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Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines: Our Lifelong Relationship with Fungi
The hidden role of fungi inside and all around us
From beneficial yeasts that aid digestion to toxic molds that cause disease, we are constantly navigating a world filled with fungi. Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines explores the amazing ways fungi interact with our bodies, showing how our health and well-being depend on an immense ecosystem of yeasts and molds inside and all around us.
Nicholas Money takes readers on a guided tour of a marvelous unseen realm, describing how our immune systems are engaged in continuous conversation with the teeming mycobiome inside the body, and how we can fall prey to serious and even life-threatening infections when this peaceful coexistence is disturbed. He also sheds light on our complicated relationship with fungi outside the body, from wild mushrooms and cultivated molds that have been staples of the human diet for millennia to the controversial experimentation with magic mushrooms in the treatment of depression.
Drawing on the latest advances in mycology, Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines reveals what scientists are learning about the importance of fungi to our lives, from their vital role in supporting the ecosystems on which we depend to their emerging importance in lifesaving medicine.
From beneficial yeasts that aid digestion to toxic molds that cause disease, we are constantly navigating a world filled with fungi. Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines explores the amazing ways fungi interact with our bodies, showing how our health and well-being depend on an immense ecosystem of yeasts and molds inside and all around us.
Nicholas Money takes readers on a guided tour of a marvelous unseen realm, describing how our immune systems are engaged in continuous conversation with the teeming mycobiome inside the body, and how we can fall prey to serious and even life-threatening infections when this peaceful coexistence is disturbed. He also sheds light on our complicated relationship with fungi outside the body, from wild mushrooms and cultivated molds that have been staples of the human diet for millennia to the controversial experimentation with magic mushrooms in the treatment of depression.
Drawing on the latest advances in mycology, Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines reveals what scientists are learning about the importance of fungi to our lives, from their vital role in supporting the ecosystems on which we depend to their emerging importance in lifesaving medicine.
240 pages, Hardcover
Published March 19, 2024
4 people are currently reading
110 people want to read
About the author
Nicholas P. Money
22 books49 followersNicholas Money is a mycologist, science writer, and professor at Miami University.
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Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews
August 5, 2025
This is a slight, but fascinating overview, of the current state of the science in terms of the human-fungus symbiosis. Money takes a look at the more intimate relationship we have with fungi by including chapter on fungi on the skin, spores in the lungs, opportunists in the brain and yeasts in the gut. He then extends this relationship to the molds and mushrooms in our diets, medicines and toxins from fungi, hallucinogenic fungi, recycling and the global mycobiome. The writing style is semi-academic, but has the odd hilarious paragraph.* The book would have benefited from some colour photographs of all the interesting molds, yeasts, random fungi and the afflictions they cause.
*Quotes from the book:
'Ringworm infections are dubbed with Latin names according to the sites where they grow and other distinguishing characteristics—tinea capitis for the scalp, tinea pedis for the foot, tinea unguium for the toenails, and so on. Other skin infections come under the umbrella of tinea corporis, which includes a mycosis that spreads between young wrestlers and judo students that has been given the splendid name tinea corporis gladiatorum. Tinea corporis gladiatorum! If dermatologists pursued more of this kind of creative nomenclature, their patients might feel a modest elevation upon their diagnoses: “athlete’s foot” is a bit deflating, so, how about tinea pedis-athletarum, -gymnasticorum, or -victorum? Just an idea.'
'In 1998, an Italian anthropologist studying the mummy proposed that Ötzi had used “measured doses” of the fungus to induce “strong though short-lived bouts of diarrhea.” This was a remedy, he said, for internal parasites, whose eggs were identified in Ötzi’s mummified rectum. Treatments for intestinal worms would certainly have been valuable in Ötzi’s time, when the human gut was a more festive arena than today’s plumbing system, with (to the tune of “My Favorite Things”) Roundworms in most guts and hookworms in plenty / Segmented tapeworms that make you feel empty / Many amoebas and pinworms like strings / These were a few of our nightmarish things. '
*Quotes from the book:
'Ringworm infections are dubbed with Latin names according to the sites where they grow and other distinguishing characteristics—tinea capitis for the scalp, tinea pedis for the foot, tinea unguium for the toenails, and so on. Other skin infections come under the umbrella of tinea corporis, which includes a mycosis that spreads between young wrestlers and judo students that has been given the splendid name tinea corporis gladiatorum. Tinea corporis gladiatorum! If dermatologists pursued more of this kind of creative nomenclature, their patients might feel a modest elevation upon their diagnoses: “athlete’s foot” is a bit deflating, so, how about tinea pedis-athletarum, -gymnasticorum, or -victorum? Just an idea.'
'In 1998, an Italian anthropologist studying the mummy proposed that Ötzi had used “measured doses” of the fungus to induce “strong though short-lived bouts of diarrhea.” This was a remedy, he said, for internal parasites, whose eggs were identified in Ötzi’s mummified rectum. Treatments for intestinal worms would certainly have been valuable in Ötzi’s time, when the human gut was a more festive arena than today’s plumbing system, with (to the tune of “My Favorite Things”) Roundworms in most guts and hookworms in plenty / Segmented tapeworms that make you feel empty / Many amoebas and pinworms like strings / These were a few of our nightmarish things. '
August 6, 2025
Most people are aware of the microbiome but many don't think about the mycobiome which includes the diverse communities of fungi that fight and cooperate with bacteria through chemical reactions in the body. Some are beneficial but when they get out of balance they can cause problems. This books takes a bit of an academic approach. If you have a strong interest in fungi, you will probably find it interesting.
I'm recording my notes here for myself but feel free to read on if you're interested.
Chapter 2: Fungi on the Skin
There's more bacteria than fungus on the skin by a 10 to 1 ratio but fungus outweigh the bacteria by a factor of 10. The immune system permits some fungus to grow while eradicating others while the mycobiome teaches the immune system to recognize which species are harmless.
"Ringworm infections are the commonest type of mycoses, affecting 1 billion or more at a time." It is most common before puberty suggesting an hormonal cause as hormones alter the chemistry of skin secretions. Natural treatments for ringworm: Apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil and raw honey.
Fungi love sebum which contains fats and oils so the fungi don't need to produce fatty acids on their own and have thus lost the ability to do so.
The use or overuse of antifungal meds, dandruff shampoos, and athlete's foot remedies may be leading to greater diversities of fungus that are resistant to other meds.
Chapter 3: Breathing
The lungs provide an area of 100 sq meters for fungi to make contact, this is 3 or 4 times larger even than the skin and hair follicles. Fungal spores are responsible for much asthma and allergic responses (hay fever). Was there an evolutionary reason for these responses? (to limit exposure perhaps?) Other possible reason: The hygiene hypothesis. It's possible there's actually a greater variety of mold growing in a house that is constantly sanitized with antibacterial products (a problem mirrored by yeast overgrowth that occurs when we take antibiotics).
Chapter 4: Opportunists in the Brain
Fungi that invade human tissues kill 1.5 mil people every year. But the prevailing view of medical mycology experts is that fungi do not want to grow inside the body in the first place. Why? Most fungi that grow in the body can't escape (candida auris that causes athlete's foot being the exception) so they can't spread. Most fungi want to be in the soil. Human infection is therefore a mutually harmful relationship, termed "synnecroses".
There is fungal DNA in brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients. Does this fungus show up after the Alzheimer's infection? Or is it part of a cause? We don't know.
Chapter 5: Digestion
Yeast cells in the gut are 100 times bigger than the bacteria but harder to identify species because fungal genomes are 10 times bigger than bacterial genomes so we need to read longer stretches of DNA. The gut microbiome is sensitive to diet. Candida cells soar Type 1 and 2 Diabetes, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, vulvovaginal candidiasis dental problems. Coconut oil, caster oil and oregano leaf might be effective in reducing candida growth.
The Mycobiome is affected by refined sugars and artificial sweeteners that are quickly absorbed in the bloodstream, bypassing the complexity of bacteria and fungi needed to process complex carbs.
DNA from candida and saccharomyces yeasts is found in tumors.
Viruses can impact the ecology of the whole body by agitating the fungi and bacteria in the gut.
Fungi have a memory that allows them to respond quickly to a stressful change in conditions, like coffee which damages fungi DNA. Yeasts can anticipate the incoming coffee.
Chapter 6: Molds and Mushrooms in our diet
Fermentation: Describes disassembly that we have learned to control to produce useful products.
Chapter 7: Medicines from Fungi
The author is skeptical of mushrooms as medicine, rather he calls for further studying of fungi in the western tradition. Genome mining allows researchers to look at DNA of a fungus to look for active ingredients with useful medicinal properties.
Chapter 8: Poisoning
The death cap toxin interferes with an enzyme that reads and transcribes the genetic code in the first step of protein synthesis. Cells shut down without a supply of protein and the liver gets wrecked as it tries to get this toxin out of the bloodstream. Acute liver damage from this is worse than decades of alcoholism.
Chapter 9: Using Mushrooms to treat Depression
I have read whole books dedicated to the use of psilocybin. This chapter just touches on some of that. Of note: "MRI experiments (of brains on psilocybin) show cross-talk between parts of the brain that normally work in isolation, a reduction in blood flow to areas involved in logical thinking, and an increase in nervous activity in the deeper parts of the brain that control our emotions."
Chapter 10: Recycling
Fungi recycling is vital for soil regeneration of land destroyed by fire, harvesting or mining. Mycelia can breakdown some nasty pollutants and may even be able to remediate radioactive soil. As the author notes, this is great news when environmental news is often so dire.
Fungi in space! They have studied the composition of yeast on skin and gut of astronauts on the ISS. The natural mixture of microbes on the body are bound to disappear on extended space missions. How will this disruption affect astronauts on long-term missions?
I'm recording my notes here for myself but feel free to read on if you're interested.
Chapter 2: Fungi on the Skin
There's more bacteria than fungus on the skin by a 10 to 1 ratio but fungus outweigh the bacteria by a factor of 10. The immune system permits some fungus to grow while eradicating others while the mycobiome teaches the immune system to recognize which species are harmless.
"Ringworm infections are the commonest type of mycoses, affecting 1 billion or more at a time." It is most common before puberty suggesting an hormonal cause as hormones alter the chemistry of skin secretions. Natural treatments for ringworm: Apple cider vinegar, tea tree oil and raw honey.
Fungi love sebum which contains fats and oils so the fungi don't need to produce fatty acids on their own and have thus lost the ability to do so.
The use or overuse of antifungal meds, dandruff shampoos, and athlete's foot remedies may be leading to greater diversities of fungus that are resistant to other meds.
Chapter 3: Breathing
The lungs provide an area of 100 sq meters for fungi to make contact, this is 3 or 4 times larger even than the skin and hair follicles. Fungal spores are responsible for much asthma and allergic responses (hay fever). Was there an evolutionary reason for these responses? (to limit exposure perhaps?) Other possible reason: The hygiene hypothesis. It's possible there's actually a greater variety of mold growing in a house that is constantly sanitized with antibacterial products (a problem mirrored by yeast overgrowth that occurs when we take antibiotics).
Chapter 4: Opportunists in the Brain
Fungi that invade human tissues kill 1.5 mil people every year. But the prevailing view of medical mycology experts is that fungi do not want to grow inside the body in the first place. Why? Most fungi that grow in the body can't escape (candida auris that causes athlete's foot being the exception) so they can't spread. Most fungi want to be in the soil. Human infection is therefore a mutually harmful relationship, termed "synnecroses".
There is fungal DNA in brain tissue of Alzheimer's patients. Does this fungus show up after the Alzheimer's infection? Or is it part of a cause? We don't know.
Chapter 5: Digestion
Yeast cells in the gut are 100 times bigger than the bacteria but harder to identify species because fungal genomes are 10 times bigger than bacterial genomes so we need to read longer stretches of DNA. The gut microbiome is sensitive to diet. Candida cells soar Type 1 and 2 Diabetes, hepatitis, cirrhosis of the liver, vulvovaginal candidiasis dental problems. Coconut oil, caster oil and oregano leaf might be effective in reducing candida growth.
The Mycobiome is affected by refined sugars and artificial sweeteners that are quickly absorbed in the bloodstream, bypassing the complexity of bacteria and fungi needed to process complex carbs.
DNA from candida and saccharomyces yeasts is found in tumors.
Viruses can impact the ecology of the whole body by agitating the fungi and bacteria in the gut.
Fungi have a memory that allows them to respond quickly to a stressful change in conditions, like coffee which damages fungi DNA. Yeasts can anticipate the incoming coffee.
Chapter 6: Molds and Mushrooms in our diet
Fermentation: Describes disassembly that we have learned to control to produce useful products.
Chapter 7: Medicines from Fungi
The author is skeptical of mushrooms as medicine, rather he calls for further studying of fungi in the western tradition. Genome mining allows researchers to look at DNA of a fungus to look for active ingredients with useful medicinal properties.
Chapter 8: Poisoning
The death cap toxin interferes with an enzyme that reads and transcribes the genetic code in the first step of protein synthesis. Cells shut down without a supply of protein and the liver gets wrecked as it tries to get this toxin out of the bloodstream. Acute liver damage from this is worse than decades of alcoholism.
Chapter 9: Using Mushrooms to treat Depression
I have read whole books dedicated to the use of psilocybin. This chapter just touches on some of that. Of note: "MRI experiments (of brains on psilocybin) show cross-talk between parts of the brain that normally work in isolation, a reduction in blood flow to areas involved in logical thinking, and an increase in nervous activity in the deeper parts of the brain that control our emotions."
Chapter 10: Recycling
Fungi recycling is vital for soil regeneration of land destroyed by fire, harvesting or mining. Mycelia can breakdown some nasty pollutants and may even be able to remediate radioactive soil. As the author notes, this is great news when environmental news is often so dire.
Fungi in space! They have studied the composition of yeast on skin and gut of astronauts on the ISS. The natural mixture of microbes on the body are bound to disappear on extended space missions. How will this disruption affect astronauts on long-term missions?
April 3, 2025
i learned that huitlacoche and dandruff are the same thing (same yeast/fungus). We've been eating dandruff tacos the whole time. The sections in here on queer mycology and mushrooms mentioned in the Bible were so fun. It was interesting to see that fungus is the root of everyone's problems: asthma, allergies, IBD.
January 12, 2026
Mushrooms 101. If you don't have access to natural history museum, botanical garden, or local mushroom and foraging club, this is a good book to start learning about them. Likewise if you're an adult curious about the topic, or have children interested, this is a good book to get as well, though the writing and verbiage is more academic and may require a higher reading level/concentration compared to other books on the topic.
This book does not contain any identification guides, or in depth discussion of any of the topics related to mycology. It does touch upon health-related issues, the role of fungi in ecology, culinary applications, and anthropological/sociological considerations like historical perceptions, use in mysticism, etc. but not as densely as whole books could be written on each of those subcategories. If you need an in-depth book or a field guide, or have already read them, this book is unnecessary.
This book does not contain any identification guides, or in depth discussion of any of the topics related to mycology. It does touch upon health-related issues, the role of fungi in ecology, culinary applications, and anthropological/sociological considerations like historical perceptions, use in mysticism, etc. but not as densely as whole books could be written on each of those subcategories. If you need an in-depth book or a field guide, or have already read them, this book is unnecessary.
May 20, 2024
Another great succinct mycology book by Money--and one I had the pleasure to see him talk about in-person during a talk at Harvard! Some of it was repeated content from his other books (mostly the latter chapters) but the first few were entirely new to me, and really interesting. I don't have a huge interest in medical mycology, so the first few chapters could be somewhat dry for me personally, but I do think it was full of interesting information. The concept for the book was great--I liked seeing the juxtaposition of fungi on our health and fungi in our external lives. Overall, not a bad read.
March 17, 2024
Thank you, NetGalley and RB Media for this advanced readers Audiobook. This was a fascinating study into molds and fungi and how they have evolved and adapted over time. As this book has described, some bacteria and fungi are good for us and help us, such as our microbiome. And there are others like candida Auris that has grown and evolved to cause outbreaks in long term care facilities and such and create multi drug resistant infections. This book was an interesting introduction into where some of these molds and fungi come from and how they can help or harm us.
April 12, 2024
I have recently become enamored with all things mushroom, and this book was just the thing to feed that fascination. Nicholas Money narrates his own book detailing a lifelong relationship with all things fungi. With personal antidotes leading into science-backed information, the book gives the feel of a good chat with a knowledgeable friend. While a bit of background on the basics of the human body would smooth over the heavier scientific portions of the book, it is an introduction to anyone who wants to know more about how the world's densest species has evolved alongside us humans.
July 8, 2024
"Fungi are the resurrection and the life."
An enjoyable romp through the wild world of fungi, sectioned into their Inward and Outward interactions with humans. I particularly appreciated the efforts to make sense out of the emerging data on the mycobiome. The text is up to date, well supported by an excellent bibliography, and the author uses an appropriate level of caution in evaluating some of the more extreme claims that are floating about the fungal universe.
An enjoyable romp through the wild world of fungi, sectioned into their Inward and Outward interactions with humans. I particularly appreciated the efforts to make sense out of the emerging data on the mycobiome. The text is up to date, well supported by an excellent bibliography, and the author uses an appropriate level of caution in evaluating some of the more extreme claims that are floating about the fungal universe.
Read
May 1, 2024Must read for everyone, dive into the unknown facets of fungi universe and explore the nature of our symbiotic species
December 13, 2025
This wonderful book is all about yeasts, fungi, and mold and how we interact/rely on them. It goes over all kind of this including how we use them as a food source and medicine and goes over the kinds that live on/in us:
I really enjoyed this book. It was well researched and put together and written in a very easy to read why while still providing a lot of information. There were all kinds of things in here that I didn’t know about and I was fascinating to read about them. Overall I had a really good time with this and I highly recommend it for everyone.
I really enjoyed this book. It was well researched and put together and written in a very easy to read why while still providing a lot of information. There were all kinds of things in here that I didn’t know about and I was fascinating to read about them. Overall I had a really good time with this and I highly recommend it for everyone.
April 21, 2024
3.5⭐️
If you want to learn about mushrooms and fungi then this book is for you. I will say some understanding of human biology would be helpful as some of the information is a bit dense. That being said it is a well rounded overview of mushrooms and their many, many interactions with the living world. The narration was good and easy to listen to.
If you want to learn about mushrooms and fungi then this book is for you. I will say some understanding of human biology would be helpful as some of the information is a bit dense. That being said it is a well rounded overview of mushrooms and their many, many interactions with the living world. The narration was good and easy to listen to.
Displaying 1 - 11 of 11 reviews