Should You Eat Food Before Magic Mushrooms?
Consuming magic mushrooms is a unique experience and it varies from person to person. Some people really love how it makes them feel and it allows them to continue living their usual lifestyle and eating the same foods while others experience nausea and digestive discomfort.
If You’re Tripping Right Now
If you’re reading this and you’re currently experiencing a magic mushroom trip, it might be best to listen to these thumb rules:
- Lighter foods such as fruit, yogurt, or even ice cream at the beginning of the trip
- Heavier foods such as dark chocolate, cheese, or even coffee after the peak
- Be aware of your food allergies – you don’t want to have an allergic reaction while you’re on your trip.
- Don’t eat if you’re not hungry – just because everyone’s eating doesn’t mean you have to. Plenty of people don’t feel like they have an appetite while they’re on their trip.
Is It Safe to Eat While You’re On Magic Mushrooms?
Eating While Tripping: A Guide When it to the question of you should eat while tripping on shrooms, the answer is a resounding yes. Unless you experience nausea or a complete loss of appetite, indulging in food during your psychedelic journey is not only allowed but can also enhance your overall experience. However, it’s crucial to understand that eating while tripping differs from eating in a sober state. While under the influence of psilocybin mushrooms, your senses and perception are heightened, leading to an altered state of consciousness. This altered state can affect your appetite and how you perceive taste and texture. Therefore, it’s important to approach food consumption with mindfulness and consideration for these unique circumstances. The Benefits of Eating While Tripping Eating during a mushroom trip can offer several benefits:
1. Nourishment: Consuming food provides essential nutrients that support your body’s functioning even during an altered state.
2. Grounding: Engaging in familiar activities like eating can help ground yourself and maintain a connection with reality.
3. Sensory Experience: Food textures, flavors, and aromas may be intensified while tripping, offering a new sensory adventure.
4. Enhanced Connection: Sharing meals with others while tripping can deepen social bonds and foster meaningful connections. Tips for Eating During Your Trip To make the most out of your culinary experiences while tripping on shrooms, consider the following tips:
Choose Mindfully: Opt for foods that are easy to digest and gentle on the stomach to minimize any potential discomfort or digestive issues.
Fresh Fruits such as berries or citrus fruits can provide refreshing bursts of flavor.
Crunchy Vegetables like carrots or celery sticks for added texture stimulation. – Experiment with different tastes by trying various types of nuts or seeds (almonds, pumpkin seeds) which can provide a satisfying crunch.
Hydration is essential, so make sure to drink plenty of water or herbal teas throughout your trip. > “Food is not just nourishment for the body; it can also be nourishment for the soul.” – Anonymous Foods to Avoid While Tripping While most foods are generally safe to consume during a mushroom trip, there are some items you may want to avoid:
Spicy Foods: Spices can intensify sensations and potentially lead to discomfort or heartburn.
Heavy or Greasy Meals: These types of foods may cause digestive issues and leave you feeling sluggish.
Taking Mushrooms and Your Digestive System
There are some known side effects of psilocybin mushrooms, and even though every person’s experience is literally their own, some side effects are more common than others. Depending on which one (or more) you experience and their intensity, you might have different reactions in your digestive system.
The most common side effects of magic mushrooms include:
- Nausea
- Vomiting
- Fatigue
- Drowsiness
- Paranoia
- Panic
- Irritability and elevated anxiety
- Yawning
When it comes to your digestive system, nausea and vomiting seem to be the most commonly reported side effects. And when adding paranoia, panic, and anxiety to the mix, you’re creating a very unstable and unfavorable environment for food digestion and absorption of nutrients.
Stress is never a good ally for your digestive tract, and it can cause a plethora of gastrointestinal problems such as inflammation, bloating, cramps, poor nutrient absorption, and distress. Add paranoia and panic into the equation and your symptoms may only worsen.
During a Mushroom Trip, How Do You Overcome Nausea When You’re Hungry?
Nausea and vomiting may furthermore cause you to lose your appetite during your trip and make you avoid ingesting any kind of food until you’re coming down from the trip or after the entire psychedelic journey has ended. But what happens if you suddenly start feeling ravenous?
Even though there might not be specific tips for which foods you can still try to ingest while you’re experiencing nausea and vomiting, there are some other diseases or experiences with the same side effects which do promote specific foods.
Here are some tips for eating when feeling nauseous but still feel hungry:
- Choose foods you don’t have a nauseous reaction to, especially to their smell
- Avoid being in the kitchen while the food is being prepared if the smell makes you feel even more nauseous
- Take small servings at first and increase portions if you feel like you can hold the food down
- Sip on chicken or vegetable broth, have a sports drink or ingest small bites of gelatin to avoid dehydration
- Eat food cold or at room temperature
- Rinse your mouth before and after meals
- Keep your head up at least an hour after a meal
- Drink small sips of water to avoid dehydration, and try flat ginger ale
We would like to make it clear that if you do not want to eat, it is absolutely fine. Just wait until the trip has ended and eat when you are ready.
Should You Eat Before Your Trip?
But what about eating before your magic mushroom experience? Is it better to take them on an empty stomach? Most experts agree on a light, easy-to-digest meal before your trip as it’s the least likely to cause any nausea or irritability in your digestive tract when the psilocybin side effects kick in.
Eating Before Taking Shrooms
The topic of whether to eat before taking shrooms is a source of disagreement among users. Some believe that it is better to eat a light meal before taking shrooms, while others prefer to take them on an empty stomach. However, as mentioned earlier, most psychedelic users agree that it is best to avoid heavy foods before taking shrooms. If you decide to eat before taking shrooms, it is better to stick to simple, light foods such as fruits and vegetables.
Consider How You Will Feel After Taking Mushrooms, Not Just How You Feel Now
It is also important to consider not only your feelings and state of mind before taking shrooms but also how you will feel after the effects have kicked in. For example, you might be very hungry an hour before taking shrooms with friends and think, “Maybe I’ll eat a burger.” But that might not be the best idea, as in most cases, your sense of appetite might change after taking shrooms, and your stomach will feel full. You won’t enjoy the shrooms’ effects as much if you eat a heavy meal before taking them. It’s better to realize that you will likely lose most of your appetite anyway, so it’s best to eat something light so you won’t feel too hungry and won’t get too full, which could negatively impact your psychedelic experience.
What About Eating Magic Mushrooms on an Empty Stomach?
Some users suggest eating magic mushrooms on an empty stomach to get better “tripping results,’ as digestion of food may cause a delay or even lessen their effects. They promote it as a spiritual journey, as shamans explain how fasting connects you to the divine.
And now research papers prove it. According to the Frontiers in Neuroscience, abstaining from food before your trip enhances the spiritual experience.
On the other hand, if you’re likely to experience nausea and vomiting, it might be best to take magic mushrooms on an empty stomach and prevent any potential digestive discomfort caused by the food that’s sitting in your digestive tract.
The Lemon Tek Method
Lemon tekking is a method used before consuming magic mushrooms. It’s done by grinding the psilocybin mushrooms and mixing them with freshly squeezed lemon juice. Then, give the lemon tek 15-20 minutes to take effect before consumption. This method helps mask the mushroom taste that some users find unpleasant. According to several testemants, it may also slightly intensify the psychedelic experience but also shorten it. It is still unclear how and why lemon tekking helps reduce the feeling of nausea. There are some claims the method optimizes PH levels while others suggest that it initiates the dephosphorylation of psilocybin to psilocin.
Will The Food Taste Differently on Magic Mushrooms?
The question of whether or not food will taste or feel the same while you’re tripping is a valid one. Some people say their cravings change, some report feeling disgusted towards specific foods they usually enjoy having, and others seem to experience new bursts of flavor in simple foods like sandwiches.
Just like with everything else, it seems like your experience will most likely be unique. We all crave different foods and enjoy different food textures and tastes, and trying them out on your psychedelic trip can be an interesting experiment.
Top 10 Best Foods to Eat on Psilocybin Magic Mushrooms
People like to divide their psychedelic experience into two specific parts: the light and airy part they like to pair with “sun foods,” and the heavy, umami part they like to pair with “earth foods.”
Now that we’ve covered all the most important things there is to know about how food can affect your psychedelic experience and vice versa, here are some of the best foods you can eat on shrooms:
Ginger
Ginger is known to be one of the best foods to munch on while you’re experiencing nausea, ginger is often even recommended for morning sickness during pregnancy. You can cut a thumb-sized piece and chew on it until your nausea subsides, blend it up in a refreshing smoothie, or grate it on top of any other meal for added spice.
Fresh Fruits
Fresh fruits, specifically juicy fruits that are high in water content such as watermelon, melon, pineapple, mango, papaya, and similar. Have a cup of fresh fruit to start with and increase your dose only if you feel no digestive discomfort. Lots of fruit is known to ferment in your stomach and cause bloating and excess gas production so tread lightly.
Full-Fat Yogurts
Many people recommend eating full-fat, creamy yogurts as they sit well on their stomachs and are easy to digest. Stick to one serving at a time.
Avocado
Avocado is another full-fat, healthy food that lowers inflammation and improves digestion. However, stick to ¼ or ½ as it’s rich in fiber and could potentially cause bloating and distress.
Ice Cream
Although best taken in small amounts, many people report enjoying ice cream when they’re on their psychedelic trip. Apparently, a certain Ben and Jerry’s flavor, “Half Baked” ice cream, is a favorite amongst many shroom users.
Cheese
For the “coming down” part of your trip, cheese seems to be a crowd’s favorite. Even when it comes to LSD and not just shrooms. Start small as cheese can be pretty heavy on your digestive system.
Honey
Since sweet foods seem to be the best at the beginning of your psychedelic trip, adding honey instead of cane sugar can also nourish you with a variety of vitamins and minerals, helping you reduce inflammation and potential nausea
Nuts
Snacking on healthy fats like nuts seems to be a great food option when you’re on your trip. And as far as the serving size goes, it seems that eating one single nut at a time can be an incredible experience for the senses.
Dark chocolate
Not only is dark chocolate delicious, but it’s also packed with antioxidants, supporting your overall health and wellbeing. Just stick to only a few pieces at a time – most dark chocolate brands are still rich in sugar.
Coffee
Coffee lovers particularly enjoy getting their cup of joe as they’re coming down from their trip. They say it only intensifies the flavor. However, caffeine is a stimulant, so start with a small espresso and slowly build up from there.
Final Thoughts
Even though there’s no concrete evidence or proof that eating food while on magic mushrooms is neither good nor bad for you, it seems like each person will have to figure it out for themselves.
Whether you choose to eat or avoid eating before shrooms, it’s up to you. Still, be careful with your existing food allergies, stick to your own gut feeling, avoid eating foods if you’re extremely nauseous or vomit often, and remind yourself that food isn’t the main part of your psychedelic trip. The most important thing is to feel good and prevent any action that might cause you harm.
This article was originally published in psyfront.com
