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Fun guy: Entrepreneur taps into the power of mushrooms

Science, not magic, the basis for all-natural supplements produced by The Sporing Company, says founder

Mushrooms have been consumed by humans for their nutritional and medicinal benefits for thousands of years.

While some might think of them in the magical sense, there’s a whole lot of scientific facts suggesting the many health benefits of mushroom products.

That’s exactly what David Kurth is counting on. The founder of Burlington-based The Sporing Company has found the demand for his products is almost more than he can keep up with.

After more than a year of jumping through hoops to gain Health Canada’s approvals, Kurth now offers four supplements to help people lead healthier, more productive lives. Energy, cognition, immunity and sleep mushroom products – the latter two are still in the licensing stage as natural health products - are available in capsule form as well as strips that are placed on the tongue to dissolve and produce almost immediate results.

A natural health product, they’re available at Crunch Fitness in Hamilton, and online at sporingcompany.com.

The pandemic gave Kurth time to explore options. Initially, the married father of three launched a service to help people set up their own cannabis growing at home. That didn’t last too long before he began growing his own mushrooms, but he discovered they grew so well and in such large quantities, he couldn’t keep up with them.

A longtime interest in mushrooms and a keen interest in the health benefits achieved by various types, Kurth is a firm believer in his products. His MycoVeda Energy formulation claims to rejuvenate the body, improve endurance and sharpen the mind.

He said it’s something gym users would benefit from rather than taking a pre-workout and a post-workout combination, or other energy-type drinks, which he said provide short-term bursts of energy followed by the inevitable crash. MycoVeda provides a natural, healthy solution that supplies the short-term energy need and the long-term endurance.

Mycoveda is an innovative and proprietary process used to make the blends that combine mushrooms and natural Ayurvedic herbs, the ancient Indian medical system that has been used for thousands of years. Currently, The Sporing Company supplements are produced in Markham, but Kurth is hoping to bring that to Mississauga soon.

In addition to Cordyceps – a mushroom known for supporting energy, and to replenish the lungs and kidneys – it also contains Ashwagandha, which increases energy and resistance to stress by lowering serum cortisol levels and Guarana, which provides an energy boost.

Some of The Sporing Company’s other supplements contain Lion’s Mane, a mushroom that purports to help brain health, as well as long-term memory and nerve growth.

Using mushroom varieties like those, Kurth said, the products can provide significant health benefits people can feel and notice right away.

Cordyceps became well known in part because of the popular Crave series The Last of Us, about a pandemic caused by a mass fungal infection that causes its hosts to transform into zombie-like creatures.

Kurth, who believes in the fundamental benefit behind magic mushrooms, said The Sporing Company wanted to bring something to the supplement market that “wasn’t a whole lot of junk.”

He’s marketing the product in Canada and the United States, while the strips will eventually be marketed globally.

Kurth, whose background is in the security industry, lived in Vancouver before relocating to Mississauga and then in 2016, decided to make his home in West Lincoln.

He based his business in Burlington due to its proximity to production and other large city centres.


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Julie Slack

About the Author: Julie Slack

Julie Slack is a Halton resident who has been working as a community journalist for more than 25 years
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