CBD And Mushrooms Together At Last: Interview With Cannabotech’s Dr. Basem Fares
Updated April 14, 2023.
The Hype Behind CBD and Mushrooms
Claire Polansky: Thanks for joining us today, Dr Fares. Today, we are meeting to discuss Cannabotech’s new approach to the CBD industry by supercharging their formulations with a unique combination of
traditional mushrooms aka functional mushrooms. No, not psychedelic ‘shrooms, if that’s what you’re thinking. We’re talking about traditional mushrooms known to East Asia.
First of all, we’ve seen major hype around CBD in the past 2 years. Why do you think CBD is skyrocketing in popularity? And why are we suddenly seeing mushrooms catching up to them? It seems like they are everywhere as well now.
Dr Basem Fares: CBD is a very strong anti-inflammatory cannabinoid. and its benefits have been proven in various scientific research. It’s not psychedelic, so there isn’t much of a worry about psychological effects. And most importantly, it’s legal.
Regarding mushrooms… They are very common in Eastern countries, but they’re not that common in Western countries. Actually, cannabis derivatives like CBD or hemp seeds even have a long history of use in the East too. Research is now just catching up so they can be offered on a commercial scale.
Claire Polansky: Thanks, Dr Fares. So, in short; they were not popular before because we just didn’t know much about them or how to get reliable results, right?
Dr Basem Fares: Yes
Claire Polansky: So what has changed? Why do you think that functional mushrooms are suddenly becoming so popular in Western society? You open the Internet and it is everywhere. We never really saw it before at this scale. It’s only been in maybe the past year or two — from more prominence in organic food stores to social media discussions to news sites.
Dr Basem Fares: There are a lot of reasons for that. The whole concept of wellbeing and obtaining food supplements, be it vitamins or another supplement, has been proven to support our health. It was just a matter of time. You’ve got the articles that scientifically prove that mushrooms do have a biological effect. Most articles started coming up from the early 70s mainly published by Japan, Korea, Taiwan & China.
Claire Polansky: That’s interesting. That’s around the time that Westerners started taking more interest in the East. So you think people just started reading the articles from the 1970s. It started catching up.
Dr Basem Fares: In the 70s, all the chemotherapy came up, which sounded very, very promising back then. But through time, it showed multiple undesired and mostly intolerable side effects. Those side effects were getting treated with other conventional medicine, which potentially contained their own issues. Therefore, some patients starting turning to alternative medicine like Traditional Chinese Medicine to treat the side effects as well as other concerns. . Nowadays in Western medicine; you can see that they use multiple therapies combined together, including alternative & complementary medicine.
Claire Polansky: It’s integrated now.
Dr Basem Fares: In some cases, it’s becoming integrated. I mean combination therapies are becoming more popular. And then Eastern countries — they have already shown that conventional therapies combined with some functional mushrooms could have synergistic effects.
The Benefits of Combining Functional Mushrooms and CBD
Claire Polansky: That brings me to the next question. From what I’m understanding, this is the idea behind combining functional mushrooms and CBD? Would you say they complement one another?
Dr Basem Fares: Yes, exactly.
We know now that cannabinoids, and other compounds that are naturally produced by the body, interact with the endocannabinoid system; a biological system in our bodies. It is responsible for various essential biological processes from the immune system functioning to the nervous system to the digestive system, etc., etc.
And mushrooms have been proven to affect these systems as well, through multiple biological mechanisms
So when you combine CBD and mushrooms, they can have a synergistic effect. This practice of synergy blends is well known in both the natural health world and the scientific community.
Claire Polansky: Right, they’re doing that in the East already. I just read something about Japanese doctors using Turkey tail. It is actually an approved adjunctive therapy.
Dr Basem Fares: Turkey tail is a perfect example, now we know the exact active compounds found in turkey tail, which would allow us to provide more beneficial extracts, which could minimise the doses in order to obtain a wanted effect. This is one of the topics we are researching at Cannabotech. In addition, combining conventional treatment with integrative medicine, including preventive formulas, can promote the overall well-being of the patient. Mushrooms like Ganoderma lucidum [ Reishi] show promise alone due to their ability to support a healthy immune response. This can help deter bacteria and other foreign invaders people can fight off illness or recover faster.
Claire Polansky: Right. So if we take supplements for preventive care, we could find ourselves less likely to need treatment to begin with. But it’ll still be there if we need it. The idea is for it all to work together.
Dr Basem Fares: Exactly
The Future is Integrative: A Synergy Blend for Preventive Care
Claire Polansky: Now with that in mind, it sounds like we’re moving towards a direction where CBD and mushrooms could be part of our normal health care approach in the future.
Dr Basem Fares: Yeah, I think that’s becoming a reality, especially where medical treatment is expensive, inconvenient, or simply undesirable.
Claire Polansky: Yeah. That could be why preventive medicine has skyrocketed in the past year. Of course, money is an issue in certain regions. But being ill is also terribly inconvenient and uncomfortable. Even losing productivity due to low energy or stress can take its toll on us.
Dr Basem Fares: Yeah, and there is a body of scientific evidence that backs the benefits of CBD and mushrooms for these alone. And we’re conducting more research to ensure efficacy and safety.
Claire Polansky: Do you think that there are any side effects that we should worry about or any contraindications? What if a person is on medication and taking CBD and/or mushrooms, for instance?
Dr Basem Fares: We are not compromising on safety. We chose specific mushroom combinations based on decades of scientific research literature, indicating the benefits and side effects of functional mushroom compounds and extracts — as well as CBD. Furthermore, we are working with one of the world’s leading mycologists; Prof. Solomon Wasser at Haifa university, and consulting other experts, as well as conducting our own research so we can address any safety issues. We believe this will change the face of preventive care.
Claire Polansky: Thanks for clarifying the history and current approaches to preventive care today. As we’re closing, what is it that you want us to walk away knowing about the M2CBD formula? If you were to get on the elevator with us and we have two minutes together, what should we know?
Dr. Basem Fares: In short, many of us are already familiar with CBD and how it interacts with the endocannabinoid system, the cellular system in our body that helps us stay in balance. When you add mushrooms to CBD, you supercharge the formula with a synergy effect that can have ample benefits for a wellness routine, especially for preventive care.
For instance, mushrooms are used to eliminate risk factors due to their copious amounts of antioxidants, beta-glucan polysaccharides, Vitamin D, and the list goes on. By consuming these nutrient-rich mushrooms, evidence suggests that it can lower your risk for many issues including heart disease, high blood pressure, high glucose levels in the blood, etc, etc, etc.
To make a stronger formula with a stronger body of evidence, our team also included important vitamins and minerals in the formulas like vitamin C, choline, thiamine, etc. We believe these formulas offer more well-rounded benefits.
Claire Polansky: Thanks for clarifying, Dr Fares. To recap, CBD and traditional mushrooms are the future of preventive care due to their ability to work together.
Bio: Basem Fares, PhD
Dr Basem Fares: Holds a PhD in cancer research at the Technion-Faculty of Medicine in collaboration with the Clinical Research Institute at Rambam hospital. Dr Fares also holds an M.Sc in human biology at Haifa University. He is a scientific researcher for Cannabotech.
Disclaimer: This article is for educational purposes only. This article and our products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease; or replace a healthy lifestyle and diet. Speak to your family physician or treating physician if you have any serious concerns about your health before starting a new health and wellness routine.
