In 1991, scientists discovered a 5,300-year-old mummy named Ӧtzi the Iceman in the Italian Alps. Amazingly, some of Ӧtzi’s possessions were preserved along with him, including a leather pouch with supplies for his mountain journey. What was in the pouch? Tools, weapons, and pieces of a birch polypore mushroom.[1, 2] Why has this mushroom withstood more than five millennia of use? Far from just a tasty ingredient in your favorite recipe, edible fungi like the birch polypore mushroom offer a wide variety of health benefits — from immune system-boosting to […]
