MycoForce Cacao Smoothie
Ingredients:
1 cup plant-based milk
1 frozen banana
1 Tablespoon tahini (or your favorite seed/nut butter)
1 Tablespoon Cacao Bean powder
1 teaspoon MycoForce powder (or you can open 2 capsules)
1 Medjool date, pitted (optional for more sweetness)
Dash of vanilla extract
Procedure:
Place all ingredients in a high-speed blender and blend until smooth.
Serves 1
Cacao Origins and Benefits
Cacao powder is essentially the solids that remain after the cacao butter has been extracted from the cacao bean (Theobroma cacao). The cacao powder we use is obtained from cacao beans grown in either Peruvian or Ecuadorian soil. The cacao beans are organically grown and go through the standard harvest-ferment-roast cycle before being processed into a defatted powder.
Depending on the author, different geographic origin centers for cacao have been proposed: Upper Amazon area of South America, Mesoamerica, or a combination thereof depending on the type of genetic material of cacao. Recent state-of-the-art scientific analyses has revealed that cacao both originated in and was domesticated in the Upper Amazon area of South America as early as 5,450 to 5,300 years before the present. In pre-Columbian societies of the Americas, cacao beans are documented as the earliest form of currency. It is reported that the Olmecs, Mayans, and Aztecs drank their cacao mixed with chili peppers and/or vanilla pods to enhance the effects of cacao.
Cacao powder’s beneficial effects are due to the flavonoids (antioxidants), theobromine, caffeine, and phenylethylamine (PEA) content. The pleasurable effects from cacao powder come from the psychoactive methylxanthines, namely theobromine–found in high amounts, and caffeine–found in low amounts. Both theobromine and caffeine are documented central nervous system stimulants, however, the psychoactive actions theobromine has in humans are qualitatively different from those of caffeine, which may explain why some folks gravitate towards cacao over coffee as cacao has substantial amounts of theobromine while coffee has a high content of caffeine.
Cacao also contains the compound anandamide which has been shown to stimulate cannabinoid receptors. Theobromine, PEA, and anandamide are thought to be responsible for the uplifting effects cacao has on a person’s mood.*
Adaptogen Qualities and Benefits
Adaptogens are a select group of herbs (and some mushrooms) that support the body’s natural ability to deal with stress. This group of herbs has been highly revered all around the world due to their nonspecific ability to build vital energy, fortify the immune system, and for their overall effect on human homeostasis with regard to health and well-being.
Although the concept of adaptogens had been around for thousands of years, it was not until 1947 that a Russian scientist, Dr. Nikolai Lazarev, introduced a word to define this specific group of herbs. He was on a search for substances that could help soldiers turn into super soldiers, meaning herbs that would support a soldier’s ability to overcome fatigue, improve their performance on the battlefield, improve general resistance to toxins, as well as support their general adaptation process to various stressors.
Initially looking to pharmaceutical-type stimulant drugs to support soldiers, Dr. Lazarev shifted his focus as he became increasingly concerned with the side effects and began looking to the natural world for answers. He coined the word “adaptogen” and defined herbs that helped the body to counter adverse physical, chemical, or biological stressors by raising nonspecific resistance toward such stress, thus allowing the organism to “adapt” to stressful circumstances.
Just 20 years later, in 1968, the definition of adaptogen was refined. To be defined as an adaptogen, a plant must meet the following guidelines:
- nontoxic substances in normal doses
- nonspecific in their mode of action thus producing a general increase in the resilience factor of an organism toward multiple stressors (physical, chemical, and biological), and stimuli (both internal and external)
- have a normalizing and balancing effect on physiology, irrespective of the direction of the change from physiological norms caused by the stressor
Adaptogens Have the Following Qualities:
- Supporting
- Nourishing
- Boosting
- Strengthening
Adaptogens Help the Body:
- Increase energy
- Improve stamina
- Increase immune response
- Improve homeostasis
- Improve mental performance
- Fortify
MycoForce Ingredient Breakdown
Our MycoForce™ is a comprehensive adaptogenic mushroom blend designed to support immunity and vitality. read about all the ingredients below.
Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinula edodes)
This mushroom is commonly known in the English language by its Japanese name, shiitake. Giving credit to the Chinese, shiitake was the first mushroom to be cultivated and continues to be one of the most cultivated mushrooms in the entire world.
This tasty culinary mushroom has a long history of medicinal use in traditional Chinese and Asian medicine and can usually be found in most health food stores year-round.
The folklore around shiitake mentions that in Chinese culture shiitake was revered for its aphrodisiacal qualities and regarded as a substance that promotes youthfulness, virility, and longevity.
Being the most studied medicinal mushroom, hundreds of laboratory studies have verified potent levels of immunomodulatory benefits from consuming shiitake extracts.
Maitake Mushroom (Grifola frondosa)
Also called “hen of the woods,” but more commonly known in the West by its Japanese name, maitake, this tasty culinary and medicinal mushroom can normally be found growing at the base of oak trees.
Ancient texts affirm maitake can boost qi (fundamental life force/vital energy) and fortify the spleen, moisten the lungs, and protect the liver.
Research has demonstrated that maitake stimulates the production of a variety of immune cells.
Red Reishi Mushroom (Ganoderma lingzhi)
Reishi, which is the Japanese name for this auspicious, woody mushroom, has been used in traditional medicine for thousands of years for the calming of the nerves and for encouraging inner awareness.
Reishi was a highly-prized folk tonic by Chinese royalty and Taoists alike as they knew that reishi’s essence could nourish a person’s spiritual radiance and heart, thus promoting health and longevity.
Lingzhi, the Chinese name for this mushroom, translates to herb of spiritual potency.
Today reishi is known as the “Mushroom of Immortality” and is highly sought out for its adaptogenic properties.
Reishi has shown much promise as an overall health and immune system tonic. In traditional Chinese medicine, red reishi is considered to be in the highest class of tonics and in that class considered the highest tonic.
Wildcrafted Chaga Sclerotium (Inonotus obliquus)
For centuries, chaga has been part of traditional folk medicine in countries such as China, Korea, Poland, Russia, and Scandinavian countries.
It is primarily found growing on hardwood trees like the birch tree in the cold circumpolar forests of the Northern Hemisphere.
Chaga was highly prized and considered a mainstay for thousands of years by indigenous Siberian shamans who used it as a nutritive tonic, intuitively knowing that chaga’s fungal spirit could nourish the energy that animates the body.
Chaga is also known by names such as “King of Herbs” and “Diamond of the Forest.”
In addition to its immune-supporting beta-glucans, chaga is a known source for many other bioactive constituents including betulin, melanin, triterpenes, and antioxidants.
Cordyceps Mushroom (Cordyceps militaris)
Considered both a yin and a yang tonic, Cordyceps militaris is said to nourish jing (a person’s essence) and tonify qi (fundamental life force/ vital energy).
Cordyceps has also long been used as a kidney and lung tonic in traditional Chinese medicine.
Considered a suitable and praiseful alternative to wild cordyceps, science has shown that C. militaris is similar in nutrition and therapeutic efficacy.
Besides being known for its immune potentiating properties, cordyceps gained its popularity in the sports nutrition world for its ability to support energy levels.
In China, cordyceps, due to its adaptogenic properties, is given to support recovery after a health challenge.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom (Hericium erinaceus)
Both a culinary and medicinal mushroom, lion’s mane got its name due to its long, shaggy, white-haired appearance.
In Asia, it is said that lion’s mane gives you “nerves of steel and the memory of a lion.”
Long revered by Buddhist monks of East Asia, legend has it that lion’s mane was prepared as a tea to facilitate enhanced concentration, creativity, and support mental well-being, thus acting as an aid to their spiritual practices.
Aside from its immune-supporting benefits, this mushroom’s super powers are due to its ability to encourage nerve growth factor (NGF) synthesis. NGF is involved in the regulation of the growth, maintenance, and development of new neurons.