Host Defense

Host Defense is built on Paul Stamets’ visionary research into the power and potential of mushrooms, especially mushroom mycelium, the root-like structures found growing below ground. The power of Host Defense comes from the discovery that the mycelium is the immune system of the mushroom.

Just as mycelium helps to support the immune system of humans, it also supports the health and immunity of the natural habitats where it grows. Host Defense’s goal is to use the unique properties of mushrooms to help build a healthier world — and people too.

Paul is the author of six books (including Mycelium Running: How Mushrooms Can Help Save The World, Growing Gourmet and Medicinal Mushrooms, and Psilocybin Mushrooms of the World). In his passion for research, he has discovered and named numerous new species of psilocybin mushrooms. He has also received numerous awards, including Invention Ambassador (2014-2015) for the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), the National Mycologist Award (2014) from the North American Mycological Association (NAMA), and the Gordon & Tina Wasson Award (2015) from the Mycological Society of America (MSA).

Paul funds research to save rare strains of mushrooms that dwell within the old-growth forests of the Pacific Northwest. He is a collaborator with numerous scientific organizations and research institutes. Currently, he is testing extracts of these rare strains at the NIH (National Institutes of Health/Virology) and with Washington State University/United States Department of Agriculture against a wide panel of viruses pathogenic to humans, animals, and bees.