The pandemic has prompted people to seek solutions to strengthen their immune systems to avoid contracting any deadly virus. As an avid health and fitness junkie, entrepreneur Ashley Southard is one of many who went the extra mile aside from just taking her daily dose of vitamins. She was taking mushroom supplements for their immune benefits, but unbeknownst to her, they were not made of the highest quality, nor were they dosed properly—and they ended up making her sick. She realized that too much of a good thing could also be harmful.
Ashley was unknowingly consuming a supplement that was drastically over-charging her immune system. In her annual physical exam, she discovered that the mushrooms were doing her more harm than good—while her blood tests were usually always within the recommended range, this time, results showed otherwise. A specific blood marker was off the charts, prompting the nurse to warn her that she may potentially have blood cancer. Another blood test was done to validate the previous result, and it came out exactly the same. She was advised to see a hematologist and the physician immediately asked her what she was consuming.
The culprit was a mushroom powder with more than 700mcg of combined mushrooms that Ashley put in her coffee daily, sometimes twice a day. She was advised to stop taking the mushroom supplement and, upon return to the hematologist two weeks later, was relieved to see that her blood marker was back to normal.
“So, it’s all about balance. Just as it’s not good to work out four hours a day every single day, it’s also not good to never exercise at all. Just as it is not great to consume so many mushrooms that your immune system thinks it’s always under attack, it’s also not great to hinder your body from the many benefits of the right amount of mushrooms,” Ashley Southard reveals.
After her terrifying ordeal, Ashley co-founded Mushroom Design to ensure that the highest quality of the mushroom supplement is made available to consumers — and that it’s dosed in a way that won’t negatively impact the immune system. The company hired its chief scientist from Weizmann Institute to research the cause of her predicament and how best to optimize the valuable benefits of mushrooms on the immune system. After in-depth research, Mushroom Design finally produced its Daily Vitamin formula, a supplement perfectly created for daily support. Nine mushrooms are combined with the nine essential daily vitamins to guarantee a vegan-friendly supplement that promotes overall well-being.
Aside from being co-founder and CEO of the vitamin and biotech brand Mushroom Design, Ashley is also the co-founder of the marketing agency Healer Collective. She has five years of rich experience being COO of companies that have more than 150 employees. Her focus now is centered on creating businesses that support people while keeping the planet safe at the same time.
Ashley Southard’s experience may have been terrifying, but it was also an eye-opener that led to something good. By turning her bad experience into something remarkable, Ashley and her team will be bringing a lot of good to the lives of countless people in many years to come.
Find out more about Mushroom Design and its many health benefits by visiting its website.
