Benefits of Lions Mane Mushroom Supplement
What Is Lion’s Hair? A Novice’s Guide to This Mushroom’s Healing Properties
Mushrooms are having a minute. The worldwide mushroom market was valued at a tremendous $50.3 billion in 2021 as well as is anticipated to expand virtually 10 percent per year till 2030, according to a market analysis report by Grand View Study.
One lions mane mushroom supplement making its means right into the limelight is the appropriately called lion’s hair (additionally referred to as hedgehog mushroom). It’s a huge, white, shaggy mushroom that appears like a mature lion’s mane, and also while it’s not the most beautiful fungi out there, people are mixing it into soups, making it into teas, taking it in casts, and swallowing it in pill form, done in hopes of gaining its many potential health benefits.
Background of Lion’s Hair
” Lion’s hair, likewise understood officially as Hericium erinaceus, is an edible fungus that has actually been utilized in East Asia for centuries as food as well as medicine,” states Monique Richard, a signed up dietitian-nutritionist in Johnson City, Tennessee, and a representative for the Academy of Nourishment and Dietetics.
In Chinese and Japanese medical systems, lion’s hair is typically used to strengthen the spleen, nurture the intestine, as well as, presently, to treat cancer cells, per a term paper released March 2017 in the Journal of Restorative Medicine.
Due to its results on the main nerve system, lion’s hair is likewise utilized in conventional Chinese medicine for sleeplessness as well as muscular tissue weak point– symptoms of low qi (life energy force), according to the very same paper.
How Lion’s Hair Functions
Numerous useful plant compounds can be discovered in the lion’s mane fruiting bodies (the component we identify as the mushroom) and also mycelium (the mushroom’s root-like structure).
” Lion’s hair consists of a variety of substances that might have advantageous impacts on the body, including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory representatives, and also nerve development elements,” says Lindsay Delk, RDN, based in Houston, that concentrates on the link between food and also psychological wellness.
The active components in lion’s hair consist of polysaccharides, erinacines, hericerins, steroids, alkaloids, and lactones. “These ingredients aid protect the body from damage caused by free radicals and also swelling, as well as they [assistance to] advertise the development and also regrowth of afferent neuron,” Delk states.
Specifically, lion’s mane has actually been linked with boosting a protein referred to as nerve growth aspect (NGF). “Nerve growth variable is vital for brain wellness as well as nerve cell conductivity,” Richard states. Neuron conductivity refers to the capacity of nerves to send impulses with the nerves.
Lion’s mane is also utilized to support heart as well as immune health. “The polysaccharides might be the valuable parts in sustaining cardiovascular and also immune wellness, yet most of the bioactive substances together add to the prospective benefits,” Richard says.
Where to Find Lion’s Mane Mushrooms
There are 2 key groups of lion’s mane: food as well as supplements.
As a food, lion’s mane mushrooms often expand on dead as well as decaying trees throughout The United States and Canada, Europe, as well as Asia, normally in late summer season and loss, according to Forest Wildlife.
You can additionally purchase lion’s mane in supplement form: pill, liquid, tablet, or powder.
Fresh lion’s hair and lion’s mane supplements can be found online and in health food as well as grocery stores.
Possible Benefits of Lion’s Mane
This fungus can bring several potential health advantages to your diet regimen. Right here are a couple of notable ones.
May Improve Mind Function
One notable benefit of lion’s mane is its effect on the brain. Previous research found that lion’s hair mushrooms include hericenones as well as erinacines, two compounds that may promote the development of brain cells in the laboratory.
May Aid Lower Depression as well as Stress And Anxiety
Lion’s hair lowers inflammation, which might assist relieve clinical depression, Delk says. Writers of an evaluation published in December 2019 in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences of research laboratory and also preliminary studies on the impacts of lion’s mane on the brain and also mood in a small number of individuals wrote they felt it had guarantee as a reliable therapy for anxiety as well as urged more study.
May Assistance Digestive Health
Research study done on examination tube examples and computer mice suggests that lion’s hair might protect against the proliferation of H. pylori, a microorganisms that can have unfavorable impacts on the digestive tract cellular lining. Research on people is required for researchers to fully understand the influence of lion’s mane mushrooms on our digestion system.
Lion’s Hair Safety and security and Side Effects
In general, fresh lion’s mane brings few threats. Meanwhile, lion’s mane supplements are generally well-tolerated and noted as safe when up to 750 milligrams (mg) are taken orally daily for up to 16 weeks (some research has shown safety at higher doses), “but because research is limited, universal dosing recommendations have not been established [and potency differs in the preparation and source of mushroom],” Richard says.
“Each supplement will have specific dosing recommendations, and the range of lion’s mane content can be wide, from 300 mg and up,” she adds. For reference, 300 mg is 0.3 g.
Still, lion’s mane supplements bear some risks.
For example, a few people included in the 2020 in Frontiers in Aging Neuroscience Alzheimer’s study reported abdominal discomfort, nausea, and skin rashes from taking 350 mg capsules three times a day. The capsules contained 5 mg of lion’s mane per gram.
Lion’s mane may also slow blood clotting and blood sugar levels. For this reason, it may interact with blood-clotting medications and diabetes treatments, Richard says.
While rare, there’s always a possibility you’ll see the adverse effects we previously mentioned from fresh lion’s mane. Be sure to discuss with your healthcare provider whether it’s safe for you to take lion’s mane supplements, or eat fresh lion’s mane.