What are Tremella mushrooms and why are they important?
Tremella are incredibly unique mushrooms that are unlike any cap and stem variety you’ve ever seen. Tremella mushrooms look more like a ‘loofa’ or a sea creature rather than the mushrooms you may be used to having on your pizza or favorite salad.
Tremella is commonly referred to as the beauty mushroom, because it contains an incredible amount of water which may help support skin health and hydration!* Other common names include snow fungus, silver ear mushroom, or white jelly mushroom. It is a jelly fungus with an appearance similar to a loofah or jellyfish, and it owes its gelatinous qualities to its hydrophilic (water-loving) molecules that offer nourishment to the skin’s elasticity. It is a ghostly white color, and nearly transparent.
Tremella is found growing in tropical and subtropical regions but does extend into temperate locations in North America and Asia. Another special trait of Tremella mushroom is the way in which it grows. Like many types of fungi, the Tremella mushroom grows on wood, however it actually survives off of another fungus also colonizing the same area, instead of the wood itself. This makes Tremella mushroom a “mycoparasite,” which is why intrepid mushroom farmers who were first looking to cultivate it were puzzled at first, wondering why it wouldn’t grow on a substrate of wood when it appeared to do so in the wild. However once its growth requirements were discovered cultivation became possible.(2) Tremella has been used since 200 a.d in Chinese history, and was honored and reserved mostly for royalty or the wealthy.
Fun fact: As a jelly fungus, Tremella can hold up to 500 times its weight in water. Talk about hydrating!" In ancient China, Yang Guidei was one of the Four Great Beauties, an imperial concubine that is considered one of the most beautiful women in Chinese history. She used Tremella regularly to maintain her glowing complexion and youthful skin."(1)
What compounds are in Tremella?
Tremella mushrooms contain a whole food form of vitamin D, ergosterol, which may help the absorption of calcium. Tremella mushrooms also contain a variety of constituents such dietary fiber, triterpenoids, 1,3 / 1,6 beta glucans, polysaccharides and protein.* Tremella also contains N-acetylglucosamine for supporting gut health, and Glucomannan and Glucuronic acid for supporting natural detoxification.
What are the benefits of taking Tremella mushrooms?
Tremella may help promote healthy skin.*
Tremella mushrooms support a healthy glow to the skin. Tremella behaves like many popular skincare supplements and topicals in that it holds hundreds of times its weight in water. In fact, the tremella mushroom was traditionally used in China to support healthy, supple skin.* Learn more about the relationship between Tremella and skin health here.
Tremella may help promote bone health.*
Tremella mushrooms contain a whole food form of vitamin D which may help the absorption of calcium and support normal levels of serum calcium and bone density.*
Tremella may support cell and brain health.*
Tremella has been shown to have neuroprotective properties that support brain health. It has also been shown to promote healthy nerve cells and support normal cell turnover. *
Tremella is an adaptogenic fungi.*
Tremella (like other functional mushrooms) are adaptogens. Adaptogens are a group of plants, herbs, and fungi that help support the body in maintaining homeostasis in response to occasional external stressors.* By helping support homeostasis, adaptogens help support overall well-being.*
Tremella helps promote a healthy gut and supports the body’s natural detoxification processes.*
Tremella contains the important compound N-acetylglucosamine for supporting gut health, and Glucomannan and Glucuronic acid for supporting natural detoxification.*
Ways to enjoy Tremella Mushrooms / How to use Tremella Mushrooms
Tremella Mushroom Tinctures:
Tinctures that contain Tremella are the most bioavailable way to incorporate the jelly fungus into your daily routine. What is a tincture you ask? Tinctures are a concentrated liquid that has been through a specific extraction process in order to pull out all of the beneficial compounds. Bioavailability refers to the rate in which the beneficial compounds start circulating in your bloodstream.
Tinctures can be taken sublingually (under the tongue) by simply squeezing two droppers full under the tongue and swishing around your mouth for at least twenty seconds. Another way to add functional mushroom tinctures into your daily routine is to add two droppers to your favorite beverage! Sip away and think about all that mushroom magic working its way into your bloodstream. Tremella tinctures make a great addition to your coffee, smoothies, salad dressings, overnight oats and even baking recipes. There is no wrong way to use it!
Here at Mushroom Revival we use a dual extraction process for all of our functional mushroom tinctures including our Daily 10 tincture which contains the amazing Tremella mushroom. This simply means that the mushroom is extracted twice; once with alcohol and once with water. This dual-extraction process ensures that you are receiving both the beneficial alcohol-soluble and water-soluble compounds.
Tremella Capsules and Powders:
There are two other types of Tremella supplements that you might consider if you don’t prefer tinctures, Powders or capsules. . Tremella powders are a great option if you are active in the kitchen and love creating supercharged smoothies, baked goods, and more. Powders can easily be mixed into hot beverages, smoothies, acai bowls, and added into recipes for no-bake energy bites, adaptogenic cookies, breads, and more! Tremella powders can also be added to broths and stews for extra adaptogenic support and are a fun way to incorporate functional mushrooms into your routine!
Tremella capsules are another great way to get your functional mushroom support! Capsules are preferred by some people if they are used to taking other supplements in capsule form. This might make sense for you if all of your supplements are taken at the same time everyday; it would be easy to incorporate an additional capsule and easy to remember to take them. Tremella capsules are also a flavorless way to take your mushrooms which may make sense to you if you don’t like to taste your supplements.
We recommend that you make sure your functional mushroom capsules and powders ingredients are ‘fruiting bodies’ and not ‘mycelia’ or ‘mycelium on grain’. Mycelia or mycelium on grain are the underground root network of the mushrooms. It is much cheaper to produce a functional mushroom capsule or powder using mycelia or mycelium on grain because there is a lot of filler and less potent mushroom with beneficial compounds. Contrast that with supplements made with fruiting bodies, which are higher quality and more potent. If you aren’t sure we always recommend reaching out to the company or finding another capsule or powder product that states that they only use the fruiting bodies.
Tremella Drinks/Recipes:
You might not be able to find Tremella mushroom at your everyday grocery store, but you can find it at a specialty store or asian market. Tremella is a mushroom that despite its unique appearance and jelly-like texture is totally edible! You may come across dried Tremella which can easily be rehydrated and incorporated into dishes.
Tremella mushroom can be used in recipes from smoothies, to soups and salads, and even desserts! We invite you to get creative in the kitchen with this jelly fungus! Here are some fun recipes with Tremella to try!
Beauty Boosting Breakfast Loaf
Mexican Kale Cesar with Chickpeas and Tremella Mushroom
Pumpkin and Tremella Sweet Soup
When to take Tremella Mushrooms
When is the best time to take Tremella?
When you’re trying to decide on what type of Tremella supplement to start incorporating into your life we recommend thinking about things that you do everyday and what Tremella supplement format makes the most sense to use so that you can stick with it. The good news is that you can really take Tremella anytime that works for you. If you always have a morning cup of coffee it might make sense to add a tincture containing Tremella to it. If you always do a mid-day yoga flow then it might make sense to place your bottle of capsules containing Tremella close to your yoga mat. Maybe you drink a cup of bone broth every day; you might consider adding a powder containing Tremella to it.
Functional mushrooms are adaptogens so they will help your body literally ‘adapt’ to external occasional stressors. Adaptogens are herbs, plants, and fungi that support your body in maintaining homeostasis. Because of this the time of day that you take your Tremella and other functional mushrooms is not the most important thing. The important thing to focus on is consistency, taking your supplements around the same time every day will provide the best results.We include Tremella mushroom in our Daily 10 formula so that product is a one stop shop to get all around support for your mind and body.*
What to look for in Tremella mushroom supplements
We are seriously obsessed with mushrooms and everything that they can do for us and for the planet. And we are also equally passionate about the quality of mushroom supplements on the market. As we are currently in a ‘shroom boom, ’ there are some companies out there that aren’t focused on providing the highest quality products. We want to make sure we provide the best quality products, which is why we want to educate consumers on what they need to know to make an educated decision for health and well-being.
First we can’t stress enough to always make sure that the Tremella supplement you choose is made with fruiting bodies and not made with ‘mycelia’ or ‘mycelium on grain’. The fruiting body is the actual above ground part of the mushroom that you would see in the wild. The mycelium can be thought of as the ‘roots of the mushroom’. So think would you ever want to eat the roots of your basil or rosemary plants? Probably not; the same goes for mushrooms. Seeing ‘mycelium on grain’ indicates that a substrate was used to grow the mushroom; a lot of companies simply powder the substrate and the mushroom for their formulas which unfortunately results in very small percentages of actual beneficial compounds because the majority of the product is filler.
We also recommend choosing a Tremella mushroom supplement that has gone through lab testing. There are two main reasons why lab testing is important when it comes to functional mushroom supplements. The first is to make sure the supplement doesn’t contain any kind of heavy metals or contaminants. The second is so you know what beneficial compounds the Tremella supplement contains. This is also a great way to ensure you’re getting a quality product and not one that is mostly filler and fluff. We are so proud of our high quality products that we have our lab results published right on our website. We also created a QR code that is printed on our labels and boxes that will quickly take you to the lab results as well.
It is important to make sure that your Tremella supplement is made with 100% USDA Certified Organic Tremella. Making sure that your supplement uses 100% USDA Certified Organic Tremella means that the farms are held to an extremely high standard and all of the components of their growing operation are as well. At Mushroom Revival we only use 100% USDA Certified Organic Tremella fruiting bodies in our products.
When you purchase a supplement containing Tremella from Mushroom Revival you can rest assured you are getting the highest quality product around! You can also feel warm and fuzzy about your purchase because we plant a tree for every product sold. So far in our partnership with One Tree Planted we have planted over 40,000 trees across the world.
Potential Side Effects of Tremella Mushroom
There are no known side effects when it comes to Tremella mushrooms. We are mushroom mavericks here at Mushroom Revival but we are not doctors or able to diagnose, treat, or give medical advice. It is important to talk to your primary care physician or medical professional before starting any supplement routine.
Want to learn more about Tremella? Click here!***
