What To Eat To Improve Your Magic Mushroom Experience

 Microdosing, for the uninitiated, is taking a very low (sub perceptual) dose of a psychedelic. You don’t experience any of the effects traditionally associated with a psychedelic ‘trip’ because your dose is ‘micro’ — see?

‘Macrodosing’ (or a full trip), is becoming more accepted too. Many people now use it as tool of rejuvenation and self-discovery — to centre themselves and to find their inner desires and strength. The benefits of this kind of trip can be felt up to a few months after, and can also go a long way to helping you connect with yourself on a deep and spiritual level.

The Benefits of Microdosing

Don’t be fooled with microdosing. Just because the walls don’t start ‘breathing’ or ‘melting’ doesn’t mean that the psychedelic is not having an effect. When you take a microdose, you experience many positive changes, but it is less all encompassing than a full trip. Microdosing using psilocybin, a natural psychedelic found in magic mushrooms and truffles, is found to have these benefits: 

• Improved mental health (such as a reduction in anxiety and depression symptoms)
• Enhanced performance
• Improved and eased social interactions
• Improved creativity
• An increase in energy
• Higher focus
  
• Increased concentration
• Relief from physical symptoms (such as tension, head and muscle aches)
• Soothed menstrual cramps and mood.

The Benefits of Macro-dosing

Macro-dosing or simply tripping on magic mushrooms or truffles is more of a seismic shift. Something you do on occasion rather than as a routine. However, this inner-world changing experience can have long lasting effects.

• Possibility of ego-death
• Deep psychological insight
• Mystical experiences that have lasting positive effects on mental health
• Lasting positive effects (improved mood, reduced anxiety, increased creativity) for up to a few months

Both sound pretty good right? 

What To Eat To Optimize Your Dose

Whether you are micro or macro-dosing and you want to do it at optimum efficacy there are a few things you can do. Some of them are just general health and wellbeing classics — get good quality sleep, stay active, etc. A healthy and varied diet is also important of course. An equal balance of nutritious and tasty. But — get this — there are actually some specific things you can add to your diet that will actually improve the effects of your psilocybin dose! 

The best thing about it is that it’s all natural. Magic mushrooms and truffles are all natural. And so are these nutrients that will aid in you getting the most from your dose. 

Yum! Let’s tuck in…

Omega-3

Examples of foods high in omega-3s:

Mackerel, salmon, herring, sardines, oysters, flax seeds, chia seeds, walnuts, soybeans, seaweed and fortified cereals. 

Omega-3s are crucial to many bodily processes. The fatty acids are essential to maintain energy levels, mental well-being and a strong immune system. Too little of these and you may suffer from tiredness and fatigue, lack of focus (brain fog) and mood swings. 

Adding or increasing these foods in your diet can help maintain the good mood enhanced by your dose and sustain the ‘afterglow’ effect you experience post dosage. 

Magnesium

Examples of foods high in magnesium: 

Spinach, kale, whole grains, nuts, seeds, legumes (such as beans, lentils and peas), avocado and dark chocolate. 

Magnesium is a mineral that is key to a healthy nervous system. Without it you may experience low mood and depression, nausea, loss of appetite, fatigue, muscle pain and more. Without sufficient magnesium in your diet these negative effects could hinder the effects of your psilocybin dose (not to mention all the other aspects of your life!). Low mood due to magnesium deficiency could interfere with the good mood caused by psilocybin. It could also make you feel nausea when taking your dose — for microdosing this is a problem as we recommend eating breakfast beforehand. (For macrodosing we recommend an empty stomach)

Believe it or not, studies have shown that at least half of Americans are magnesium deficient. Let’s get some spinach, stat! 

Prebiotics and Probiotics

Examples of foods with prebiotics:

Garlic, onion, chicory, leeks, asparagus, bananas, oats.

Examples of foods with probiotics: 

Fermented foods like yoghurt, kimchi, kefir, sauerkraut, miso, tempeh and kombucha. 

Prebiotics and probiotics are essential to gut health. Good gut bacteria improve digestion and fight off bad bacteria. Having a healthy gut is not only essential to overall health, but a good digestive system will help you absorb your magic mushrooms or truffle dose properly. 

Folate

Examples of foods with folate:

Broccoli, spinach, collard greens, brussel sprouts, chickpeas, kidney beans, peas and asparagus. 

Folate is a B-vitamin. It is key to your body’s ability to synthesize serotonin, dopamine and adrenaline. This is essential to the microdosing or tripping experience, as one of the ways in which psilocybin improves mood is by binding to serotonin receptors. The more in-shape and effective these are, the more effective your microdose will be. 

Vitamin-D

This last one is a bit of a cheat, as not many foods naturally contain vitamin-D. And, no we’re not gonna tell a smart adult like you that you can’t chow down on the sun. The best way to get your vitamin-D is catching some rays (after a layer of SPF!) and taking a good quality supplement. It doesn’t hurt to eat eggs, mushrooms, fortified cereals and fatty fish either!

The reason vitamin-D is essential to your dose (and health generally) is that it encourages the production of serotonin. This vital nutrient sets in motion the gene TPH2 that converts tryptophan (an amino acid found in foods such as eggs, soy and oats) into vitamin-D. Lack of vitamin-D has been linked with depression. Although it is not clear whether low vitamin-D causes depression or if depression reduces vitamin-D levels, research has shown that an increase of vitamin-D improves feelings of well-being. 

Couple that with your magic mushrooms or truffles and you’re sure to feel more sunny!

Nutrition is Essential Self-Care

Of course, a nutrient rich diet is essential whether you utilise psilocybin in your wellness routine or not. We hope that you have picked up some useful tips! Being mindful about what we eat is essential self-care — and the use of psychedelics is fast becoming that too.