Turkey Tail Mushroom
(Trametes Versicolor, Coriolus Versicolor, Polyporus Versicolor)
Evidence: Low
Possible Benefits: Reasonable
Safety: Reasonable
TABLE OF CONTENTS
What is turkey tail mushroom?
Trametes versicolor, also known as turkey tail mushroom, is a type of mushroom with a long history of use as a traditional medicine in many places around the world. This mushroom is often used as a supplement for its anti-cancer and immune system-boosting properties. This article is about the main benefits of the turkey tail mushroom, its potential side effects, the best time to take it, and more.
Possible benefits
All of the potential benefits mentioned below are dose-dependent. As with other adaptogenic mushrooms, there is a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get most of the benefits without causing meaningful side effects or tolerance buildup in the body. We will discuss the best dosing protocol later in this article.
Major benefits
Minor benefits
Possible side effects
The side effects below are dose-dependent. The risk for them increases (often linearly but sometimes exponentially) as you increase the dose. Some of the side effects only apply to very high doses.
Who should not take turkey tail?
You should probably avoid taking the mushroom if you:
Who will benefit the most?
You should consider taking the supplement if you:
How much turkey tail mushroom should you take?
Because turkey tail can be considered an adaptogenic mushroom, it acts as a mild hormetic stressor on the body, which allows your body to adapt and become more resilient in the long term.
As with other adaptogens, a higher dose does not necessarily lead to bigger benefits. Instead, there appears to be an inverted U-shaped dose-response pattern. In other words, you want to find a sweet-spot dose that allows you to get the benefits of the turkey tail mushroom without putting too much stress on the body or quickly causing the body to develop tolerance to the mushroom.
The sweet-spot dose typically ranges between 2 to 3 grams daily. This amount should provide most of the benefits without meaningful side effects.
The higher end of this range usually provides slightly more benefits in the short term. If you plan to take the mushroom for a longer time (multiple months or years), the lower end is probably a better way to go since you’d develop tolerance faster if you were to take higher doses.
While higher doses are generally safe, taking more than the sweet-spot dose daily would be counter-productive as your body would develop tolerance rather quickly. Additionally, very high doses can put too much stress on your system and cause some health problems if you take the supplement for a prolonged period.
Just like with most other adaptogens, it is best to cycle turkey tail and stay off of it for about 2 days per week to reset your tolerance. This will allow you to keep getting the benefits in the long term.
Keep in mind that the effects of this mushroom are cumulative. Therefore, you must take it for at least 2-4 weeks to notice the benefits. But again, cycling the mushroom and not taking it at least twice a week is necessary to prevent tolerance in the long term.
Best time to take the turkey tail mushroom
The main bioactive compounds in turkey tail are fat-soluble so to maximize the absorption, take this mushroom with a meal.
It is usually best to take the mushroom before bed because of its positive impact on sleep quality.
Where to buy the turkey tail mushroom?
Amazon is the best option for ordering the turkey tail mushroom and other mushroom supplements in most countries. They offer some very affordable products backed by many positive reviews. Also, you can choose from a wide range of brands without having to search through other markets on the internet.
Some brands display the dosage per serving instead of per pill or capsule. Therefore, you may accidentally buy something less potent than you intended. Do not fall for this marketing trick.
FAQ
References
Most of the information provided in this guide is supported by scientific research that can be found and verified in the PubMed medical library. We highly encourage you to use the library to verify anything said in this article. We excluded from consideration studies that are either confounded or have a high conflict of interest.
We hope this guide has helped you determine if you should add the turkey tail mushroom to your supplement stack and how to do it right.
If you have any further questions or want to share your feedback, feel free to email us!
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