Kelly Willsmore

Recipe by Lee Carroll, BHSc (WHM), BSc What Happens When Mushrooms Meet Miso? Ancient Ingredients, Modern Microbiomes Some foods seem to belong together. Not because a recipe says so, but because generations of cooks arrived at the same combination independently. Fermented foods, mushrooms, broths, sea vegetables, and aromatics appear together throughout East Asian food traditions […]

Recipe by Lee Carroll, BHSc (WHM), BSc Why Put Tremella in a Popsicle? The Beauty Mushroom Meets Summer For over 1,800 years, Chinese herbalists have treasured tremella, the delicate, translucent mushroom also called snow fungus or silver ear, as one of nature’s most elegant beauty tonics. Reserved for royalty in ancient times, tremella was prized

Recipe by Lee Carroll, BHSc (WHM), BSc Why Put Lion’s Mane in a Chocolate Cake? A Brain Mushroom Meets Comfort Food For centuries, Lion’s Mane mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) has been valued across East Asian traditions as a tonic for the mind and nervous system. With its cascading white tendrils resembling a lion’s mane, it earned

By Lee Carroll, BHSc (WHM), BSc A Clue at the Membrane I track the ergothioneine literature pretty closely. Honestly, it’s turned into a bit of an obsession. Not because I’m looking for another shiny antioxidant story… Rather, because ergothioneine (ERGO) is unique and almost meets the definition of a vitamin. Why would evolution make ERGO

By Lee Carroll, Medical Herbalist Introduction People with mould-related illness are often told to avoid mushrooms. The reasoning seems straightforward: moulds and mushrooms both belong to the fungal kingdom. But biology is rarely that simple. The available scientific evidence does not support avoiding mushrooms, and in some cases suggests they may offer protective benefits instead.

By Lee Carroll, Medical Herbalist Let’s face it, cancer is one of those words that makes every pet owner uneasy. But here’s the good news: nature has already armed us with tools to protect against it. Medicinal mushrooms, long valued in traditional medicine and now supported by modern research, are among the most exciting of

By Lee Carroll, Medical Herbalist Today I want to pause and reflect on the International Day of Peace, through the lens of herbal medicine. When we think about peace, it’s easy to drift into ideals and concepts, but I’m drawn to the practical tools nature has given us for creating calm, both individually and collectively.

Ergothioneine: Rediscovering a Forgotten Molecule: Royal Lee, Mushrooms, and the Early Clues to Ergothioneine’s Power By Lee Carroll, Medical Herbalist Did Royal Lee know about ergothioneine (ERGO) in 1929? It’s a provocative question. One that connects nutrition history, biochemical curiosity, and the legacy of one of the most visionary—yet often under-recognized—figures in natural medicine. As

Introduction Oxidative stress poses a significant threat to cells and tissues, with resilience largely dependent on the quality and strength of their antioxidant systems. These systems include small molecules, proteins, and enzymes that work together to control and neutralize reactive oxygen species (ROS) and repair oxidative damage. Among all cell types, red blood cells (RBCs)