I would not recommend it. But certain red mushrooms, Ganoderma Lucidum, have been found to be good for you. Red Mushrooms comprise a family of more than 200 mushroom species, which are good for our health. Of these, 6 species have a particularly high therapeutic effect.
Fungi and Human Disease
Fungi cause human illness in three different ways: poisonings, parasitic infections, and allergic reactions. Science on the SPOT: Fungus Fair explores some of these dangerous but also tasty and weirdly wonderful fungi.
Fungal Poisoning
Many fungi protect themselves from parasites and predators by producing toxic chemicals. If people eat toxic fungi, they may experience digestive problems, hallucinations, organ failure, and even death. Most cases of mushroom poisoning are due to mistaken identity. That’s because many toxic mushrooms look very similar to safe, edible mushrooms. An example is shown in Figure below.
Fungal Parasites
Some fungi cause disease when they become human parasites. Two examples are fungi in the genera Candida and Trichophyton.
Candida are yeast that cause candidiasis, commonly called a “yeast infection.” The yeast can infect the mouth or the vagina. If yeast enter the blood, they cause a potentially life threatening illness. However, this is rare, except in people with a depressed immune system.
Trichophyton are fungi that cause ringworm. This is a skin infection characterized by a ring-shaped rash. The rash may occur on the arms, legs, head, neck, or trunk. The same fungi cause athlete’s foot when they infect the skin between the toes. Athlete’s foot is the second most common skin disease in the U.S.