I'm so excited about today's guests, Tero Isokauppila and Danielle Ryan Broida of Four Sigmatic, a functional foods company that wants to make the world's most studied, nutrient-dense foods – mushrooms – more delicious and easier to consume by bringing healthy upgrades to market.

Tero is the company’s founder and CEO, touting a long history of herbal understanding from his childhood in Finland and early exposure to the field of natural wellness. Danielle is a key player in the worldwide mushroom movement, having joined forces with Tero about five years ago. 

As a registered herbalist, nutritionist, instructor of psychology and the head of education at Four Sigmatic, she’s teaching the world about the importance of a life on functional mushrooms. In this episode, they debunk misinformation behind the trendy food product and its widening commercialization, and go deep on the rich history of adaptogens around the world.

Their new book, the ultimate textbook for all things adaptogens, titled: Healing Adaptogens, is out now. Join us for an ultra-informative conversation as these two experts shed new light on these mysterious little organisms and the huge positive impact they can, and do, have on the world. 

We also cover…

00:02:09 — Honoring Nature As Medicine

• Tero’s Nordic wellness wisdom
• Adaptogens for sports performance
• Discovering the Japanese matsutake, ‘pine mushroom’ also grows in Finland
• Danielle’s journey around the world to herbal medicine
• Functional mushroom-based treatment
• Referring her patients (then, herself) to Four Sigmatic
• Accessing our Ancient Allies 

00:25:51 — Adaptogens 101

• The History of Adaptogens- Latin meaning: to fit or adjust
• 20 to 30 species fall under this category
• Synergistic Beings- Non-toxic, normalizing, and non-specific
• Generations of documented use
• Healing Adaptogens by Tero and Danielle
• Benefits of biodiversity in our diet
• Meeting the 5 functional mushrooms adaptogens
• Deep dive on how Lion’s Mane helps focus and cognition 
• Brain, nervous system, and gut health as the next frontier
• Traveling the blood-brain barrier 
• Enhancing performance with cordyceps mushroom
• Supporting the symphony of the body
• Fungi is everywhere (good and bad)

00:50:12 — Research, Safety & Sourcing

• Adaptogens come from all over the world
• Research from some regions is more developed 
• Revealing studies from the supplement industry 
• Are mushroom supplements right for you?
• Good fungi fighting bad fungi 
• Sourcing quality wild mushrooms
• What fungi have in common with sea crustaceans  
• The critical importance of extraction to create clean supplements
• Spotlighting other adaptogens
• Beginner’s adaptogens: holy basil and cacao 
• Healing Adaptogens by Tero and Danielle

Always check in with your healthcare practitioner before taking any new supplements, including Adaptogens.

Resources:

• Read: healingadaptogens.com
• Website: us.foursigmatic.com
• Tero Isokauppila: teroisokauppila.com
• Tero on Instagram: @iamtero
• Four Sigmatic on Instagram: @foursigmatic
• Danielle Ryan Broida: danielleryanwellness.com
• Danielle on Instagram: @danielleryanbroida

Connect with Kelly:

• kellyleveque.com
• Instagram: @bewellbykelly
• Facebook: www.facebook.com/bewellbykelly

Be Well By Kelly is produced by Crate Media.

Mentioned in this episode:

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