When Hernan Castro's father suffered three consecutive strokes and doctors said his brain could not recover, Hernan didn't take that lying down. Instead, he threw himself into researching and learning about medicinal mushrooms, specifically Lion's Mane, and how it might help his dad.

Listen to this inspiring story and how it launched a wild-foraged mushroom extract company called Desert Alchemist on the latest episode of Ryan's Remarkable Mycology Podcast.

Hernan and I discuss his unique extract-making process, fueled by a background in chemistry and an intense devotion to trying out-of-the-box approaches for his extracts. We also go over some tips for extract making, the wild mushrooms of Arizona, hot debates amongst the mycology community, foraging stories, and more! Enjoy.

Timestamps

0:00 - Intro

5:08: Starting with Lion's Mane

11:50: Extract making process

14:00 - Hernan's father's miraculous recovery

16:30 - Getting involved with medicinals + foraging

19:26: Unique Medicinal Mushrooms of Arizona

23:30 - Cultivating Wild Mushrooms

25:20 - Brain Boost Formula

28:08 - Myceliated Grain vs. Fruiting Body

32:00 - Wild Mushrooms vs. Cultivated Mushrooms

36:08 - All about making extracts

44:15 - Mushroom coffee

47:10 - Other tincture ingredients

48:45 - Foraging + Forays

56:50 - Hernan's future projects

59:14 - Outro

Resources:

• Desert Alchemist's website
• International Journal of Medicinal Mushroom Research
• Fungal Pharmacy

Theme Music: Lacuna (ft. Sunsquabi) by Cloudchord

My info

Website: https://www.remarkablemushroomemporium.com/

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/remarkablemushroomemporium/

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