Collection: Functional Mushrooms

When YME launched in 2021 we arrived at mushrooms through the route of food production and wanting to become growers of gourmet products. But early on in our journey we realised the potential benefits of fungi went far beyond being simply food and could actually be 'functional'. The polyphenols, polysaccharides and beta-glucans found to varying degrees in all mushrooms make for a happy gut microbiome and support the function of the immune system, but specific compounds found only in certain mushrooms are particularly powerful in their effects.

The trend of 'functional' mushrooms -meaning they contain chemical compounds that are responsible for health promoting properties beyond their nutritional benefits - is an interesting mixture of the ancient and the modern. In China and Japan, mushrooms have been valued for their health giving properties for hundred of years (at least) with species given names such as the 'mushroom of immortality'. In recent decades extensive scientific research has illuminated the many different chemical compounds in mushrooms that could be responsible for these health-giving properties, with research continuing apace.

Interest in the power of functional mushrooms has led to a proliferation of products on the market including powders, gummies and even mushroom laced coffee. We've wanted to be able to offer these products for some time and therefore we are absolutely thrilled to be working with North Fungi to bring you their range of functional mushroom tinctures and powders.

North Fungi are based just down the road from us in Castleford, and they do the whole process in-house from growing the mushrooms to extracting the compounds - which they do in three different ways to get the most out of every gram of mushroom. Their products are super high strength and quality, their packaging is beautiful, and they're lovely people - we wouldn't want to work with anybody else. Read on to find out more information about the specific mushrooms and products we have on offer.