Tonya - Rainbo Mushrooms
Tonya Papanikolov is a holistic nutritionist, raw food chef and wellness expert. She has been foraging mushrooms in the Canadian forests, learning about longevity and the power of food as medicine for many years. Inspired by nature and its healing properties she created Rainbo, a source of medicinal mushroom health products and know-how.
Tell us a little about Rainbo and what you do?
Rainbo is a business I founded to spread the healing powers of mushrooms to all! We create sustainable, medicinal mushroom natural health products. We cultivate our mushrooms in Canada and create tinctures and infused functional foods. I love what I do and feel so grateful to wake up to it each day and educate and get people healthier.
How do medicinal mushrooms come into play when we talk about human optimization?
The fungi kingdom revolutionized modern medicine in 1928 with the discovery of penicillin, and mushrooms themselves have been revered by ancient cultures for millennia. We have yet to tap into the full potential of their healing and that’s why I’m on a mission to inspire and educate the power of medicinal mushrooms through Rainbo!
Fungi supports not only the human immune system but the immune system of our planet. They are imbued with the intelligence of nature. Fungi are the ultimate longevity experts, managing to pave their way through a billion years of life. Mycelium weave the webs and networks that hold the fabric of our planet together, all of life relies on fungi to break down and build healthy soils and ecosystems.
From a wellness perspective, some mushrooms may increase the body's immunity, resilience to stress and enhance certain brain functions, too. Additionally, some psychedelic mushroom's have the ability to expand our mind and allow for profound healing, spiritual experiences and this is becoming an increasingly promising area for mental health.
‘Fungi supports not only the human immune system but the immune system of our planet. They are imbued with the intelligence of nature.’ ~ Tonya
@SAIKI.WELLNESS
How can we use medicinal mushrooms?
Every day to boost your immunity! You can use our tincture right under the tongue followed up a gulp of water, or in your coffee, matcha, tea, in your lemon water or as a little shot.
Where do you source your mushrooms?
We grow everything in Canada sustainably (instead of sourcing our mushrooms from China). We grow all our mushrooms to fruiting body except agarikon which is an old growth mushroom that cannot be cultivated to fruiting body, so we use mycelium for that mushroom. And we sustainably harvest our chaga from the wild as well.
What is your favourite mushroom and why?
My favourite mushrooms is reishi. Reishi is a mushroom renowned for its spiritual potency, its ability to support stress as an adaptogen, it's also nurturing to the body and great for sleep. This is a mushroom that I always seem to find in the forest, or perhaps it finds me! It’s the mushroom that I first used in my healing journey and its had profound effects on my body. It has a regal quality and looks absolutely brilliant when you find it in the forest. Reishi helps the body and endocrine system adapt to stress. Stress management is something I am always working on.
What is Rainbo’s mission?
To get millions of people healthier with medicinal mushrooms. To get people more connected to nature, to educate on the healing power of fungi, and to leave the earth in better condition than we found it!
How can we follow you and your work?
Follow and reach out to me on my platforms!
@rainbomushrooms / www.rainbo.com
@thewellwomanco / www.thewellwoman.co
