PHX Reporter

Reishi mushrooms and pearl powder are both natural tools to help allay anxiety and stress, according to Matt Roeske, founder of Arizona-based superfood company Cultivate Elevate. Roeske recently facilitated a workshop in the Freedom Circle, a men’s mastermind hosted by Sedona, Arizona-based entrepreneur and coach, Curt Mercadante. 

Mercadante asked Roeske for some recommendations of non-pharmaceutical means to deal with stress and anxiety to which Roeske answered, "Reishi and pearl powder would be a great one for anybody who's suffering in the brain or if you feel too, like your central nervous system is firing way too fast with stress or anxiety. It's basically the overstimulation of the central nervous system. Reishi or pearl powder can work real well for calming down the central nervous system because when it's firing too fast, the body cannot function.”

The reishi mushroom, also known as ganoderma lucidum and lingzhi, is a fungus that grows in various hot and humid locations in Asia, according to "Herbal Medicine: Biomolecular and Clinical Aspects."

According to a study in the Journal of Medicinal Food, a group of 48 breast cancer survivors experienced less anxiety and depression after taking reishi powder.

In a study of 132 individuals with neurasthenia, a condition characterized by aches, pains, dizziness, headaches and irritability, the beneficial effects of reishi were analyzed.

Cultivate Elevate provides an organic powder consisting of reishi and turkey tail mushrooms.

According to Science Direct, pearl powder contains mostly calcium carbonate and magnesium carbonate, followed by silica, calcium phosphate, aluminum oxide and ferric oxide as well as some trace elements such as sodium, magnesium, manganese, selenium, aluminum and copper.

A 2010 review of natural anxiety treatments found that magnesium, abundant in pearl powder, could be an effective treatment. A separate study also found the beneficial impact of magnesium on "subjective anxiety and stress."

Cultivate Elevate provides pearl powder that is sourced with "pearls from a sustainable freshwater source."

In 2020, close to one in five adults (19%) said they personally had felt so anxious or depressed that they could not continue their regular daily activities for two weeks or longer, and another 19% said this had happened to a family member or close friend, according to Gallup.

The American Institute of Stress states that 55% of people in the United States are stressed during the day. 

According to the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH), anxiety issues occur in about 31.1% of adults in the United States at some point in life.

Cultivate Elevate provides superfoods such as mushrooms powders, Shilajit and pearl powder. According to Cultivate Elevate's website, the company’s “superfoods are cultivated in small batches and lab tested for purity. Heavy metals are known to cause a plethora of issues such as brain fog, chronic fatigue and cellular damage. This is why we are adamant about organic and pure foods.”