MS Stories: Eat your medicine?

I went to the Port Townsend Film Festival last weekend and one of the features they offer is an outdoor movie series. It’s always rated G or PG and folks gather on benches in a blocked off street outside the main theater district there on Taylor Street, often wrapped up in blankets, to watch these films.

Friday nights are reserved for some classic film. Saturday nights feature some notable film, often a documentary that’s won some accolades. Sunday night is typically an animated film for family night. If you’re in line waiting for the next indoor film at one of three theaters adjacent, you can often catch snippets of these films.

This time around, Saturday night featured Fantastic Fungi, and I was all in. I’ve never seen that movie and have always wanted to. How fun to catch it on the big (inflatable) silver screen!

FLASH MOVIE REVIEW

I loved it.

Seriously, though… the cinematography was nostalgic for me, recalling those time lapse films we saw so often back in the 1970s when it became a thing in educational films. So many school science movies were likely inspired by (or were!) those amazing Dr. John Nash Ott films:

Exploring the Spectrum (1974) in which the scientist used time-lapse technology to study the effects of light on living things (this is the dude who created the OttLite full-spectrum lightbulb)
Dancing Flowers (1950), a culmination of time-lapse filmmaking he’d been at work on since the ’20s; it featured, in full color, plants in various stages of growth, films we’ve all likely seen in various Disney productions

Also, while I knew most of the backstory on mycelium in the forest, mushrooms as a pathway to mental health, and the compelling way in which fungi put out threads like brains put out nerve fibers, I was unaware of a variety of mushrooms known to enhance neurological health.

LION’S MANES

It turns out that there are potential neuroprotective properties to Lion’s Mane mushrooms that may be of benefit to people living with MS. According to the website at My MS Team (“Lion’s Mane Mushroom: Is It Effective and Safe for MS Symptoms?”),

“Lion’s mane is believed to have antineoplastic, antidepressant, anti-inflammatory, and antioxidant properties. Some people believe these mushrooms also support immune function, cognitive function, mental health, and general well-being.”

Also:

“Lion’s mane has several chemicals, called bioactive compounds, that are believed to affect the central nervous system. Scientists are researching many of these compounds, which are believed to give lion’s mane its potential health benefits. … Neurotrophic, or neuroregenerative, compounds can be found in lion’s mane mushrooms. These compounds are said to encourage the growth of nerve cells (neurons) and axons. Erinacines and hericenones are bioactive compounds thought to protect against nerve damage and stimulate nerve regeneration and repair.”

The good news is that you can find these fresh in grocery stories while in season, and they taste delicious, a bit like shrimp or lobster, so why not incorporate them into your cooking?

You can also buy supplements that feature lion’s mane, though I have no recommendations on these applications, only that some people swear by them.

Want to learn more?

I think research is still new and fresh on this topic and not quite conclusive, but the current results are promising.

Be wary; lots of studies are funded by mushroom supplement companies, natural pharmacies, and other special interests.

Instead of taking their word for it, here are a few links to actual research or other reliable sources you can check out if you want to explore how lion’s mane mushrooms (Hericium erinaceus) might help with multiple sclerosis.

I cannot guarantee there won’t be a paywall, but it’s good to know there are some independent scientific laboratory resources looking into these possibilities.