Image courtesy of Jeff Chilton
You probably know by now I’m a huge fan of medicinal mushrooms. Learning about them and trying to incorporate them into our lives is incredibly wise considering all the benefits they provide.
My today’s guest is a true a mycophile (or lover of mushrooms) and his name is Jeff Chilton. Jeff studied ethno-mycology at the University of Washington in the late sixties and started working on a commercial mushroom farm upon graduation.
During the next 10 years he became the production manager responsible for the cultivation of over 2 million pounds of agaricus mushrooms per year and was also involved in the research and development of shiitake, oyster and enoki mushrooms which resulted in the earliest US fresh shiitake sales in 1978.
In the late seventies he founded Mycomedia, the conferences that brought together educators and experts in mushroom identification, ethnomycology, and mushroom cultivation. During this period Jeff co-authored the highly acclaimed book, The Mushroom Cultivator.
In 1989 he started a medicinal mushroom company Nammex. Nammex was the first to offer a complete line of Certified Organic mushroom extracts to the US nutritional supplement industry. Nammex extracts are used by many supplement companies and are noted for their high quality based on scientific analysis of the active compounds.
My hope is that by the end of this episode you’d want to continue digging deeper, learning about medicinal mushrooms and bringing them into your life.
Topics:
- How Jeff became interested in becoming an ethnomycologist and mushroom grower
- What are 3 parts of mushrooms and what are some of the main ingredients that produce beneficial effects
- Why mushrooms are a source of vitamin D, and what makes some mushrooms more medicinal than other, and why mushrooms are best at prevention
- Why Jeff’s company prefers to use mushroom extracts as an ingredient of blends
- Ways in which mushroom industry has blossomed today and why you should include edible and medicinal mushrooms into your life
Web resources:
- Jeff’s company website Nammex, and their retail line Real Mushrooms
- Rosemary Gladstar
- Mycological Society of America
- American Herbalist Guild
Books:
Host Defense – The Mushroom Cultivator: A Practical Guide to Growing Mushrooms at Home, by Paul Stamets and J. S. Chilton
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