In this episode, Eric Puro returns to discuss the powers of Functional Mushrooms with Teemu Arina. As the CEO of Kääpä Biotech, Eric is at the forefront of unraveling the science behind fungi and their profound impact on human health.

Eric and his team have revolutionized mushroom cultivation in Finland, setting new industry standards and outpacing the competition in terms of extract potency and quality.

Eric is a member of the executive committee of the International Medicinal Mushroom Society, amplifying his commitment to advanced use of Functional Mushrooms.

Learn more about Eric and Kääpä at https://www.kaapamushrooms.com!

This conversation was recorded in November 2024.

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Key moments and takeaways:

00:00 Introduction by Teemu Arina

01:00 Mushrooms in the "early days"

02:57 From a scientific standpoint, the clinicals are there

03:49 Growing up in the Nordics and Baltics

04:50 Chaga every day for 10 years

05:42 When Eric first started growing mushrooms

07:12 The importance of a personal relationship to growing

08:04 Walking barefoot in Nuuksio

09:52 Symbiotic relationship between mushrooms and trees

10:45 How mushrooms learn what to feed on

11:39 They can decompose plastic

12:34 How fungi came to decompose cellulose

13:59 Protective biochemistry

16:03 Scientific reductionist compartmentalization

17:03 Why our immune system isn't always great

18:23 Mushrooms preserved Ötzi

19:20 Forests hold thousands of mold species

20:16 Healthy exposure to dangerous things

21:52 The Circle of Life

23:24 What can I do with these mushrooms?

25:08 How Kääpä works with third-party university labs

25:44 Lion's Mane vs. Coffee vs. Placebo

26:27 How Teemu uses mushrooms

28:10 "Reishi is giving me crazy dreams"

29:26 What Cordyceps does

30:45 The Last of Us and cordyceps

31:07 Eating Lion's Mane

31:59 Eating vs. extracts and tinctures

32:14 Bioavailability in water and alcohol vs. ultrasonic extracts

33:47 Turkey Tail in Europe

34:22 European food regulations are a crazy mess

35:26 Suppression of information and understanding in the US

37:16 If you're working with corrupt pharma, pack your bags

37:58 In food innovation, we are shooting ourselves in the foot

39:14 Peer-reviewed journals in Europe are bought and paid-for

40:44 Questionable products vs. Nordic Mushrooms

42:01 Be careful buying mushroom products on Amazon

43:18 Functional Mushrooms are a growth market

44:17 Kääpä is coming to the Hololife Summit!

44:58 Visit kaapamushrooms.com

48:57 Anecdote about Siim Land

49:54 Biohacker's Retreat in January 2025