complete without the presence of anti-aging antioxidants, and maitake contains a powerful array of them, including phenols, flavonoids, vitamin C, and vitamin E.

These specific antioxidants may be quite effective against many age-related diseases, including cancer and neurodegenerative disorders.

Adaptogenic Properties that Fight Stress

One of the best benefits of maitake mushroom for modern times is its adaptogenic properties.

Adaptogens are herbs and foods that help protect you from the effects of both physical and mental stressors. They especially help your body adapt to stress, reducing its impact. If you’re like most people today, you could certainly benefit from this!

The term “adaptogen” was first used in the 1940s. It was originally defined as a natural substance or plant extract that had non-specific action to enhance the human body’s resistance to adverse conditions, particularly stress.

Since that time, multiple studies have been conducted on herbal adaptogens with some impressive results.

Overall, adaptogens have shown the ability to decrease fatigue, ease symptoms of anxiety and depression, sharpen mental performance, and even change the chemical stress response within your body. They have also demonstrated nootropic and neuroprotective properties, meaning they may actually help to enhance and protect your brain.

The bottom line is that maitake mushroom can be a huge benefit to your body and mind by combating the negative effects of stress. However, like other adaptogens, it does need to be taken for a period of time (at least 2-3 weeks) before you will notice the full effects.

Unique Cancer-Fighting Potential

The idea of using medicinal mushrooms to fight cancer isn’t a new one. Turkey tail mushroom has strong anticancer potential and is even used as an adjuvant cancer treatment in Japan.

Now, research is showing that there are also potential benefits of maitake mushroom for fighting cancer— some very unique ones.

The main anti-cancer component of maitake is the polysaccharides it contains (particularly beta glucans). A specific portion of these polysaccharides can be isolated into an extract known as D-Fraction. This unique extract has shown potential antitumoral and antimetastatic activity and an ability to inhibit human breast cancer cells.

In a very small human trial with cancer patients, D-Fraction appeared to repress cancer progression primarily by stimulating natural killer cells. It has also been able to enhance the action of a cancer-fighting protein in lab studies.

Other preclinical studies have found that maitake extract may even suppress tumor growth, though this has yet to be tested in a human model.

The bottom line is that maitake has shown the potential to fight cancer on its own and enhance other cancer treatments. Hopefully, research will continue to progress and find clinical uses for D-Fraction.

Your Immune Function

One of the ways maitake may fight cancer cells is by stimulating the immune system. This enhanced immune response can be beneficial for your body to fend off normal infections, too.

Yet again, this effect comes from the powerful polysaccharides within maitake, particularly beta glucans. They may stimulate natural killer cells, which go after tumor cells and other infected cells, as well as other defensive immune cells.

In one study, an extract from maitake mushroom produced “significant stimulation of defense reaction” in the immune system. Interestingly, the immune-enhancing effects were even stronger when maitake and shiitake extracts were paired together. A good case for consuming a variety of medicinal mushrooms!

One important note to make is that maitake mushroom doesn’t simply stimulate your immune system and leave it “turned up” all the time (which could be harmful).

In fact, a different study showed that maitake may act more like an immunomodulator than a true immunostimulator, meaning it upregulates or downregulates immune reaction and inflammatory responses as needed.

Digestion and Your Healthy Gut

Another of the benefits of consuming maitake mushroom regularly is for your digestion.

Not only do polysaccharides and beta glucans have powerful health properties, they are also forms of soluble fiber. This means they form a thick, gel-like substance in your digestive tract, which helps to “keep you regular”. As a bonus, beta glucan may also slows the absorption of sugar and reduces cholesterol absorption in your digestive tract.

Even better is the fact that beta glucans are prebiotic fibers. This means they feed the highly important probiotics living within your gut. Studies have shown that they may actually improve the growth and colonization of beneficial microorganisms in the gut, which is extremely valuable!

On another note, some preliminary studies have found that maitake extract may be able to alleviate intestinal inflammation. This could be a huge finding for sufferers of IBD and other inflammatory gut disorders, though more research is still needed in this area.

Heart Health

Some early studies have shown that maitake mushroom may be able to help with two specific areas of heart health: cholesterol and blood pressure.

As mentioned in the previous section, the beta glucans in maitake may have the ability to reduce cholesterol absorption in your digestive tract. This is likely why maitake mushroom was able to lower cholesterol levels in one study. In theory, this would help to keep arteries open and blood flowing to the heart.

In another study, supplementation with maitake was able to reduce age-related hypertension. These results were confirmed in a separate animal model that found maitake significantly reduced blood pressure over a period of 8 weeks.

Unfortunately, high quality clinical trials on maitake and heart health are still lacking. But given the presence of beta glucans in the mushrooms and more, it seems very likely that maitake is outstanding for heart health.

May Help Balance Blood Sugar Levels

Having consistently high blood sugar levels is a major risk factor for type 2 diabetes. And while a healthy diet is one of the best ways to manage blood sugar, there may be some added benefits of maitake mushroom for blood sugar control.

Once again, we come back to the beta glucans and other polysaccharides found in maitake. By acting as soluble fiber within your digestive tract, they may be able to slow the absorption of sugar into your bloodstream. This can help to keep blood sugar more balanced instead of spiking after a snack or meal.

Some preliminary studies have indeed confirmed that maitake has the potential to balance or lower blood sugar.

For example, it was found to improve glucose tolerance and blood glucose levels in one study. A separate animal model also found that a unique maitake preparation was able to improve “diabetes-induced alterations” and positively affected blood glucose levels.

May Even Promote Fertility

Infertility is a frustrating challenge for many people around the world. There’s no one cause of infertility, so it can be difficult to address, even using conventional options.

In many traditional medicinal systems, adaptogens are one of the top recommended options for enhancing fertility because they have a balancing and normalizing effect on the body. They also have a balancing effect on hormones (often a factor in infertility) and may even decrease the stress hormone, cortisol.

One study conducted in Japan found that there may be benefits of maitake mushrooms for enhanced fertility, likely due to its adaptogenic effect.

The participants in the study all had polycystic ovarian syndrome (PCOS), a hormonal condition that frequently involves ovarian cysts, decreased or no ovulation, and infertility. By the end of the trial period, over 76% of those taking maitake extract were ovulating again, which is a big step towards fertility.

Of course, this was only one small study, but the results were very promising.

Best Ways to Take Maitake Mushroom

Unless you are a mushroom expert or you are guided by one, it is not recommended that you try to forage for maitake (or any mushrooms) in the wild.

With the surge of interest in medicinal mushrooms, there has also been a surge in inexperienced individuals foraging on their own — and getting poisoned from inedible mushrooms.

Fortunately, specialty stores and an increasing amount of grocery stores do now carry fresh maitake mushrooms if you want to experience their amazing flavor (note that they can still be quite expensive). As always, try to look for organic mushrooms to avoid potentially harmful chemical residue.

Another option— one that is more easily available to most people, and which may be a better choice for the health aspect — is to take maitake as a supplement.

You can find it powdered or as a liquid extract, and this typically means you’re getting a more concentrated amount than you would eating it fresh. Again, though, please choose your supplements carefully to avoid unwanted chemicals!

The Best Maitake “Super-Shroom” Supplement?

As you’ve seen, the “king of mushrooms”, maitake, has many outstanding health benefits for you.

However, the smartest approach when it comes to mushrooms is to routinely consume a variety of them. That’s because different mushrooms each have different compounds that excel at specific benefits.

In my own research, the best mushroom supplement I’ve found is easily Mushroom MindBoost from Purality Health.

This premium quality supplement combines the outstanding properties of maitake with four other very potent mushrooms: king trumpet, turkey tail, reishi, and Antrodia camphorata.

This powerful combination of mushrooms benefits your body in many ways, including and perhaps especially your brain, as you’ll see on the page right here.

Furthermore, Mushroom MindBoost is made using micelle liposomal technology, which means your body can absorb the maximum amount of nutrients from it. As you’ll also see — and unlike some other mushroom supplements out there — it does not contain a bunch of junk ingredients you don’t want in your body.

Finally, Mushroom MindBoost is easy to take and it has a true chocolate taste, which makes consuming your daily dose enjoyable!

Learn more about Mushroom MindBoost here if interested, and however you decide to consume it, enjoy the amazing health benefits of the “king of the mushrooms” — and feel free to dance with happiness while doing so!