Why Should I Take Lion's Mane Mushroom?
Lion’s mane mushroom has built up quite the reputation over the years, and firmly established itself as one of the most sought after natural nootropics! There is a good reason for this, the fruiting bodies of the lion’s mane mushroom are chock full of beneficial compounds, which can help promote cognitive, cardiovascular and immune function.
Our lion’s mane is also unique for the fact that it only utilizes pure fruiting body. This is in contrast to mycelium on grain products which have become more and more popular in the mushroom world over the last few years. Mycelium on grain products can’t even be called mushrooms, because they aren’t actually mushrooms yet at this stage! While mycelium on grain products certainly can contain beneficial compounds, they simply don’t compare to high quality fruiting body lion’s mane. This sentiment is shared amongst many lion’s mane enthusiasts, including ourselves, which is why we have always found it important to provide only high quality fruiting body mushroom products!
What is Lion's Mane Mushroom?
Hericium erinaceus, or more commonly known as Lion’s Mane Mushroom, is a fully edible mushroom belonging to the tooth fungi family. This mushroom is easily spotted by their long and dangly spines. Just to add to the quirkiness of this mushroom, it is also known as bearded tooth mushroom, hedgehog mushroom, and even pom pom mushroom. The names stem from its unique clusters that look similar to a lion’s mane.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom naturally grows in Europe, Asia and North America on hardwood trees in late summer and fall. This mushroom contains various beneficial polysaccharides, such as beta-glucans, and several terpenoid compounds such as the hericenones and erinacines.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom Extract is standardized to a minimum of 25% Beta-Glucan (β-Glucan).
Lion's Mane Mushroom Benefits and Uses
- Promotes cognitive function
- Promotes immune function
- Promotes cardiovascular function
The Importance of Fruiting Body Extracts
Mushrooms are quite unique in many ways, and one of the most special things about mushrooms is how they grow. First, spores inoculate a substrate, which then causes mycelium to grow. The mycelium are root-like structures, from which the actual mushroom eventually grows. The mushroom is what we call the fruiting body. It’s quite interesting to note that the mycelium, under the right conditions, can already contain some very unique bioactive compounds. In particular, a now quite legendary compound called erinacine A, is expressed in the mycelium but not in the fruiting body. This finding has been completely taken out of context though, in the mushroom supplements world.
Erinacine A, and other erinacines, do in fact occur in the mycelium of the mushroom. However, this compound is not always present in the mycelium, and is only expressed in high amounts when the conditions are perfect. However, this idea has led to the rising popularity of mycelium lion’s mane products. The issue with this trend is that the mycelium is not being produced properly for this purpose.
In order to cultivate fruiting body lion’s mane, you first have to inoculate a grain based substrate, with spores or even mycelium. These spores then start to form mycelium throughout the substrate. The myceliated substrate is then exposed to fruiting conditions, and the lion’s mane mushroom starts to grow. However, this process takes quite a long time, because lion’s mane is a relatively slow growing mushroom. The process can be cut short though, and this is what the mycelium on grain products do.
These products utilize the same process, they take grain substrate, inoculate it with lion’s mane spores or mycelium, and then they wait for the mycelium to colonize the grain substrate. Once there is a good amount of mycelium, the myceliated substrate is freeze dried and ground up. This means that a significant portion of a product like this, is simply just grains and not actual mushroom. In our opinion, this is simply a convenient shortcut that has been presented as the “next generation” of mushroom supplementation. This simply is not the case however, and all the research on lion’s mane, and the majority of human use of this mushroom, has all depended heavily on the fruiting bodies of the mushroom, not lazily produced mycelium!
What Can Real Fruiting Body Lion’s Mane Do For You?
With our 1:1 lion’s mane product, you get the full spectrum of all the beneficial compounds that are naturally found in lion’s mane. A stand out in this lion’s mane fruiting body product, will be its beta-glucan content, which is quite high at 25%! The beta-glucans within lion’s mane will have very positive effects on overall immune function, while also promoting overall cardiovascular function. These high levels of beta-glucans can only be found in high quality fruiting bodies, which is part of the reason why fruiting body lion’s mane products are highly sought after.
Our 1:1 lion’s mane will also preserve a wide range of terpenoid compounds that naturally occur in the fruiting body. These terpenoid compounds have been shown to have very beneficial effects on cognitive function, which is why lion’s mane has long been regarded as one of the best natural nootropics. Within the 1:1 lion’s mane, these compounds are expressed in a natural balance with all of the other beneficial compounds in lion’s mane, which results in a very nice, full spectrum effect. If however, you are mostly interested in the nootropic effects of lion’s mane, we would suggest checking out the more potent cognition enhancing extract of lion’s mane, our dual water/ethanol 8:1 extract.
Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract Stacks
The Cognitive Stack: Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract + AvailOm® High DHA Capsules
As you may know, fish oil supplements are great for promoting cognitive function but AvailOm High DHA takes it to the next level. DHA in particular is an important fatty acid in the brain, and due to lion’s mane neuroplasticity enhancing effects, availOM high DHA makes the perfect companion to lion’s mane!
The Immune Stack: Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract + Andrographis paniculata Capsules
Looking to support immune function? Then look no further than Lion’s Mane Mushroom and Andrographis paniculata! Andrographis paniculata is also great at balancing inflammation levels, which helps round out the effects profile of lion’s mane mushroom!
The Cardiovascular Stack: Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract + Nobiletin Capsules
Nobiletin is well-known for its incredible cardiovascular support. When combined with Lion’s Mane Mushroom, this is the perfect cardiovascular stack! With additional benefits to metabolic function and balanced inflammation levels, this is not a stack to skip.
Lion's Mane Mushroom Dosage
As a dietary supplement, take 500mg of Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract Powder 1-2 times daily.
Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract Reviews
To gain more insight, see the Lion’s mane reviews and experiences below.
Where to Buy Lion's Mane Mushroom Extract?
Nootropics Depot offers 30g or 60g jars of certified organic Lion's Mane Whole Fruiting Body Mushroom Extract. Nootropics Depot's Lion's Mane mushroom extract powder has been lab-tested and verified for both product purity and identity.
You may also like our Lion's Mane Mushroom 8:1 Extract powder.
To learn more, read the Lion's Mane mushroom reviews and experiences below.
Attention: *These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
