In 2018, mycologist Paul Stamets made a commitment for his company, Fungi Perfecti LLC, Makers of Host Defense Mushrooms, to become carbon neutral. But becoming carbon neutral was just a start.

Stamets had founded his company in 1980 with the goal of building the bridge between people and fungi. He sees sustainability efforts as a natural extension of that mission.

“We’ve always limited the overall impact of our business on the environment,” he says. “Now we are increasingly focused on making a positive impact for people and the planet. For us, being carbon neutral isn’t enough.”

Becoming Climate Positive

Fungi Perfecti wanted to go above and beyond being carbon neutral. To that end, it began working with Ostrom Climate, a leading provider of carbon management solutions that uses evidence-based strategies to combat environmental degradation and climate change.

Fungi Perfecti expanded its greenhouse gas reporting of Scopes 1 and 2 emissions to include the very robust Scope 3, as established by the Greenhouse Gas (GHG) Protocol Corporate Standard.

• Scope 1 refers to direct emissions resulting from fuel combustion and from company vehicles.
• Scope 2 includes indirect emissions from heating, cooling, and electricity.
• Scope 3, the most complex scope to measure, covers upstream and downstream emissions, such as shipping and consumables like paper and cardboard.

By using ecologically responsible packaging materials, increasing renewable energy, improving energy efficiency, and sponsoring high impact offset projects, Fungi Perfecti now offsets 10% more emissions than it produces. Its efforts have earned it the Ostrom Climate designation of 110% Climate Positive.

Ecologically Responsible Packaging Material

Host Defense Mushrooms supplements come in a combination of materials, including 100% post-consumer recycled (PCR) plastic for capsule bottles and powder canisters, inert amber glass for extracts and sprays, and up to 85% recycled content cardboard for packaging.

PCR plastic must be special ordered at a much higher cost to the company. In the 2020 Fungi Perfecti Sustainability Report, the company explains that the use of 100% PCR plastic reduces “the demand for petroleum” and decreases “the number of new materials making their way through a linear economy.”

After several years of development, the company also created an innovative custom-crafted material for its MycoBrew beverage packets. The drink mixes come in lightweight, biodegradable cardboard cartons printed with vegetable-based ink.

Renewable Energy

At Fungi Perfecti’s organic farm, where the company’s mushroom fruitbodies and mycelium are grown, a 12 KW grid-tied photovoltaic system was erected on the roof of the main lab. These solar panels produce roughly 3% of the facility’s total electric consumption.

Energy Efficiency

Fungi Perfecti recently consolidated six warehouses into a 30,000 square foot distribution center. In addition to greatly improving operational efficiency, the new building’s better insulation contributed significantly to energy efficiency.

Additionally, the average energy consumption for computer workstations and servers was reduced by roughly 70%. Three tons of e-waste was responsibly recycled.

Offset Projects

With a few exceptions for special projects, Fungi Perfecti sponsors high-impact Gold Standard carbon offset projects. The Gold Standard ensures these projects eliminate carbon emissions and promote sustainable development worldwide.

One example is the purchase of offsets that helped build biogas digesters for rural family farmers in Vietnam. The digesters reuse methane from waste, reducing emissions from this greenhouse gas.

We're In This Together

For Fungi Perfecti and Host Defense, human health and environmental health are inextricably linked.

“Once we understand we are a part of nature, not APART from nature, we can all come together,” Stamets says.

“We share this voyage on Starship Earth, and we must protect the vessel that sustains us.”

As we learn more about human health and wellness, the interconnectedness of our body systems becomes increasingly apparent. One important area of research over the last 15 years has been the distinct and significant interconnectedness of the digestive tract and the brain—often referred to as the "gut-brain connection."[cite:1] It has been discovered that nerve tissue, such as the vagus nerve, signals sensory and motor information directly between the intestinal tract and the brain. There are numerous immune influences known to occur in the digestive tract that impact the whole body, including the brain. And it has been found that the microflora of our oral and intestinal tract impacts our immune system and nutritional standing in numerous complex ways.[fda:note]

Along with new discoveries about the gut-brain connection, more research has focused on how mushrooms can be a beneficial support for both the intestinal tract and the brain. It is well known that numerous mushroom species support the immune response in humans. While early research on mushrooms focused on the fruit body portion of the fungal life cycle, increasingly, research on mushroom mycelium has indicated that it also serves to support the immune response.[fda:note]

When grown for use in human supplements, mushroom mycelium requires a growth medium, called a substrate. The mycelium consumes the substrate in a process of fermentation not unlike yogurt or tempeh. When separated out in a laboratory setting, research has shown that both the mycelium and the fermented substrate are robustly immunologically active.[cite:2] Products containing both the mycelium and the fermented metabolites can be significant allies as we hope to encourage active yet balanced immune functioning in healthy individuals.[cite:3][fda:note]

Further research on mycelium and fruit bodies of different species like lion’s mane, reishi, and turkey tail indicate a wide range of potential supportive activity for both our digestive health and nerve and brain health. Lion’s mane has been studied for its support of cognitive functioning, intestinal tissue integrity, and day-to-day nerve generative activity. It has also been shown to support prebiotic activity for probiotic microflora.[cite:4,5]. The reishi mushroom has been found to support nervous system functioning and provides prebiotic fiber for our probiotic microflora.[cite:6,7,8,9] Likewise, turkey tail has been researched for its support of sympathetic nervous system functioning and prebiotic activity.[cite:1,2,10] And all three of these important beneficial mushroom species support immune modulatory activity.[fda:note]

Support for the gut-brain connection doesn’t end with beneficial mushrooms. Probiotic intestinal microflora appear to correlate with optimal brain function and balanced mood. Beyond Lactobacillus and Bifidobacteria probiotics, Bacillus coagulans has been studied in humans and found to support balanced mood, intestinal tract function, and balanced immune functioning.[cite:11,12] Bacillus coagulans is a shelf-stable probiotic that does not need refrigeration and has excellent survival through the digestive tract to colonize the large intestine.[cite:13] All of these factors point to B. coagulans as yet another strong ally for intestinal, immune and brain health.[fda:note]

Host Defense® MycoBotanicals® Microbiome[fda:note] combines reishi, lion’s mane, and turkey tail with Bacillus coagulans and two herbs: burdock root and marshmallow root. Combining these ingredients increases the convenience for daily use to support our digestion, brain, and natural immunity.[fda:note]

For those who want more than a jolt of caffeine in their coffee, the trending beverage known as mushroom coffee offers more than just a wake-up. The medicinal mushroom extracts it contains boast many potential health benefits.

Inform your healthcare provider when adding mushroom extracts to your daily regimen.

Mushroom Coffee FAQ

Does Mushroom Coffee Have Caffeine?

Powdered mushroom extracts are mixed half and half with ground or instant coffee, so the brew contains more caffeine than traditional decaf but less than regular coffee.

What Does Mushroom Coffee Taste Like?

No need to worry about flavor: mushroom coffee tastes like coffee, not mushroom soup. 

Some mushroom coffees also contain flavorings (think chai, cocoa).

Is Mushroom Coffee Nutritious?

Many brands boast nutritional blends, with gut-supportive prebiotics and probiotics; stress-fighting adaptogens such as ashwagandha; herbs; or vitamins and minerals.

Research has focused mainly on the health benefits of individual mushroom extracts, which range from lowering blood sugar and cholesterol to supporting patients undergoing cancer treatments.

Note that because few of the findings to date are based on human clinical trials, we refer to potential rather than known health effects.

If there was a magic bean for the prevention of high-risk HPV— also known as human papillomavirus, a sexually transmitted infection responsible for 9 out of 10 cases of cervical cancer — I would grow one for every sexually active adult in the world. As of today, that bean does not exist. Even more disappointingly, neither does a cure.

The good news is that researchers are working on it, and they are making progress with a Japanese medicinal mushroom extract. It’s not a magic bean, but it is both real and effective. Let’s back up to better understand high-risk HPV infections, and why it’s so important to find an effective treatment.

Millions of Women are Infected with HPV and Most Don’t Even Know It

HPV is the most common sexually transmitted infection in the United States, affecting more than 79 million people. This includes the more than 80-percent of sexually active women who will become infected with the virus at least once in their lives.

Low-risk HPV— the kind of HPV that doesn’t cause cancer— is commonly associated with physical symptoms that send women to the gynecologist. High-risk HPV— the kind that causes vulval, vaginal, anal, and cervical cancer— has no physical symptoms. The only way to detect it is with a tissue swab. What’s more, high-risk HPV can remain latent in the body for long periods of time, reactivating long after the original infection, meaning that even those in monogamous relationships can become actively infected.

This is why routine visits to the gynecologist and Co-Tests (a Pap smear and HPV test in one) which provide early detection for HPV and other conditions— are so important. Yet, nearly 25 percent of American women are overdue for routine gynecological exams, and there’s overwhelming evidence that women are turning to the internet before medical doctors. This could have potentially dire consequences for those infected with “invisible” high-risk HPV.

The Internet is Full of “Magic Beans” for Clearing HPV Naturally and That’s Problematic

A health behaviors survey from the Pew Research Center found that more than 70 percent of Americans have searched online for health information, and 35 percent have used the internet to self-diagnose a condition.

When it comes to HPV treatments, a significant amount of what’s published on the internet is about magic beans; they’re not real. A quick search returns hundreds of articles claiming myriad vitamins and minerals— like garlic, green tea, vitamin C, and vitamin D— have the power to prevent HPV infections altogether. These articles are based on limited evidence taken out of context, and in some cases, folklore. What’s more is that many popular articles suggest unsafe serving sizes and applications, which can cause gastrointestinal or mental distress, mask low blood sugar in diabetics, and even cause acid burns to highly sensitive body parts.

The simple truth is that there are only three things that can prevent an HPV infection: abstinence, safe sex, and the HPV vaccine. And even those may not guarantee you’ll remain HPV-free for life.

Most healthy adults can naturally clear active HPV infections within two years because their immune systems are already getting the job done. For those who can’t clear the virus, medical researchers are doing something about it using proven science.

Researchers Are Using a Japanese Medicinal Mushroom Extract to Do What Other Supplements Can’t: Fight High-Risk HPV Infections

A team of researchers from UTHealth Houston have been working to determine what it takes to support the immune system in clearing active, persistent high-risk HPV infections, and whether AHCC supplementation can make a difference. AHCC is a unique cultured extract derived from the roots of lentinula edodes, or shiitake, mushrooms. A double-blind, placebo-controlled Phase II study supported by a grant from the National Institutes of Health confirmed that AHCC is effective in the treatment of active high-risk HPV infections. Results showed that daily use of AHCC supported the immune system in clearing active HPV infections in two-thirds of study participants within six months.

While there’s no formal medical treatment for active high-risk HPV infections, there is now reliable scientific evidence supporting the use of AHCC to aid the immune system in clearing them. For gynecological practitioners like me, this is encouraging news. When a patient tests positive for HPV or develops dysplasia, we can recommend AHCC supplementation in addition to frequent monitoring and procedural intervention. Talk to your doctor, not a search engine, about your HPV status and discuss whether you could benefit from AHCC supplementation.

Caroline MacDougall had been working in the herbal industry for almost 20 years, developing tea blends for companies like The Republic of Tea, when she had a dream in 1993 that changed her life.

In the middle of the dream, she heard herself say, “The next product I’m going to create is a caffeine free cappuccino. And the name of the product is Teeccino.” It startled her awake.

“Literally after I woke up, I started thinking about what herbs I should roast and grind,” MacDougall recalled. She knew she had a good idea, one she didn’t want to hand to another company. After all, the world had plenty of herbal tea blends, but what it didn’t have yet was a beverage that would brew and taste like coffee but without its acidity and caffeine.

By 1995, Teeccino caffeine-free herbal coffee was being carried in natural and specialty food stores across the country. Within a decade, it became the number one coffee alternative in the country.

Ahead of Her Time

Committed to rainforest preservation since her work with tea companies in the early 1990s, MacDougall came full circle when she launched Teeccino Organic Maya Blends in 2005. The drinks use wild-harvested ramón seeds, which come from upper canopy trees in Guatamala’s Maya Biosphere Reserve.

Gathered from the forest floor, the ramón seeds—originally drunk as a roasted beverage by the Maya—give indigenous rainforest communities a market that provides economic value to standing trees.

Because the ramón tree is wind pollinated, its seeds spread naturally. Additionally, Teeccino is funding the planting and care of seedlings in the degraded buffer areas around the reserve that have been illegally logged, burned, or used as pasture land. The hope is that the trees repopulate the area and species that live beneath the canopy will return.

Rewilding The Maya Biosphere Reserve

“We didn’t call it rewilding back then,” MacDougall said, referring to conservation efforts focused on restoring sustainable biodiversity and ecosystem health through the protection of wilderness areas.

The term “rewilding” didn’t appear in dictionaries until 2011. “The Maya Biosphere Reserve is the largest intact forest in all of Central America. But otherwise, you find remnant forest patches. My initial idea, which is now called rewilding, is to have corridors that would connect these remnant forest patches so that animals and other species could migrate from one to the other.”

Teeccino now works with Wild.org, an international organization responsible for starting Global Rewilding Day, held on March 20. Learn more about Teeccino's impact.