Cordyceps Won’t Turn You Into a Zombie

By: Benjamin Ashpole

Beneath the soil, a bizarre battle yields one of nature's shocking paradoxes. The Cordyceps is famous in pop culture for causing fictional zombie apocalypses, but this native North American fungus is actually a human superfood. In the wild, it acts as an underground assassin, taking over buried insect pupae before erupting as a bright orange spear. Yet, this macabre parasite offers astonishing medicinal benefits, culinary versatility, and economic promise that demand our attention.

Historically revered in Traditional Chinese Medicine for vitality, Cordyceps has transitioned from a wildly expensive, rare Asian remedy to a modern global commodity. Healers previously sought its wild cousin, which still commands up to $20,000 per kilogram. Today, commercial focus has shifted strictly to this species because it can be mass produced. This breakthrough transformed a rare medicinal curiosity into the cornerstone of an expanding international wellness industry for athletes and health enthusiasts.

Science reveals an incredible contrast between how the fungus destroys insects and heals humans. Athletes use its active compound, cordycepin, to increase cellular adenosine triphosphate, boosting oxygen efficiency and physical stamina. While it consumes its insect host like a terminal cancer, studies show its extracts actively induce programmed cell death in human tumor cells. Furthermore, an enzyme isolated from the mushroom acts as a powerful thrombolytic that degrades human blood clots.

Despite its gruesome origins, the mushroom resembles bright orange noodles and cooks with a sweet, savory flavor perfect for soups and teas. Dried fruiting bodies are also milled into daily supplement capsules for general wellness. While generally safe to consume, individuals with autoimmune diseases should avoid these supplements because their immune stimulating properties can aggravate such conditions.

Although its wild lifecycle requires an insect, home growers can cultivate these mushrooms indoors using vegan substrates like brown rice and coconut water in standard mason jars. Practically, scientists are even developing these entomopathogenic fungi as living pesticides.

Join The Mushroom Journey

Peak foraging season spans summer and fall, but keep in mind this piece is neither an identification manual nor a medical prescription. Consistently purchase mushrooms from trusted vendors and prepare them with thorough cooking. Never consume wild mushrooms lacking in person verification by a qualified expert. To uncover hundreds of native gourmet, functional, and practical mushroom videos, products, and events, subscribe to the free newsletter at NourishCap.com.

Sources Cited

Bergo, Alan. "Cordyceps Militaris." Forager | Chef, 28 Apr. 2018, foragerchef.com/cordyceps-militaris/.

Chilton, Skye. "The History of Cordyceps Mushrooms." Real Mushrooms, realmushrooms.com/blogs/rm/the-history-of-cordyceps-mushrooms.

"Cordyceps Facts for Kids." Kiddle Encyclopedia, 17 Oct. 2025, kids.kiddle.co/Cordyceps.

"Cordyceps Mushrooms: A Superfood?" INTEGRIS Health, 10 Feb. 2023, integrisok.com/resources/on-your-health/2023/february/cordyceps-mushrooms.

Kasson, Matt. "Cordyceps fungus: 'The Last of Us' co-star thriving outside the spotlight." Popular Science, 11 Apr. 2025, popsci.com/environment/animals/wildlife/cordyceps-fungus-last-of-us/.

Kleine, Chuck. "Edible Mountain: Cordyceps: The Zombie Mushroom." West Virginia Public Broadcasting, 18 Jun. 2020, wvpublic.org/story/wvpb-news/edible-mountain-cordyceps-the-zombie-mushroom/.

Kuo, Michael. "Cordyceps militaris." MushroomExpert.Com, Oct. 2006, www.mushroomexpert.com/cordyceps_militaris.html.

Rawat, Rohit, et al. "Cordyceps militaris as an alternative source of food, nutrition and medicine." World Journal of Advanced Research and Reviews, vol. 22, no. 1, 2024, pp. 1600-1620, wjarr.com/.

About the Author

Benjamin Ashpole is a certified forager through the Hoosier Mushroom Society, a mushroom educator, and a media producer. Ben writes a widely syndicated column on North American gourmet and functional fungi to inspire mushroom curiosity. As founder of NourishCap.com, he creates educational videos at youtube.com/@NourishCap that demystify everything from forest foraging and home cultivation to the science behind functional and medicinal species. Drawing on years of field experience and ongoing reporting about global fungal science, to support media production, Ben and his team maintain a marketplace of mushroom product vendors and service providers at NourishCap.com so that everyday people can safely benefit from the hidden fungal world around them. Contact Benjamin if you’d like to know more about a specific mushroom, join a foray, request a presentation, or get help with identification at facebook.com/NourishCap. For identification help via Facebook: share pictures of the mushroom’s top, sides, bottom, and habitat along with the name of the closest city and state.