Health
Some moms are microdosing on mushrooms, touting the benefits – but risks exist, say doctors
Motherhood is a tough job — and now some moms are getting help from an unlikely source.
Thousands of mothers are taking microdoses of psychedelic or “magic” mushrooms — officially called psilocybin — to ease their stress and anxiety, according to some reports.
On an Instagram account called “Moms On Mushrooms,” which has over 30,000 followers, users claim mushrooms are improving their mental health.
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Others, however, are concerned about the possible health risks and legal issues associated with these psychedelic substances.
Read on for both sides of the issue, including a doctor’s warning.
Potential benefits
Peggy Van de Plassche, a Canada-based former business and finance executive, quit her job to focus her time and energy on the psychedelic industry.
Peggy Van de Plassche (left), a Canada-based former business and finance executive, quit her job to focus her time and energy on the psychedelic industry. (Peggy Van de Plassche / iStock)
Van De Plassche is a mom and founder of The Microdose Diet, a holistic program that includes alternative medicines such as psilocybin to “rewire the brain, calm the body, master emotions and raise energy to reach more success.”
She calls microdosing the new “biohack” for mothers to navigate their stress and anxiety around parenting, aging and work.
“Microdosing can help moms find calm and clarity in parenting, improve their emotional resilience, and even help manage postpartum depression,” Van de Plassche said in a statement to Fox News Digital.
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There are three potential benefits of microdosing mushrooms, according to Van de Plassche, who is also the author of the book “MORE! The Microdose Diet – The 90-Day Plan for More Success, Passion, and Happiness.”
1. Enhanced emotional and mental well-being
Many women report significant improvements in their emotional and mental health when they begin microdosing psychedelics, according to Van de Plassche.
“These small, sub-hallucinogenic doses can stabilize mood and improve emotional responsiveness,” she told Fox News Digital via email.
Thousands of mothers are apparently taking microdoses of psychedelic or “magic” mushrooms — officially called psilocybin — to ease their stress and anxiety, according to some reports. (AP Photo/Richard Vogel, File)
“Research and anecdotal evidence suggest that microdosing may help diminish symptoms of depression, anxiety and PTSD, which disproportionately affect women.”
In theory, these substances can balance women’s emotions and make everyday challenges more manageable, claimed Van de Plassche.
One supporter calls microdosing the new “biohack” for mothers to navigate stress and anxiety.
One mother posted on Reddit last year about her positive experience with microdosing.
“No exaggeration, microdosing saved my life. I had terrible reactions to everything commonly prescribed to treat PTSD, and as a last resort I started microdosing,” she wrote.
“There was no high or buzz, I just stopped wanting to kill myself,” the individual wrote. “It’s been two years and my kids have a fully functional mom and my world has color.”
2. Increased creativity and problem-solving
“Women in creative fields, as well as those in more traditional sectors, find that microdosing enhances their problem-solving capabilities and creative thinking,” Van de Plassche said.
“This isn’t about generating a ‘high,’ but rather sparking a slight uplift in cognitive flexibility.”
“Microdosing can help moms find calm and clarity in parenting, improve their emotional resilience, even help manage postpartum depression,” claimed an advocate of mushrooms. (iStock)
In her view, microdosing helps women “think outside the box,” forge new connections and arrive at better solutions.
“Whether at work or at home, women can benefit from more creativity with the help of microdosing,” she said.
3. Menopause relief and hormonal balance
Van de Plassche said she believes that microdosing can help women navigate the psychological and physiological symptoms of menopause, such as mood swings, insomnia and fatigue.
“By modulating the serotonin system in the brain, microdoses of psychedelics might offer a new kind of equilibrium without the side effects associated with traditional hormone replacement therapies,” she told Fox News Digital.
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“Microdosing holds particular appeal for women seeking gentle yet effective transformations,” she also said.
Beyond helping to manage symptoms of aging, microdosing can help women “reclaim a sense of agency” over their minds and spirits, according to Van de Plassche.
What is a microdose?
Microdosing psilocybin involves “regularly taking very small, sub-perceptual doses of LSD or psilocybin,” which is the psychoactive compound found in certain mushrooms, according to Van de Plassche.
The ideal dose, frequency and type of mushroom can vary from one person to the next, she said.
Though some moms are swearing by this today, microdosing psychedelics can cause a psychotic or manic episode, especially in those with a personal or family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, an expert warned. (iStock)
“I have found that 100 milligrams of psilocybin once every three days in the morning on an empty stomach is a great rule of thumb for most,” said Van de Plassche.
Potential risks of microdosing on mushrooms
Some medical professionals warn about a lack of research and safety concerns associated with mushrooms.
“There is not a lot of peer-reviewed research or safety data available for microdosing psychedelics, because these substances are not as well-studied as more traditional interventions,” Dr. Adam D. Scioli, chief medical officer of Caron Treatment Centers in Pennsylvania, told Fox News Digital.
“However, some of what we do know is concerning.”
“There is not a lot of peer-reviewed research or safety data available for microdosing psychedelics.”
Microdosing psychedelics can cause a psychotic or manic episode, especially in those with a personal or family history of schizophrenia or bipolar disorder, Scioli warned.
Other potential risks include paranoia, worsened depression or anxiety, and enhancement of emotions like worry, fear and guilt.
“Individuals microdose to manage emotions or feel better, but they should be aware that you can’t control which emotions you may experience,” Scioli added.
There is a risk that mushrooms may interact with other depression medications, which could be dangerous, even life-threatening, an expert warned. (iStock)
There is also the risk that mushrooms may interact with other depression medications, which could be dangerous or even life-threatening, the expert warned.
For some, the substance could lead to elevated blood pressure or heart rate, or an increased risk of stroke or sudden cardiac arrest.
“Individuals may also experience migraines, vomiting, nausea, loss of consciousness, body temperature dysregulation (too hot or too cold), loss of focus and/or brain fog,” Scioli added.
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Until there is more conclusive research, Scioli believes that adults should avoid microdosing with mind-altering substances outside a clinical setting and under the supervision of a board-certified physician.
Some also warn of the psychological impact the practice could have on kids.
One Reddit user wrote, “I think parents shouldn’t be on any kind of drug (alcohol, vapes, grass, shrooms, tobacco, hard drugs…) when taking care of a child, because of how it will damage the health of the child. Kids can also tell when adults aren’t sober. It makes kids feel unsafe.”
Until there is more conclusive research, one addiction expert believes that adults should avoid microdosing with mind-altering substances outside a clinical setting under the supervision of a board-certified physician. (iStock)
Van de Plassche acknowledged that taking mushrooms too often or in excessive amounts can be risky — as can consuming “low-quality” varieties.
Women who are pregnant and breastfeeding should not microdose, she also advised.
“Men and women with dissociative mental health challenges, such as schizophrenia, should also refrain from using psychedelics,” Van de Plassche added.
Are mushrooms legal?
Psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA).
That classification means the substance “has a high potential for abuse, no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States, and a lack of accepted safety for use under medical supervision,” as stated on the DEA’s website.
“Most microdosers have to opt for ‘civil disobedience’ in order to benefit from the practice.”
“Some states offer psychedelic-assisted therapy, which consists of large doses of psychedelics administered in a medical environment and combined with therapy,” Van de Plassche said.
“Patients usually have to jump through many hoops to access it, and it is very expensive — and mostly not covered by health insurance,” she added.
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Availability of the substance varies by state, city and county.
Except for some “open-minded” doctors, Van de Plassche said most health practitioners will redirect patients toward more traditional therapies.
Psilocybin is classified as a Schedule I substance under the Controlled Substances Act, according to the Drug Enforcement Agency (DEA). (iStock)
“Microdosing is not a practice embraced by health professionals — yet,” she said.
“Most microdosers have to opt for ‘civil disobedience’ in order to benefit from the practice.”
In most cases, the substances people use are not standardized or regulated, Scioli reiterated.
“That means you really don’t know what you’re taking — and what you’re taking may be contaminated with other substances that can be extremely dangerous,” he said.
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“There is also no way to tell if you’re taking too much of a substance. What may have little to no effect on one person may be extremely harmful to another person.”
Fox News Digital reached out to the DEA requesting additional comment.
Over the two and a half years following the 2022 rollout of the 988 national suicide prevention hotline, the rate of suicides among young people in the United States dropped 11 percent below projections, decreasing most sharply in states with a higher volume of answered 988 calls, a new study has found.
The findings, published today as a research letter in JAMA, compared suicide deaths from July 2022 to December 2024 with sophisticated mathematical projections that were based on historical trends. This yielded good news, with 4,372 fewer suicides of adolescents and young adults, ages 15 to 34, than had been projected.
To ensure that the decline was related to the use of the hotline, researchers at Harvard Medical School teased out the trends in states with high and low usage of the hotline. The findings were striking: The 10 states with the largest increases in 988 calls experienced an 18.2 percent reduction in observed suicides compared with expected suicides; in the 10 states with the lowest uptake, the reduction was smaller, 10.6 percent.
The results suggest that the government’s investment in the 988 rollout has translated into “a measurable reduction of deaths,” said Dr. Vishal Patel, a resident physician at Brigham and Women’s Hospital and one of the authors of the study.
“What our study has added,” he said, “is evidence for the deeper benefit of the program, and that is, that at the population level, among young people at least, suicide mortality is lower than it would have been without the program.”
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He added, “The implication of that is that sustained funding for this program matters.”
The United States rolled out the three-digit hotline with bipartisan support in July 2022, replacing a 10-digit hotline number, and augmented it with a $1.5 billion investment in crisis center capacity. Since its inception, the service has fielded more than 25 million contacts, according to the Department of Health and Human Services. The agency has asked Congress for $534.6 million to fund the program for 2027.
Last summer, the Trump administration terminated one element of the hotline, the Press 3 option for L.G.B.T.Q.+ callers. The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration said that the Press 3 option was being discontinued because it had exhausted its funding from Congress and that the hotline would “focus on serving all help seekers.”
But advocacy groups and policymakers protested the decision, and in testimony before the Senate on Tuesday, the health secretary, Robert F. Kennedy Jr., said his agency was planning to restore the Press 3 option.
Dr. Patel said his group had become curious about measuring the program’s effectiveness after Press 3 was eliminated. While call volume and satisfaction surveys suggested that 988 was succeeding, he said, the harder question was, “Did the creation of this 988 program, the transition from the old hotline to this hotline, actually move the needle on suicide mortality?”
Experts said it was difficult to tease out the beneficial effect of 988 from other things that changed in 2022, the year that the new hotline was created. Around that time, suicide prevention programs were being introduced in schools, in faith communities and on social media, but more important, the pandemic was ending.
“We were finally out of this crazy time, and there was a sense of optimism and hope,” said Jonathan B. Singer, a professor of social work at Loyola University Chicago and a co-author of “Suicide in Schools.” He called the downward trend in youth suicides “encouraging, but it is tempered by the fact that we don’t have a good explanation as to why.”
The authors acknowledged that their findings could not account for the influence of social and economic changes, changes in mental health services or public awareness about services.
But they did make comparisons to exclude other possible explanations. The authors looked for similar effects among American adults over 65, who are less likely to use the hotline. In that group, there was a reduction in suicides that exceeded expectations, but it was smaller, at just 4.5 percent.
To ensure the decline in suicides did not reflect a general improvement in young-adult mortality, the researchers tracked cancer deaths, and found there was no change. They also looked at the rates of suicide among young people in England, where no change had been made to the national crisis line in that time period; they found no reduction in youth suicides there.
Hannah Wesolowski, chief advocacy officer for the National Alliance on Mental Illness, said she was persuaded that the hotline had contributed to the improvement in suicide rates, in part because it did not appear among English youths or in older Americans.
“To me, that really helps hone in that this might really be the differentiator,” she said. “We are seeing potentially a pretty significant decline in suicides among young people. For public policy, this is strong evidence to double down on that we are doing.”
Emily Hilliard, a senior press secretary at the Department of Health and Human Services, said H.H.S. and SAMHSA are “committed to ensuring that all Americans have access” the 988 line, which she said “clearly provides lifesaving support, helping millions of people every year.”
If you are having thoughts of suicide, call or text 988 to reach the 988 Suicide and Crisis Lifeline or go to SpeakingOfSuicide.com/resources for a list of additional resources.
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A highly contagious digestive virus is surging across the U.S., experts warn.
Rotavirus, a double-stranded RNA virus, causes acute gastroenteritis — inflammation of the stomach and intestines — which can lead to severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain.
The virus primarily affects infants and young children, but there have also been outbreaks in elderly populations, such as nursing homes.
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Data from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention shows that in the week ending April 4, out of 2,329 rotavirus tests, 7.3% were positive for the infection. Last year’s highest infection rate was 6.77% as of the week ending April 19.
Rotavirus, a double-stranded RNA virus, causes acute gastroenteritis — inflammation of the stomach and intestines — which can lead to severe diarrhea, vomiting, fever and stomach pain. (iStock)
“We’re seeing a lot of rotavirus in the wastewater right now,” Dr. Marc Siegel, Fox News senior medical analyst, confirmed to Fox News Digital. “Testing for rotavirus is way down, but the percentage of positive tests is up.”
While the virus typically peaks in the spring, it is not currently slowing down, he noted.
Why cases may be rising
Patricia Pinto-Garcia, M.D., a medical editor at GoodRx who is based in California, said there are several possible reasons for the rotavirus spike.
“Vaccine rates are down overall among young children, as they decreased during COVID,” she told Fox News Digital. “This means there’s a growing number of infants and young children who are vulnerable to infection.”
The rotavirus vaccine series must be completed by the time a child is 8 months old, she noted.
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As a result of the declining vaccinations, herd immunity isn’t protecting vulnerable children, according to Pinto-Garcia. “Children who haven’t finished the vaccine series yet, are too young to get vaccinated, or can’t get the vaccine due to medical illness are more likely to get exposed to the illness because other children aren’t vaccinated,” she said.
Siegel noted that before the vaccine became available, rotavirus resulted in 55,000 to 70,000 in the U.S. per year.
“Vaccine rates are down overall among young children, as they decreased during COVID,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. “This means there’s a growing number of infants and young children who are vulnerable to infection.” (iStock)
“I am concerned that the vaccination rate has been declining over the past seven years and is continuing to decline in the current climate of vaccine skepticism,” he said.
Surveillance methods are also much better than they used to be, Pinto-Garcia noted, which means public health experts are able to pick up and track cases better than ever before.
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“But we see that rotavirus-related healthcare visits are also up, so improved detection is not the only reason we are seeing this spike,” she said.
The COVID pandemic also disrupted the pattern of infections, according to Pinto-Garcia, so it’s “tricky” to compare the current levels against older cycles.
“It’s possible that what we are seeing is still some post-pandemic rebound, but it’s unlikely that this year’s pattern is fully explained by just this factor,” she added.
Transmission and risk
Dr. Zachary Hoy, a pediatric infectious disease specialist at Pediatrix Medical Group based in Nashville, Tennessee, often sees young patients with rotavirus.
“Rotavirus is spread via the fecal-oral route, meaning that a person comes into contact with virus droplets from contact with other children or adults, or from contact with objects such as toys that have been contaminated with the virus from someone who is sick,” he told Fox News Digital. “This can lead to outbreaks, especially at schools where many young children share the same toys.”
“It’s possible that what we are seeing is still some post-pandemic rebound, but it’s unlikely that this year’s pattern is fully explained by just this factor.”
Rotavirus is associated with many dehydration cases in the hospital due to the degree of diarrhea, according to Hoy.
In some severe cases, the virus can lead to seizures due to electrolyte imbalances from dehydration and loss of electrolytes in the stool.
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“Younger children do not have the reserves that older children and adults have, so they can become more dehydrated quicker and develop more severe electrolyte imbalances, leading to more severe infections,” Hoy said.
“Patients with problems with their immune systems or on medications that can decrease their immune systems can have more severe and prolonged infections, too.”
Treatment and care
Because rotavirus is a viral infection, antibiotics are not effective against it. There is no specific antiviral treatment for the condition, with doctors typically recommending supportive care.
“The mainstay of treatment is hospitalization for rehydration via intravenous (IV) fluids,” Hoy told Fox News Digital. “Sometimes it can take up to two to three days of IV fluids to help get patients rehydrated.”
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Blood draws are often necessary to evaluate patients’ electrolyte levels, such as sodium, potassium, calcium and magnesium, according to the doctor.
“If these electrolyte levels are significantly low, sometimes patients need special IV solutions or individual electrolyte medications,” he added.
“The mainstay of treatment is hospitalization for rehydration via intravenous (IV) fluids,” a doctor told Fox News Digital. (iStock)
Dr. Daniel Park, medical director of the Pediatric Emergency Department at UNC Health in Chapel Hill, North Carolina, noted that most children recover with supportive care, but parents should seek medical attention if a child shows signs of dehydration. Those include decreased urination, lethargy or inability to keep fluids down.
“While rare, rotavirus can be life-threatening in vulnerable populations, especially very young infants or children with underlying medical conditions,” Park told Fox News Digital.
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Prevention strategies
Given the lack of antiviral medications for rotavirus, doctors emphasize the importance of prevention, primarily the vaccine.
There are two rotavirus vaccines – Rotateq (a three-dose series) and Rotarix (a two-dose series). They are given starting at age 2 months as oral drops, not injections, according to Hoy.
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“It’s important to get the rotavirus vaccines on schedule, because these younger infants are at greatest risk if they get rotavirus,” he advised.
Other recommended prevention methods include handwashing with soap and water.
Every day we’re faced with a zillion small choices: Go to sleep early, or watch one more episode of that Netflix drama. Call an old friend to catch up, or cruise social media. Of course, no single action will guarantee a long, healthy life or doom you to an early grave. But those little daily decisions do add up, and over the long term they can make a difference when it comes to both your longevity and your health span, the amount of life spent in relatively good health.
Scroll through this theoretical “day in the life” and select the option that best fits your typical day. Not every situation will apply perfectly, but think about which choice you’d be most likely to make. This isn’t a formal scientific assessment. The goal here isn’t to assign you a “good” or “bad” score, but to help you understand the central factors that shape the way we age and how long we live.
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