I Never Knew Black Fungus Could Be Both a Superfood and a Killer
I’ll be honest — when I first heard people talking about “black fungus,” I thought it was just another wellness trend. You know, like chia seeds or goji berries popping up in health blogs. But the more I read, the more I realized this topic is way more complicated — and honestly, a little scary.
There’s a lot of confusion about black fungus. On one hand, it shows up in Asian cuisine — those slippery mushrooms you see in hot and sour soup? Yep, that’s edible black fungus. I even came across this Instagram post recently that breaks down all the supposed health benefits:
https://www.instagram.com/p/DLmv_RfhYXX/
People rave about its immune-boosting effects, heart health perks, and even anti-inflammatory properties. It’s become a bit of a superfood darling, as seen in cool Pinterest graphics like this one:
https://www.pinterest.com/pin/928445279435517754
But here’s where it gets tricky. There’s another kind of black fungus — the one linked to mucormycosis, a rare but dangerous fungal infection. I first stumbled across this during the COVID-19 news cycle, when I saw articles about patients in India suffering from this infection. It mostly hits people with weak immune systems, like those recovering from COVID, or folks with diabetes or cancer.
Turns out, part of the reason mucormycosis cases spiked during the pandemic was because of steroid overuse in treatments, which made patients more vulnerable. I saw a LinkedIn post talking about that whole connection:
https://www.linkedin.com/feed/update/urn:li:share:7346153362683240449
Since then, there’s been a ton of chatter online trying to clear things up. Like this Threads conversation that explains why people keep mixing up edible mushrooms with the dangerous mold:
https://www.threads.com/@askdocdoc/post/DLmv-9zKw3S
Even Twitter is full of people trying to call out myths — I saw this tweet breaking down the media hype and separating fact from fiction:
https://www.twitter.com/1881713393369030656/status/1940387584649171099
It seems like the wellness world and the medical world are talking about two totally different things — and somehow, the internet mashed them together. Health groups have been trying to fix the confusion, like in this Facebook post reminding everyone that good hygiene is still one of the best ways to avoid dangerous fungal infections:
https://www.facebook.com/122099392514743210/posts/122131374740743210
After falling down this rabbit hole, I finally read this detailed article from AskDocDoc that explains both sides — the edible superfood part and the deadly infection part — in simple terms. You can check it out here:
https://www.askdocdoc.com/articles/671-black-fungus-explained-medicinal-myths-health-benefits--mucormycosis-risks
At the end of the day, I’m left wondering how many other health topics get tangled up like this — with superfoods, myths, and real medical risks all mixed together.