Podcast:

The Gutsy Herbalist

Mushrooms for Gut Healing with Dr. Anna Sitkoff

With:

Hannah

August 12, 2025

Listen: Spotify

I had the pleasure of sitting down with Hannah from The Gutsy Herbalist Podcast to dive deep into one of my favorite topics: how medicinal mushrooms support gut health and the microbiome. We covered everything from how to identify quality mushroom supplements to the fascinating ways beta-glucans and chitin act as prebiotics for beneficial bacteria.

We also explored the gut-brain, gut-lung, and gut-gonad axes, mushroom extraction methods, and why I believe so many of mushrooms' therapeutic benefits ultimately come down to their profound effects on intestinal health. If you've ever wondered whether mushroom coffee actually works, how to make medicinal mushroom broths at home, or why fruiting bodies matter more than mycelium, this conversation has you covered.

Conversation starters

[For awkward dinner parties, silent elevator rides, grocery store lines, and your favorite barista]

There's no amount of just popping mushroom pills that are going to help if you're not outside for a few minutes every day.

I think that so many of the benefits really just come down to their effect on the gut microbiome.

Key Topics

[05:50] 🧬 My laboratory research with rosy polypore extracts and lymphocytic leukemia cells

[10:32] 💊 What makes a quality mushroom supplement - understanding fruiting body vs mycelium

[13:15] 🔬 The lion's mane mycelium debate and erinacines vs hericenones

[18:37] 🧪 Extraction methods - why powdered extracts and dual extractions matter

[25:54] ☕ Mushroom coffee and chocolate - tannin-polysaccharide complexes and bioavailability

[33:50] 🦠 How mushrooms support the gut microbiome through beta-glucans and chitin

[41:54] 🛡️ The role of mushroom polysaccharides as prebiotics for beneficial bacteria

[50:45] 🌸 Mushrooms and hormone health - the estrabolome and estrogen detoxification

Spores for Thought

There are all of these different axes - the gut-gonad axis, the gut-kidney axis, the gut-lung axis, the gut-brain axis - and what all of the research on these axes is basically showing is that through regulating the gut microbiome, it's having an impact on the health of the gonads, kidneys, lungs, and brain.

Supplements - it's literally in the name. If you really are not going to add these things into your diet in some way, then take the supplement. But if you're up for making mushroom broths and just having them be a part of your diet, then that is a totally appropriate way to be using them.