The Bulletin recommends talking with your healthcare provider before trying any new supplement or substance.
“Everybody’s talking about mushrooms,” said John Przybylo, known as JP, the owner of two CBD Life stores in Colorado Springs.
Przybylo is a longtime entrepreneur – when he was in third grade, he bought some fireworks with the plan to re-sell them to his elementary school peers, until his parents put the kibosh on that plan.
A Chicago native, he opened his current stores after visiting a friend in Colorado Springs about five years ago and deciding that this was the city for him, and moving here immediately.
One CBD Life is on Fillmore Street and the other on West Colorado Avenue in Old Colorado City. Both stores offer a wide selection of CBD-containing goods – that is, cannabis products derived from hemp containing a very low or no amount of THC, the intoxicant found in marijuana.
The OCC shop also houses the Mushroom Saloon, a zero-proof bar where the drinks feature a variety of adaptogens. Those are plants, in this case mushrooms, that help your body respond to stress, anxiety and fatigue, and promote overall well-being. The slogan on the Mushroom Saloon sign reads, “Sip. Feel. Repeat.”
The Mushroom Saloon focuses on what Przybylo calls the “big functional five”: chaga, turkey tail, lion’s mane, cordyceps and reishi mushrooms. Mushrooms have been used worldwide, particularly in Asian countries, in folk medicine for centuries, according to the National Institutes of Health.
Unlike “magic” mushrooms, functional mushrooms have no mind-altering properties.
The saloon incorporates functional mushroom tinctures in its drink blends; it also offers potentially mood-enhancing substances like kratom, kava and amanita muscaria as drink ingredients, as well as CBD. The base of the drinks can be pineapple juice, lemonade or sparkling water, and flavors such as strawberry, peach and mango may be added.
The mushroom tincture does not make the drink taste like mushrooms, or the small amount of ethanol used to keep the tincture shelf stable.
Przybylo said that many people come in with questions.
“What does reishi feel like? What does lion’s mane feel like?” he said, adding that he can mix any functional mushroom combination in the store.
Przybylo is always quick to add the disclaimer that he can’t proclaim any definite health benefits to the mushroom tinctures, though he encourages people to look at available information.
An internet search will turn up articles such as one by the National Cancer Institute (www.cancer.gov/about-cancer/treatment/cam/patient/mushrooms-pdq), which includes descriptions of clinical trials involving the active compound in turkey tail mushrooms showing it “may help repair immune cell damage caused by chemotherapy and strengthen the immune system” in patients with certain types of cancer.
The same article reports that clinical trials involving the active compound in reishi mushrooms may support immune function in lung cancer patients and may help stop benign colorectal tumors from forming.
I get to help people – Matt Anderson
A study on PubMed, the National Library of Medicine’s informational website (pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38004235) shows that lion’s mane may improve speed of performance and reduce subjective stress in healthy, young adults.
However, data on functional mushrooms is limited, and dietary supplements can be marketed without Food and Drug Administration approval. As the Mushroom Saloon tincture labels state, “Product has not been evaluated by the FDA & is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.”
But Przybylo says he’s experienced and witnessed firsthand that functional mushrooms do have an effect. He recommends lion’s mane and cordyceps together as a morning boost, saying it “helps cognitive function” but without the jitters that coffee can cause. To relax, he recommends “chaga, and maybe a little reishi.”
“It really slows you down mentally and physically in a comfortable way,” he said, emphasizing that it will not create a high, just a sense of calm.
Store manager Matt Anderson – aka “Mycelium Matt” – has been with CBD Life for nearly four years.
“It’s the best place I’ve ever worked … because I get to help people,” he said. “I get to help people help themselves.”
Przybylo teaches classes on functional mushrooms and mushroom cultivation – and you can take home a jar to grow yourself.
IF YOU GO
CBD Life stores are at 826 E. Fillmore St. No. B (hours 10 a.m.-6 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays and noon-4 p.m. Sundays) and 2324 W. Colorado Ave. (hours 11 a.m.-6 p.m. Sundays-Thursdays and 11 a.m.-7:30 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays). Information: TheMushroomSaloon.com or MushroomSaloonCo on Instagram, or call 719-900-7666.