Tero Isokauppila: Adaptogens, Medicinal Mushrooms, and the Trippy Pagan Origins of Jolly Saint Nick | Ep.011

Ancestral Health Radio

Did you know... Some of the oldest living mushroom colonies are fairy rings growing around the famous Stonehenge ruins in England?

The rings are so large that they can best be seen from airplanes.

Crazy, right?

Well, be prepared to dive headfirst into mycology 101 with Tero Isokauppila, founder of the popular 'shroom company... FourSigmatic.com

Four Sigmatic is a superfood company founded by Tero and his group of Finnish friends. It's based on their belief that health can be vastly improved through simple dietary tweaks, and the easiest way to do this? Mushrooms, the most scientifically studied and proven superfood. Four Sigmatic wants to popularize medicinal mushrooms by incorporating them in popular products like coffee and hot cocoa.

In today's episode, you'll learn...

• Why most medicinal mushroom products in North America technically don't contain mushrooms,
• Why people on ketogenic diets shouldn't fear polysaccharides (i.e. complex sugars),
• The three tiers of mushroom identification and foraging Tero suggests we begin with, and...
• Much, much more.

Subscribe on

iTunes | Stitcher Radio | Google Play | SoundCloud

Episode Breakdown

• Tero shares the cliff notes version of his family history and how studying mushrooms led to his current passion with his company Four Sigmatic
• Why Tero says drinking mushrooms catches people off guard
• Why most medicinal mushroom products in North America technically don't contain mushrooms
• What Tero says is the most important part of consuming medicinal mushrooms
• How and why upgrading an existing ritual is easier than creating a new one
• How to "fat-hack" the bitterness from coffee
• How heat and fat can unlock the medicinal power of an unextracted mushroom
• What happens when you combine rosehips with mushrooms
• The difference between the fruiting body and mycelium of fungi
• Why people on ketogenic diets shouldn't fear polysaccharides (i.e. complex sugars)
• Tero explains the fungi circle of life
• The differences between foraging laws in the US versus Finland
• The cutthroat business of commercial mushroom foragers
• Everyman's Right in Finland
• Why Finnish people run off to rural cottages for weeks to even months at a time
• The importance of celestial events in Finnish culture and the origins of Santa Claus
• Why Finland and surrounding countries are some of the least religious countries in the world
• The difference between edible mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms
• The accident that led to Tero discovering a rare Japanese mushroom in Finland
• Where Four Sigmatic sources their "superfoods"
• Tero explains—with a clever anecdote—how adaptogenic herbs can modulate both mood and energy
• Why you should be relaxed, focused, and calm in the mornings
• The mindset that Tero sees that causes many people to panic and stop taking action
• Tero's three levels of mushroom foraging
• Special discount code for 10% off your next Four Sigmatic purchase