Yes, mushrooms can affect blood pressure in different ways depending on which kind you mean. Edible mushrooms can contribute potassium and replace higher-sodium foods, while reishi trials have not shown a blood-pressure reduction. In supervised therapeutic-dose trials, psilocybin was associated with acute blood-pressure changes, and one trial reported elevated heart rate.
That difference matters if you are choosing mushrooms for meals, considering a reishi extract, or wondering whether psychedelic mushrooms are a heart concern. Evidence grade: limited.
| Edible mushrooms | Provide potassium and can replace saltier foods or some meat in meals. |
| Reishi research | Controlled trials in adults with type 2 diabetes found no statistically significant blood-pressure difference versus placebo. |
| Psilocybin mushrooms | Therapeutic-dose trials reported more elevated blood pressure than comparators. |
| Best practical use | Use grocery-store mushrooms as a flavorful, lower-sodium food choice rather than treating any mushroom as a blood-pressure strategy. |
Can a person with high blood pressure eat mushrooms?
For ordinary grocery-store mushrooms, the useful question is usually how they fit into the meal. Cleveland Clinic’s mushroom guide explains that mushrooms contain potassium, a mineral involved in fluid balance and normal blood pressure, and that their savory flavor can reduce the need for added salt.
That makes mushrooms a practical swap in meals where salt or fatty meat is doing most of the flavor work. Cleveland Clinic describes a recipe test in which replacing half the ground beef with mushrooms retained the taste while reducing sodium by 25%. You can also see the broader food-and-metabolism context in our guide to heart, blood sugar and digestion.
Choose store-bought edible varieties rather than wild mushrooms. Cleveland Clinic notes that identifying wild mushrooms safely takes experience and expertise; choose store-bought mushrooms instead.
Which mushrooms are best for blood pressure?
No mushroom type is established as best for lowering blood pressure. For food, choose the edible mushrooms you enjoy and can use in a lower-sodium meal: button, cremini, portobello, shiitake, oyster, maitake and enoki are among the widely available varieties Cleveland Clinic lists.
| Mushroom type | What this page can say about blood pressure | Useful decision point |
|---|---|---|
| Edible grocery-store mushrooms | They contain potassium and can help make lower-sodium meals more satisfying. | Use them in place of some salted or processed ingredients when that suits your meal. |
| Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) | Controlled trials in the Cochrane review found no statistically significant group difference in blood pressure. | Do not choose it expecting a demonstrated blood-pressure change. |
| Psilocybin-containing mushrooms | Clinical-trial evidence links therapeutic doses with acute blood-pressure fluctuations and elevated blood pressure. | They are a separate heart-safety question, not a dietary mushroom choice. |
Preparation changes what ends up on your plate. A mushroom sauté can be very different from a salty packaged mushroom dish, which is why cooking methods affect mushroom nutrition is worth considering when mushrooms are part of your regular meals.
What does reishi research say about blood pressure and cholesterol?
A Cochrane review of reishi trials evaluated five controlled studies involving 398 people. The analyzed placebo comparisons used Ganoderma lucidum preparations at 1.4 g to 3 g daily for 12 to 16 weeks; participants in those studies had type 2 diabetes.
The review found no statistically significant differences between reishi and placebo for blood pressure or triglycerides. Its analysis also found no statistically significant reduction in total cholesterol or LDL cholesterol in the two studies with usable pooled data. Reishi has a fruiting body, mycelium and spores, and preparations can be made as teas, powders, extracts, tablets or capsules; the trial results above apply to the specific preparations studied, not automatically to every reishi form.
In the included trials, some participants reported non-serious digestive effects such as nausea, diarrhea or constipation. If you are comparing concentrated forms, our page on mushroom supplements before surgery explains why a supplement label and your full medication list matter more than a species name alone.
Can psychedelic mushrooms raise blood pressure?
Yes. Psilocybin mushrooms are different from culinary mushrooms because they contain psilocybin, which is converted in the body to psilocin and changes perception and consciousness. A 2024 JAMA Network Open meta-analysis pooled six randomized, double-blind trials with 528 participants, mostly middle-aged adults being studied for depression or anxiety.
Across the trials, elevated blood pressure occurred more often with psilocybin than with the comparison treatment (relative risk 2.29). Headache, nausea, anxiety and dizziness also occurred more often.
Blood-pressure changes were acute in those supervised trials. In one study summarized in the review, 34% of participants receiving a high dose had systolic pressure above 160 mm Hg and 13% had diastolic pressure above 100 mm Hg; another trial reported nonclinically significant elevated blood pressure and heart rate in 76% of participants receiving 21 mg. The trial settings included screening and support, so they are not a guide to casual use or microdosing.
Does microdosing affect the heart?
Microdosing is not answered by the therapeutic-dose trials above. The 2024 meta-analysis grouped low doses at 1 to 3 mg and moderate to high regimens at 10 to 30 mg, but its central safety comparison concerned therapeutic dosing for depression and anxiety rather than a microdosing routine.
It is still sensible to treat “microdosing” and “heart safe” as separate questions. The UC Berkeley psychedelic risk guide identifies uncontrolled high blood pressure, cardiac arrhythmias and heart failure as cardiovascular situations that warrant particular attention around psychedelics. It also says people should not stop or self-taper SSRIs without medical supervision; medication decisions belong with the clinician managing that prescription.
Can mushrooms cause palpitations or other heart symptoms?
Edible mushrooms in a meal and psilocybin mushrooms should not be treated as the same exposure. In the psilocybin clinical evidence, elevated heart rate appeared in one trial, and the review recommends that research protocols monitor blood-pressure and heart-rate changes alongside other acute effects.
A published case report described cardiac arrest in a 48-year-old man after psilocybin use in the setting of hereditary hemochromatosis, lisdexamfetamine and THC exposure. The report presents one person’s clinical course, with several possible contributors; it does not describe the effect of a typical edible mushroom meal. If palpitations, fainting, chest discomfort or breathlessness are happening, treat that as a prompt for timely medical assessment rather than trying to solve it with a mushroom product.
Who should skip mushrooms or take extra care?
For edible mushrooms, an allergy to mushrooms or mold is the clearest reason to avoid them. Cleveland Clinic advises choosing store-bought mushrooms unless you have expertise identifying wild mushrooms.
For psychedelics, UC Berkeley’s guide flags a history of mania, bipolar disorder, psychosis or suicidal thoughts as major personal risk factors. It also identifies uncontrolled high blood pressure, arrhythmias, heart failure and elevated risk of stroke or aneurysm as cardiovascular concerns. Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, SSRIs and other psychiatric medicines make the medication conversation especially important; do not start, stop or alter a prescribed medicine on your own.
What foods matter most when you are trying to control blood pressure?
Cleveland Clinic points to mushrooms’ potassium and their ability to add savory flavor with less added salt. A practical next move is to use mushrooms in soups, stir-fries, sauces, omelets or meat blends where they replace some salty processed ingredient or some red meat.
There is no basis here for calling eggs the main enemy of high blood pressure, or for ranking 12 “worst” foods. Instead, look at sodium in the foods you buy most often and use flavorful ingredients, including mushrooms, to make lower-sodium choices easier to repeat.
Before you make mushrooms part of a heart plan
- Choose a grocery-store edible mushroom if your goal is a satisfying, lower-sodium meal.
- Check whether a supplement is a whole mushroom powder, an extract, a tea or a multi-ingredient blend; those forms are not interchangeable.
- Do not treat reishi’s 1.4 g to 3 g trial doses as a proven blood-pressure target.
- Keep psilocybin mushrooms separate from culinary mushroom decisions, particularly if you have uncontrolled blood pressure, a rhythm condition, heart failure or relevant psychiatric or prescription-medication considerations.
- For a wider research overview, see mushrooms and cardiovascular health.
Read our evidence grading policy and medical disclaimer for the scope of this educational page.
By MushroomHealthBenefits.com Research & Editorial Team
This article is for general information purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Consult your doctor or qualified healthcare provider before making changes to your health routine.