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