My Own Two Hands | Matthew Mateo Rader, Functional Mushrooms

This month’s episode of My Own Two Hands features mushroom cultivator Matthew Mateo Rader, founder of Toadstool Traditions. Mateo shares his knowledge and insights about the many health benefits of "functional mushrooms": species of fungus known to have a variety of physiological effects useful in generating positive health outcomes. Some of these species have been used for thousands of years in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) and for much longer in other ethnomycological traditions, while recent research has deepened and expanded our understanding of their potential culinary and medicinal uses. Lion's Mane mushrooms, for example, have long been used in TCM for digestive upset and are now at the center of groundbreaking scientific investigation as a remedy for Alzheimer's disease and other types of dementia. Owing to its ability to facilitate communication among neurons, which form much of our brain tissue but which are most numerous in our gut, Lion's Mane supports our nervous systems throughout the body. They're also delicious! Adrián describes how he serves & eats them just like pulled pork. Good thing Mateo knows how to grow them, along with several other types of gourmet mushroom, and provides them to the Roaring Fork Valley through a CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) program during the winter and at our valley's farmers' markets during the summer.