The Benefits of Mushrooms with Parker Olson of Forij

Written By Modern Species

During his junior year in college, Parker Olson embarked on the first of a series of nutritional experiments that would change the course of his life in ways he could never have imagined. After becoming aware of the incredible properties of functional mushrooms during one of these experiments, Parker became the youngest board member of the Puget Sound Mycological Society and subsequently founded Forij, a granola product packed with mushroom extracts that is both very healthy and very delicious (as strange as it sounds!). 

During this episode, Parker talks about his scrappy approach to entrepreneurship (his dedication to the cause really comes through strongly when he shares his experience of sleeping in a tent for two years), his involvement in the psilocybin treatment space, and his thoughts on the future of functional food. Tune in today to hear how mushrooms could change your life too! 

Key Points From This Episode:

  • The nutrition experiments that Parker started conducting on himself during his junior year in college.

  • How Parker became aware of the functionality of mushrooms. 

  • The founding story of Forij and the process Parker went through to develop the Forij products.

  • Parker’s “claims to scrappy fame,” including the two years he spent sleeping in a tent. 

  • Valuable takeaways from Parker’s entrepreneurship degree (and the things you can’t learn in a classroom).  

  • Parker’s involvement in the movement to democratize psilocybin treatment. 

  • What Parker’s role on the board of the Puget Sound Mycological Society entailed.

  • Parker’s thoughts on the future of functional food. 

Tweetables:

“Find a nutritional regimen where you’re going to feel good and you can sustain it.” — Parker Olsen [0:06:32]

“For one month, I went off of all other supplementation like vitamins and I wasn’t drinking caffeine. I just drank mushroom teas. That month was one of the best months of how I felt across that 18 months of experiments.” — Parker Olsen [0:08:20]

“Mushroom vitamin D is much more bioavailable than plant vitamin D.” — Parker Olsen [0:23:42]

“You should not be experimenting [with psilocybin treatment] if you are afraid. You need to get over that fear before you start down this path .” — Parker Olsen [0:44:54]

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Modern Species

A sustainable brand design agency helping better-for-the-world brand launch, evolve, and grow to scale their impact.

https://modernspecies.com/
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