This is part 6 of a 7 part series on Ayurveda.
To go the Introduction, click here
Mushrooms are a mysterious food. They’re neither plant nor animal, although
they have characteristics of both. In ancient times, they were revered as
magical because people couldn’t figure out how they reproduced. Mushrooms grow
rapidly, often appearing overnight. Without roots or seeds, mushrooms seemed to
spring from the divine.
One of the foods excluded in the Sattvic, or Yogic,
diet is the mushroom. Indian cuisine in general avoids mushrooms, except in the
northern regions of Kashmir. Why mushrooms are excluded from the traditional
diet is somewhat unclear. This mycophobia puts India at a difference with the
rest of Asia, where mushrooms are a culinary staple and are also used to cure
everything from the common cold to cancer.
Recent research has shown that mushrooms do have
remarkable curative properties. The shitake mushroom has gained media attention
as a potential cure for serious viral infections, such as Hepatitis B and HIV.
Other mushrooms have been shown to make cancer cells more sensitive to
chemotherapy treatments, prevent tumor growth, inhibit plaque build-up on
artery walls, and have positive effects on diabetes and immune disorders.
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| caterpillar cordyceps |
Some mushrooms are downright magical, without being
hallucinogenic. The cordycep mushroom is a parasitical mushroom that affects
the behavior of its host. For unknown reasons, an ant or caterpillar infected
with the cordycep spore will climb to the highest point of a plant, whether it’s
a tree or a blade of grass. The mushroom will then sprout from the insect’s
body. It has many uses. In 1993, a Chinese female long-distance running team
set 5 new world records. Their coach, Ma Junren, attributes their exceptional
performance to cordycep mushrooms. Traditionally used as an aphrodisiac, the
cordycep has also been proscribed powers against cancer and HIV. This bit of
fame has inflated the market price of the caterpillar cordycep, which now sells
for as much as $6,500 USD a kilo (2 pounds)!
Some Ayurvedic sources actually classify the cordycep as a rasayana herb, and prescribe it for ailments ranging from weakened sexual function to asthma.
While contemporary demand for mushrooms is highest
in China and other Asian countries, India has its own history with mushrooms.
Some researchers theorize that the ancient sacred texts, the Vedas, were
inspired by hallucinogenic mushrooms. Much of the Rg Veda is dedicated to the
Soma ritual, in which an unspecified plant believed to have hallucinogenic
qualities is mixed with heated ghee and consumed.
While the identity of soma
plant has been lost to history, there is still a mushroom that bears its name.
Amanita
muscaria, also called fly agaric or soma, is a species of
mushroom that contains Ibotenic acid and muscimol. Consuming soma mushrooms
causes ethanol-like intoxication and muscle spasms that occur within 90 minutes
of consumption and last 4-8 hours. These mushrooms typically grow in temperate
climates and mountainous areas, and are found throughout the world.
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| Amanita muscaria |
Gordon Wasson was the first person to connect the
soma mushroom with the soma of the Rg Veda. In his 1968 book, “Soma, Divine
Mushroom of Immortality”, Wasson theorizes that the soma ritual began around
4,000 years ago with the Aryans, an ancient people from Central Asia who
eventually populated India and Iran, and who brought with them the Vedic
religion. Coincidentally, the Iranian Zoroastrian text, the Aveda, also contains ceremonies based
around a plant believed to be hallucinogenic, referred to as Haoma. Wasson believed that the soma
mushroom was the cause of the “ecstasy” described in both the Indian and
Iranian texts.
Some of the clues Wasson sites as evidence that the
ancient soma was a mushroom, and not a plant, is that the Rg Veda describes soma
as “a small, leafless plant with a fleshy stalk”. George Wong, a botany
professor at the University of Hawaii, elaborates further:
“No reference was ever
made about roots, flowers and seeds. Nor was there a description of propagating
this plant If soma was indeed a plant, why would the Aryans not have brought it
with them, when they migrated and began cultivation once they had settled? The
Aryans were, after all, known for their prowess as farmers and would have been
able to grow soma had it been a plant. The Rg Veda also specifically states
that soma can only be found growing in the mountains, which is where A.
muscaria can only be found in the latitude of the Indus Valley.”
For more mushroom theories, including that Jesus was
a mushroom, click here.
Unfortunately for the Aryans, the mountain region of
India was dominated by an enemy tribe, the Dasyus, making the magical mushrooms
unobtainable. This would lead them to experiment with other, less potent,
plants in the soma ritual.
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| some mushrooms glow in the dark |
Over time, hallucinogenic plants became a
controversial topic and were banned from the diet of those seeking
enlightenment. The forest rishis were required to abstain from “honey-based
liquors, animal flesh, fungus, mushrooms, horseradish or any hallucinogenic or
intoxicating herbs, even those taken as so-called medicine”
So why don’t Indians eat mushrooms?
It’s unclear why Indians don’t eat much mushroom. They
are not traditionally included in the diet, although they are gaining popularity.
In the west, mushrooms are popular among vegetarians because their texture
allows them to be substituted into recipes calling for meat. It has been
posited that for people raised vegetarian, that same resemblance to meat is repugnant.
Currently, only three mushrooms are commercially cultivated in India, having
been introduced in the southern provinces of Karnataka and Kerala: the white
mushroom (Agaricus bisporus), the paddy-straw mushroom (Volvariella vovvacea) and
the oyster mushroom (Pleurotus sajor-caju). As Indians become more familiar
with the fungi, chefs are re-inventing traditional Indian dishes to include
them, adding mushrooms to curries, dosas, and dals.
Why do the Yogic texts recommend avoiding mushrooms?
In Ayurveda, mushrooms are categorized as having
Tamasic qualities, which create a dulling or numbing of the senses in those who
consume them. This theory probably arises from the fact that mushrooms grow in
dark, dank areas that were considered unclean, on decaying flesh or other
organisms. A Hare Krisnha webiste explains: “Because mushrooms grow in a
filthy place, they are not usually offered to Krishna.” It may also be that
mushrooms undetermined rank, somewhere between plant and animal, made the
vegetarian-conscious sadhus uncomfortable with eating them.
Probably, the ancient yogis were just being
practical. Mushrooms are high in indigestible fiber, low in calories, and cause
some people to have gas. Most of the texts recommend low-volume foods that take
up little space and energy in the gut, while providing enough calories for a
strong practice. A diet high in mushrooms does not meet either of these
requirements.
Whether or not you include mushrooms in your diet is
up to you. There’s certainly no evidence that they have any negative effects on
health, as long as you stick to the edible varieties. I personally don’t find
mushrooms very enjoyable in the raw state, and don’t seek them out.
Do you eat mushrooms? Please leave a comment below
explaining why or why not!
Coming up next, the conclusion to the series: What does all this mean for raw foodists?
Coming up next, the conclusion to the series: What does all this mean for raw foodists?
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