Turkey Tail Mushrooms

Turkey Tail mushrooms may not have as stately a name as the others we've discussed, but don't be fooled--this natural wonder is a powerhouse that has stunned scientists with its ability to help cancer patients.

Turkey Tail mushrooms are shaped like shells or, as you might have guessed, turkey tails. They have caps with rings of various colors, much like the rippled look of a geode. Turkey Tails are found across most of North America, growing on downed logs or stumps of hardwood trees. They can be harvested year-round. Mushroom pickers should be careful not to confuse them with several similar species.

Turkey Tails are primarily consumed by grinding them into beverages like smoothies or steeping them in other liquids.
Like Maitake mushrooms, Turkey Tails have been found to stimulate mechanisms in the body that fight tumor growth and metastasis, including the production of T-cells and "natural killer" cells.

The most interesting compound in Turkey Tail is called polysaccharide-K, or PSK for short. In the 1970s, Japanese researchers isolated PSK and by the end of that decade it was a prescription drug used as adjuvant therapy for cancer, complimenting traditional cancer treatment.

In numerous studies, polysaccharide-K improved the survival rates of patients with gastric and colorectal cancers, and also showed promise in fighting leukemia and some lung cancers.

Additionally, a large National Institutes of Health study looked at women with breast cancer who took Turkey Tail supplements while undergoing radiation therapy. While the radiation is meant to kill cancer cells, it also suppresses the immune system. However the patients taking Turkey Tail had significantly better rebound of their immune systems, which helped keep them from getting sick from opportunistic infections, but also gave their bodies back the tools to continue fighting any remaining cancer.