Lion’s Mane, also known as Hericium Erinaceus, is not a psychedelic mushroom and has both culinary and medicinal uses. It may have the potential to elicit cognitive and mood effects through various biological pathways. However, it is not a magic mushroom in the same sense that magic mushrooms, or psilocybin, are. Lion’s Mane is a type of fungus with an umami flavor and a meat-like texture that delivers nutrients like iron and potassium.
Lion’s Mane should not be confused with psilocybin “magic” mushrooms, which can cause hallucinations and are considered illegal. Lion’s Mane is an edible mushroom found most abundantly in East Asia and has been used widely as a food and herbal remedy. It has been found to speed wound healing and help repair nerves in injured rats.
Lion’s Mane and its extracts contain bioactive substances that have beneficial effects on the body. Magic mushrooms typically refer to species containing psilocybin, which induces hallucinations and is used in microdose practices. Lion’s Mane is a functional mushroom that has been used in traditional medicine and studied for its potential health benefits.
In conclusion, Lion’s Mane is not a psychedelic mushroom and has both culinary and medicinal uses. It is a non-psychoactive fungus with an umami flavor and meat-like texture that delivers nutrients like iron and potassium.
📹 Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Actually DO SOMETHING!
Turns out doing the crossword is only one way you can keep your head healthy because mushrooms can help your brain cells …
Who cannot take lion’s mane?
Lion’s mane, a medicinal mushroom used in traditional Chinese medicine, has potential health benefits. However, there is concern that it may aggravate symptoms in individuals with allergies and asthma. It is crucial to consult a physician before using lion’s mane or any other supplement, especially if you have a history of these conditions. If you experience breathing issues, throat inflammation, or other allergy symptoms, call 911 immediately. Lion’s mane is also used in small clinical trials, but more research is needed to understand its potential positive and negative effects and mechanisms of action.
Is Lion’s Mane like CBD?
Lion’s mane mushroom and CBD are both known for their well-being benefits, including anxiety and stress relief. While it’s too early to determine which supplement has greater mental wellbeing effects, combining them could provide synergistic benefits. To use both supplements together, it’s recommended to take one for a few weeks before gradually introducing the other, allowing the body to adjust to any side effects. If you prefer to take just one natural supplement for anxiety, consider the specific benefits of both and choose the substance that best suits your symptoms.
Is Lion’s Mane addictive?
Lion’s Mane, a natural mushroom used in traditional medicine and food, has no evidence of addiction or dependence. Naturecan’s products are made using advanced technology and undergo rigorous testing to ensure quality, safety, and supply chain transparency. Georgia, a marketing professional with a BA Hons in Marketing, is passionate about CBD and its reported benefits, particularly for those living with PCOS. All of Naturecan’s products undergo rigorous testing to ensure product quality, customer safety, and supply chain transparency.
Is 1000 mg of lions mane too much?
The recommended daily dosage of Lion’s Mane extract varies depending on the individual and the form of consumption. A general guideline is to consume between 500mg to 3000mg of extract per day. Consuming Lion’s Mane can benefit individuals seeking overall well-being, such as those with PCOS, who are passionate about CBD and its reported benefits. Georgia, a BA Hons in Marketing, is a notable individual from Manchester, UK, who is also interested in fitness, fashion, and travel.
Does Lion’s Mane show up on drug tests?
Lion’s Mane is unlikely to cause a failed drug test due to its compounds not being detected by drug tests. However, it is advised to consult a medical professional before taking any supplement, especially if subject to drug testing. While there is some evidence of cognitive benefits, there is insufficient research to support its use for treating ADHD symptoms. More studies are needed to understand the potential effects of Lion’s Mane on ADHD symptoms.
Is Lion’s Mane illegal?
Lion’s mane is legal in the US but is protected in some countries and states due to its rarity. Foraging is illegal in these areas. Lion’s mane mushroom and its extract may have health benefits, including protection against dementia, reducing anxiety and depression symptoms, and aiding in nerve damage repair. It is crucial to check local regulations and obtain reputable and sustainable sources.
Does Lion’s Mane give you a high?
Lion’s mane is a medicinal mushroom that is not psychoactive and is marketed for its potential to increase focus and reduce depression. However, more research is needed to determine its full effects. The ideal recommended dosage depends on factors such as purpose, desired effects, and overall health, including age. Research suggests that people taking lion’s mane for cognitive benefits, such as memory protection, may take 500 milligrams with food. Long-term use should be discussed with a healthcare provider. Insufficient evidence exists on the ideal dosage, so it’s best to consult a doctor or naturopathist.
Is Lion’s Mane good for ADHD?
Lion’s mane mushrooms, a type of edible fungus indigenous to East Asia, have been employed in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia to address conditions such as depression and anxiety. The available evidence suggests that these mushrooms may improve symptoms associated with ADHD, such as difficulty concentrating and learning. However, there is currently no evidence to support these claims.
Is lion’s mane mushroom a drug?
Lion’s mane mushroom is not a drug but is available as a food or dietary supplement. It should not be confused with psilocybin “magic” mushrooms, which are illegal controlled substances in the United States. Lion’s mane mushrooms and their products are generally legal, but it is important to check state laws on which species can be picked and where harvesting is allowed. In some countries, including the United Kingdom, harvesting lion’s mane mushrooms is illegal due to their rarity.
Is a lion’s mane unsafe?
Lion’s mane, a saprophytic mushroom found in East Asia, has been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to relieve stress, anxiety, and depression. It is known to have antioxidant, antidiabetic, antilipidemic, antihypertensive, antineoplastic, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, neuroprotective, and cardiovascular protective properties. However, these effects have not been found in humans.
Chemical analyses show multiple constituents in Hericium erinaceus, including unique hericenones, erinacine terpenoids, beta-polysaccharides, phenolic acids, lectins, proteins, fatty acids, sterols, and multiple minerals and vitamins. The exact ingredient responsible for the purported effects of lion’s mane is unknown. Erinacines have been found to cross the blood-brain barrier in rats and stimulate nerve growth factor synthesis, speed recovery from ischemic injury, and improve alertness and learning in mice. These neuroprotective and mental cognitive enhancing activities have not been shown to be significant in humans.
Currently, lion’s mane is not approved for treatment of symptoms or diseases in the United States. However, it is widely available in nutrition centers and on the internet and purported to improve memory and cognitive function. The typical dose is 1 to 3 mg daily.
Lion’s mane has not been subjected to prospective trials of its safety but is generally described as well tolerated and without side effects. In small clinical trials, there have been no case reports of clinically apparent liver injury attributed to lion’s mane, and it is not mentioned or listed in large case series or systematic reviews of the literature on herbal and dietary supplement induced liver injury.
📹 7 DANGERS of Lion’s Mane! Watch Before You Take (Honest Review)
Every coin has two sides. So does Lion’s Mane! This video pulls back the curtain on the potential dangers of Lion’s Mane …
I was severely traumatized years ago as a teenage, got diagnosed with cptsd. Spent my whole life fighting cptsd. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.
i could remember several years ago I was diagnosed with ADHD. Also suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.
Man I love this website. The host’s excitement and enthusiasm is infectious. I’ve just started a degree in Forensic Science so I’m now binging on SciShow & Crash Course. I love learning new things. And this article is extremely informative and Hank’s enthusiasm and obvious loving what he does makes ME excited.
I can verify Lion’s mane did in fact help me. I was having a lot of trouble remembering things and this isn’t a problem I’ve always had. I noticed getting more sleep and trying to mitigate stress didn’t help. I read about Lion’s mane and tried it. It didn’t take long, I started noticing a difference. Much less brain fog and much easier to remember things. My family noticed and said I stopped repeating myself; so I know it isn’t just wishful thinking on my part. I wouldn’t call this the limitless pill or anything like that, more like restoring the baseline you had already but lost.
I suffer from severe TBI. I started taking lionsmane mushroom extract about 4 years ago and my life has changed incredibly!!!! I felt like was living with a fog over my brain and one day ot was gone!!! I started going to college, currently working on my Bachelors. Even before my TBI I never though college was a possibility, but the mushrooms literally helped my brain rewire the synopsis that were broken. Mushrooms are magical!!!!!
I started taking Lion’s Mane a few months ago, and this has definitely been my experience. I started taking a low dose and already noticed a small difference in my general cognitive function (focus and memory specifically, but an improvement overall), so after the first month I added pure Lion’s Mane, and am taking it for a minimum of 3 months to give it a chance to really start to do its thing. I’m happy to say that I’ve seen continued improvements since then.
First found out about lions mane mushrooms when I got into growing my own mushrooms at home. Ever since I’ve wanted to grow my own lion’s mane for the memory benefits. I also just really enjoy the entire process of mushroom cultivation. Something about a single batch of grain spawn coming from a few spores, being able to birth that into literally hundreds of other jars, it’s just magical. So different from cultivating plants because fungus will just consume and fill whatever food you give it. It always feels like I’m perusal a hivemind at work. That only further adds to the wonder when they drop their spores. Because each and every one of those individual spores could birth another colony of the same size. Really makes you understand how unflinchingly efficient they are.
They taste incredible. I used to work at a high end grocery store, and it was my job to market new foods. We had some of these come in, and I sliced them and fried them in olive oil with some salt. I took them around for people to try, and people could not believe it wasn’t meat. They literally taste like pork tenderloin. They even have striations that look like muscle fiber. I’d love to see these become a mainstream market mushroom. They’re very easy to cultivate.
World renowned mycologist Paul Stamets has been harping on this for well over a decade. I’ve even had a literal neurologist look at me like I was crazy when I mentioned hericenones and erinacines for nerve health. It’s refreshing to see scientists in the west are finally taking their effects seriously.
So I have brain damage from my immune system and struggle with adhd like symptoms and terrible memory loss. It’s difficult to function, but when I take lions mane with other mushrooms (cordyceps and quite a few others), I feel SO MUCH BETTER! I can remember things and function pretty well when I’m consistent. It’s been insane
I’m not sure if anyone will see this comment, but I’m still here to make a review of taking lions mane supplements after about 4 weeks. The review is completely subjective, since the only reference point is myself. So far I did not see any improvements in memory, creativity, speed of thinking and so on… it did help with my anxiety and depressive episodes though. When I suffer from anxious episodes I get overwehelmed by all the thoughts and fears which leads me to feeling depressed for 1-2 weeks. I did get such an episode last weekend. While it was still really uncomfortable to go through, it was definitely easier for myself to structure my thoughts and process them. I was able to make connections between my anxieties and their causes… understanding that there is nothing to be afraid of. While this might be me maturing and learning from other episodes, I never saw such an improvement during just one episode before… which leads me to think that the supplements have something to do with it. Btw this episode only lasted 3 days which I am so thankful for. I am using a supplement which was used in a scientific study on eating disorders and lions mane mushrooms… rn I’m a little too lazy to look the link for the supplement and study up, but if you’re interested, just tell me!
When my son was 8, he had a bad accident that was pretty traumatic. Right after the accident he developed a stutter which get worse very quickly and he also developed involuntary muscle spasms/tics with the stutter. We took him to a speech therapist to get him treated. After a few seasons with the therapist, by complete chance the accident my son was involved in come up in conversation. The therapist then said that this isn’t a speech issue, it’s PTSD and speech therapy won’t help. I heard about lions mane before and the affect on the brain it can have so i ordered 30 lions mane tablets. One month later my son had no stutter and no tics anymore. I was completely shocked and i was the one who bought them in the chance they’d work, i just didn’t think they’d do so much so fast. This mushroom is very special and can help a lot of people.
I had brain inflammation from May last year and I was getting worse and in June this year I started taking lions mane and I felt better. But I had done so many other treatments to help my brain inflammation, I was planning to discontinue the mushrooms but I dreamt of goats feeding on them on the side of a hill and I decided it was the mushrooms that actually helped and I will continue to order them. Thank you for this article.
The first two to three weeks I didn’t notice much until I started my new job which is in an office with computers doing tech support. The last similar job I lost it due to my ADD. Regardless of my medications, I still encountered the usual symptoms of confusion and disorientation. I’ve been taking two medications, the second one I had just started (after job loss ) and maybe a week later is when I started taking the lions mane. When I started the new job I was just more than halfway finished with the capsules so let’s analyze this: Previous job- Because of my symptoms I had a hard time learning the new program. Despite reading the procedures every day that I was there, I felt lost often as well as drowsy. Current job- This one also has the same system as the previous one so I dreaded and feared having to go through the same thing again. But something weird happened. While I started training I recognized almost everything that I had seen from the previous job, including the program, what each process does and other aspects. I’ve NEVER experienced anything like this in my life . The first two weeks in the new job I felt very competent, something I rarely feel. I kept thinking that it was just the two meds kicking in but unfortunately, as I was ending my second week I ran out of the Lion’s Mane. I proceeded with my life towards the third week and the end of the third week which is when I’m writing this. Gradually through the week, my mind started to feel foggy again to which today I made a small blunder to a customer’s account.
I’ve been taking half a teaspoon of powdered lions mane mushroom in my tea and coffee in the mornings. i have psychosis and the side effects of the medication(not the mushroom) resulted in me having mild narcolepsy, i would sleep 14 hours a day. now i sleep 11hours and dont feel tired during the day, it has also help with the number and strength of the psychotic episodes (psychosis and narcolepsy possibly linked as i have a paneel cyst). i have tried nearly every common and some not uncommon supplement and neutropic and this by far is the best. Another one to look out for is the golden root also called rhodiola rosea but i found it to be a bit of a caffine high and it wears off after a few weeks.
Great stuff! Lions manes are some of the coolest looking mushrooms. The number of disparate compounds found in fungus make them absolutely fascinating to me. Not to mention the unique stages of growth and development. It would not surprise me if we one day discover that fungi were responsible for all complex life on Earth.
Hey SciShow. I’ve been a fan for a long time. And I just bought a Lions Mane supplement. But that got me thinking…would you please do a series on general health and suppliments? As an example, I am aware of a thing called “fairy-dusting” in which the manufacturer puts a tiny non-effective amount of something in the product just so they can say it’s in there. How can we tell? There are so many health fads and products and pills and powders etc. Obviously, a healthy diet is the first and most important thing…but how can we make sense of and navigate through all those products out there? I am also aware, i think, that its really all too much. That we really dont need to, generally, take all these supplements. But some I’m sure are good and beneficial, right? Thanks for the consideration! And keep up the good work. 👍
I’ve been supplementing with special superfood mushrooms for 20 years and feel the benefits. I’ve also supplemented with dozens of superfoods and also many other beneficial supplements. I’ve felt benefits of these for 30+ years. I’m a senior and my hair is still dark and my body weight is still the healthy slim weight I was at 19 years old. I’ve studied alternative health for 30 years and been to about a hundred health shows. I see the standard american diet as extremely unhealthy and severely lacking in nutrients and overloaded with garbage nutrients feeding a large portion of peoples diets. It’s no wonder that 2/3 of Adult Americans are obese, which obesity is the most dangerous for overall health. In this case ignorance is not bliss it is deadly and committed by both the doctors and medical establishments and the citizens focused on trivial activities instead of improving their health and their lives.
You know, while this is really cool you kinda have to wonder… What are these mushrooms trying to do? What is the evolutionary reason they’re producing this effect in multiple different species? Is it just a byproduct of something else they’re doing or do they gain something from manipulating nerve growth in brains when eaten?
THIS article (and the mushrooms) CHANGED MY LIFE!!! Thanks to you, I researched and bought Lion’s Mane supplements from a reputable supplier, and an unidentifiable nervous system condition (which caused unnatural sky high, nearly killer anxiety and blood withdrawl from already cold limbs) I’d suffered from for MONTHS just cleared up in the matter of two hours. It’s been 2 1/2 days since I started taking them, but the difference is truely steeper than night and day. I had my family take them and they seemed to have no noticeable effects, so it appears to have a far, far more noticeable effect on those with nervous system disease. I went out for a walk and felt reborn. I’m very truely grateful for this website, subscribed.
My wife is currently stable having survived two resections because of glioblastoma multiform. Her eye sight and memory have taken a serious hit and, being that she’s stable, I’m going to have to do some research to see if we can leverage this one. So long as a possible side effect isn’t kick starting the cancer- any improvement could be a huge win!
In Denmark they are doing clinical trials with psilocybin mushrooms as a treatment for depression. This is the second trial. The first trial had such a powerful result that medical experts predict psilocybin mushrooms will soon be the treatment to go to for depression. (They just need a way to tax it first, I guess)
Well. Looks like the rest of humanity is slowly catching up to what I already knew. So, long story short.. my mother was a doctor, who was heavy into research regarding different kinds of medicines and natural herbs (plants, flowers, mushrooms etc) who has a bunch of books on these kinds of studies. She would spend all night after work looking at only the scientific studies done, the outcome for each. She let me know back in 2006 that there was 2 very cheap and easy to get traditional supplements that actually did do positive things to the human body. 1. Ginkgo Biloba – she says this has been shown to strengthen blood vessels and in some cases actually regrow some vessels (veins) in the extremities of the body like the hands, feet and even deep tissue areas of the brain – which they believe maybe responsible for carrying blood and oxygen into the areas that tend to diminish as you get older, so in effect may slow the ageing process and even slightly reverse cognitive and memory decline. 2. Lion’s Mane Mushroom – all the studies done show conclusive evidence of NGF, neural growth, new connections being made in the brain which again can slow the ageing process and in some cases restore a person’s memory recall and even improve it in healthy subjects. – however the effects seem to completely disappear when you stop taking it, as it can stimulate new nerve growth but will not protect the new nerves from decay or destruction. So it’s only useful if you keep taking it. She died 12 years ago from cancer (no it wasn’t from taking supplements, she never did, she just studied it) and only in recent years has the broader scientific community started finding evidence which basically proved what she found out decades ago.
I’ve been suffering from post viral sequelae syndrome since late 2020 and it has affected my cognition a lot, that includes my memory. Long story short, I went down the supplement rabbit hole and found out about lion’s mane and after doing extensive research I landed on arguably the best company for them on the market which uses an alcohol extraction method and water extraction as well so you get the best of both compounds mentioned in this article. Anyway I really wanted this to work for me and I was really hopeful that I would see some sort of improvement but my experience turned out to be a negative one, after about a week or two I started to not feel the right side of my body and my hearing started to sort of go out. I stopped taking the mushrooms and the sensation on the right side of my body went away, but my hearing didn’t come back. It also seemed to increase my tinnitus which had started along with my illness in 2020. Just posting this out there as a warning for anyone who might need it, be careful when taking lion’s mane as apparently not everyone reacts to it positively.
Correction. Short term memory in the hippocampus of the brain. Then over time the short term becomes long term and then end up in the cerebral cortex of the brain. Which allows you to effortlessly recall and relate things that you are learning. My psychology and med students where u at? Correct me if I am wrong.
They should put this stuff in school lunches to stimulate growth in the brain early on in development for children and maybe help with conditions that make it to where one cannot remember things as well as everyone else. They could put the powdered mushrooms in breads and things like peanut butter and no one would notice.
I read the mentioned Japanese study on humans linked in the description and it is too preliminary to conclude whether the Lion’s Mane Mushroom has a real effect on mental acuity. Firstly, that study was on a small sample size of 31 Japanese people that were 50 years of age and older. Therefore, it is hard to generalize this to the larger population (including non-Japanese) or younger folks. Secondly, the only test where they found a significant difference between the treatment and placebo groups was the “mini mental state examination” (MMSE) test, which is used for dementia diagnosis. There are criticisms on the use of MMSE for dementia diagnosis; even so, this test will not assess any cognitive or mental improvement for healthy individuals without cognitive decline. Taken together, it is still unclear whether such a supplement would have any benefit compared to simply taking a placebo. More studies are needed to make any conclusion on its effectiveness. Personally, I wouldn’t spend money on this: the experiment used 3.2g of powdered fruiting body of the mushroom *per day*, and a cursory look at the prices on Amazon to get that dosage a day isn’t cheap. I would recommend saving your money too.
Note: Only people over 50 years old were tested for Lions Mane’s effectiveness in the Japanese study. (No guarantee it will help in younger people.) A 4-week study showed no improvements, while a 12-week study showed improvements. (Results take time to pay off.) Only orientation to time (What day is it? Month? Weekday? Year? etc.) showed improvement at all. Recall, calculation, creativity, etc. all showed no significant difference. This won’t give you better memory, make you better at math, or anything like that, probably. :-/
What can you say about the substantial subreddit that talks about the (negatively) life-altering side effects (panic attacks, pain for months after taking etc.)? I started taking 1,2g supplement per day a week ago but was ultimately scared away by those people since the probable benefits did not outweigh those possible backlashes for me
Been taking a mix of medicinal mushrooms of Amazon for about a year – in coffeee in morning beer or wine at night and had heavy dreams since a week into it. All three of my kids confirm the dreaming thing – they started well after me. I went from almost no dreams to an adventure every night and I find it slowly strengthened my Memory.
I loved foraging/hunting for bears Comb mushrooms in Alaska! Bears comb/lions mane was allways plentiful near a glacier I lived by and I used to find huge amounts! My breakfast lunch n dinner for 3 months out of the year would always have handfuls of bears comb/lions mane. It got to the point I could smell bears comb/ lions mane 20 yards from my position in the woods and start frantically searching the birch and alder and spruce trees until I found em! Some summers I’d eat at least 50 pounds worth! I ate them raw or sautéed great especially with eggs and another mushroom called shaggy manes! When I had that combo I felt like a king! But I always had to find the bears comb/ lions mane first bc they had a longer preserving time opposed to the shaggy mane that starts to get inky black in a matter of a half hour after separating them from the mycelium… only problem is brown bears loved those mushrooms just as much as I did and would have close encounters with them all the time foraging for those shrooms deep in the woods. Some of the funniest times of my life!
I fist saw these mushrooms in upstate New York, on a hike up Cranberry mountain. I’m into fungi so I took lots of photos and checked my books on fungi out. Discovered they were edible and so good for us, but it’s too cool in my region of Ontario, Canada to grow here. Haven’t found anywhere I can purchase them here. I don’t think they sell them in any stores I’ve ever been in. But I’ll keep trying!
ok So I hate to be the skeptic here but did anyone else actually read the “study from 2019 where participants taking a supplement 4 times a day scored better on a memory test?” (second link from bottom in resources if interested). Its conclusions are wildly inappropriate. Both the tests designed to test memory and cognition showed no difference. In fact, the difference between the supplement and placebo groups actually shrank. The only difference significant between the groups was one factor out of 11 in the mini mental status test. A test that is not designed to do what they used it for. The only factor that “improved,” orientation to time is the least relevant part of the test to support their conclusions. Even if it is a real difference, highly debatable as ability to spit out the current time can very wildly between intelligent people on the best of days, 0.5 points on a 30 point clinical scale is irrelevant. Its also such a short period 3 months that it proves nothing. TLDR version: results of the 2019 study DO NOT even remotely support the claim that mushroom supplements improve cognition or stave off the effects mental disease. I’m not saying they don’t. I’m saying that this study doesn’t prove it.
Mushrooms are amazing. They are so so good for you. We had a dog called Alfie and he had cancer, we were told he only had a few months to live. We get offered many many many options for his treatment and one was mushroom treatment. He loved for over a year more, but lived very well. he was so healthy. I think that they have so much potential to grow and become fundamental not just for eating but for all types of treatments.
At multiple points during the article It’s unclear whether you’re talking about mushrooms in general or specifically lion’s mane mushrooms. The title and certain comments reference a specific mushroom but then you mention a study and say something non specific like “a mushroom rich diet”, for example about halfway through the article.
I used to have a real problem with my feet and fingers going to sleep due to a cancer medication I take. Then, a few months back, I learned about the benefits of various mushrooms and started taking a mushroom supplement. Since then, the problem with my feet and fingers has subsided. While I can’t say for sure it was the mushroom supplement that helped, the two coincided so it is possible.
DO NOT PICK – The lion’s mane is an endangered species of mushroom. H. erinaceus is scarce and threatened and is one of only four fungi to have the highest level of legal protection in the UK, making both picking and sale of the fungus illegal. It was added to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1998.
The hippocampus is only partially the memory center of the brain. It contains the all the maps of real and abstract environments through which mammals navigate when deliberating on decisions. These maps are built out of networks of hippocampal place cells. Memory systems which store the evaluation criteria for those deliberative decisions, and memory systems which support routine, efficient decision-making exist in other brain structures. The basal ganglia is particularly important for creating and storing signal-action pairs and action-action pairs crucial for rapid procedural behaviors.
I wonder what the longterm effects of consumption are. Like, habitual chapstick use actually prompts your lips to produce LESS moisture on its own (catch 22). A similar example of use prompting decline of natural proclivities is a friend took CBD for insomnia for years. When she decided to stop, she noticed just how much her routine had come to depend on the drug. Sleep was once again incredibly difficult, but it’s impossible to know in this anecdote if her insomnia was worse than it was before using cbd.
Dang, I think I just found one of the lion’s mane mushrooms growing on a log a couple days ago. I thought it looked cool and hadn’t seen one before so I took a couple pics, I just assumed it was probably poisonous. So when I saw the thumbnail photo I was like “hey, I recognize that” and immediately clicked to see what it is, that’s cool. Maybe I should go get it and eat it then.
I had a stroke September 28th 2020. It was a very big stroke and I was paralyzed on the right side of my body. I was out of the hospital October 30th 2020. My brother found out about lion’s mane mushroom June 28th 2021 and told me to try some. After doing research I ordered the extract powder from Amazon and 3 days after receiving the extract I took them and 3 days later a huge wave of tingling happened, starting from my arm and in about 4 hours it moved up my shoulder to my neck to my face to the top of my head and to the left side of my head stopping at my temple, that’s the area where I had my stroke. I had no idea what was happening I thought I was going to have another stroke, but that was not the case I just had an anxiety attack because of all the sensation. I stopped taking the lion’s mane extract from July until November 2021. Once I got over all of the strange sensations that are happening in my body I started taking them again in November 2021. Now a little over a year of taking the extract everyday I have feeling sensors everywhere in the right side of my body. Every few hours I feel more of the muscles in my leg, foot, hand, fingertips, face moving and functioning. The extract is regenerating all of my nerves which is what happened when I had my stroke, all of my nerves degenerated. Although it takes a while I know I will be 100% feeling everything on the right side of my body again I say this with confidence because now I can walk by myself (limping) my hand opens and closes, my fingers move, my arm moves around by itself and much more.
Experienced Lion’s Mane user here for 2 years taking it almost every day, it’s some amazing stuff though it can mess with your sleep cycles. Lion’s Mane is a mental unlocker, you’ll have a greater depth to your vocabulary and memories you’re trying to recall will come to you in 2 sec vs sitting there and pondering for 20 sec or not recalling at all. The mental clarity I’ve gained has been a large contributor to my recent success at work over the last few years, I do feel it’s done some sort of mental healing. A few weeks ago though I found myself with insomnia and ceased Lion’s Mane for the time being, funny thing is when you’re on Lion’s Mane it’s like you don’t need as much sleep, 6hr of sleep feels like you’ve had 8hr though it will catch up with you. My recommended regimen: take 1 capsule of Lion’s Mane on an empty stomach followed by Matcha Green Tea for a little caffeine and L-Theanine (these 3 work together wonderfully). Take a break on the weekend unless you need it. IMO there’s a loading phase with Lion’s Mane where you really don’t start to feel the full effects until at least a few days of usage, there are threshold effects upon taking a capsule but you really start to notice how different you feel a week into it. Recommended brand? The Maju Superfood Organics found on Amazon, it’s USA grown and processed, organic, affordable and POTENT. Trust me all it takes is the one capsule, x2 will give you lasers from your eyes. I’ve tried quite a few brands but this one ticks all of the boxes.
The first time I popped a Lions Mane pill (Double Wood Lion’s Mane 1000 mg per dosage); I actually cried! I felt this hairball of anxiety and grief rise up from my belly, and I felt like I had to vomit it out! And it came out of me through a deep, deep sigh and tears from my eyes! That’s when it occurred to me that mushrooms are not just healing our bodies but that it’s about so much more. It’s holistic healing that includes the SOUL. Believe it or not but that’s my experience and I’m eternally grateful to lions mane! 🙏🏼🩷🦁 Note: I pop one pill (500 mg) at a time. AM and PM.
Want to warn everyone to be super careful with these, I took lionsmane mushroom and thought I was getting better I felt smarter, but simultaneously I was loosing all of my friends, I just thought right they’re just not smart enough for me anymore or something like that, anyway a few more weeks go by of me taking this and all of sudden I had the worst depression and anxiety I’ve ever experienced. My voice was far more quiet and the it seemed to hinder the affects of alcohol in my system, one beer and I felt aggressive and I couldn’t listen to anyone or have a normal conversation, 3 months onwards now from talking lionsmane I still don’t feel like myself, I’m now trying to stay sober all the time and I am praying to god everyday that he releases me from the shackles that this mushroom seems to have pinned me down in, I also lost all of my muscle mass and struggle to pick up any heavy amount of weight in the gym, all in all my social skills just declined so rapidly. I know some people have good experiences with this, but please as a black man DO NOT USE ANY FORM OF MUSHROOM TO TRY AND HELP YOU
I live in North Central Indiana and LIONS MAIN and other valuable mushrooms are not sold at your local stores so if I want these I have to purchase them online ( which costs more and takes way more time and makes it inconvenient for when you actually want it. Where is a Good place to Get TOP QUALITY mushrooms ( LIONS MAIN and others )
Found these strange mushrooms a couple years ago and always been partial to trying strange foods and I was shocked at how good these are seared in butter like a steak! Insanely good. Too bad they are so difficult to find but they finally back locally for me. Expensive but honestly just as good as some meats. Do not buy if they turn yellowish or brown especially the flavor diminishes quickly so cook them fresh and hot!
I’m skeptical about these types of remedies, but I started Lions Mane about two years ago after my brother recommended them. It was so effective I thought it was a placebo effect. Between this and working out and eating right, I’m recalling French I learned in the 90s. It’s shocking. I recommend Host Defense brand.
I’m currently designing an informal experiment to test a nasally applied “Amanita Muscaria” decoction as a potential anxiolytic against social anxiety. The mushrooms have to be dried and stored for a few weeks in order to decarboxylate as much of the ibotenic acid to muscimol as possible and to avoid nausea as a side effect. Dose finding could be an issue though – accidentially take too much and you’ve just earned yourself 10-24hrs of hallucinations. The therapeutic range (if there is any) should be somewhere below that…
Yeh been on the lions maine for a couple of years now, i feel like i notice a difference but i havnt really tested it and placebo is powerful. Also took up the dried amanita this year after foraging some, im not sure if the long term benifits but the short term is deff noticable. Both the wife and i get a couple of hours of sharp focus followed by a very comfortable sleep leading to a fantastic mood upon waking. It is meant to have adverse effects in large doses though so make sure you keep it low and do your own research
This is endangered in the UK and illegal to collect: “Edit Hericium erinaceus is scarce and threatened and is one of only four fungi to have the highest level of legal protection in the United Kingdom, making both picking and sale of the fungus illegal. It was added to the Wildlife and Countryside Act 1981 in 1998” Wikipedia. I never saw it in many years of attending mycological society survey forays.
There is a certain species in the same family as Lion’s mane that Chinese vegetarians have supplemented to replace meat (especially Buddhists) for centuries. There is mounds of literature on this. (Am an Australian Medical Doctor with an interest in cognitive enhancement but am not a pharmacist, herbalist or mycologist)
My husband and I go foraging for edible plants and culinary mushrooms. We once found a close relative of the lion’s mane called bear’s head tooth mushroom. It was in perfectly good condition, but when I had some after frying with butter, I had some severe gastric issues. A whole day of gas and diarrhea. My husband was fine, so it must be that I am allergic to that mushroom. I wonder if you can extract the medicinal compounds in these mushrooms to I can get the positive effects without the gastric issues.
Early-Onset dementia runs in my family, but I’m horribly allergic to fungi. I hope scientists manage to identify and purify the effective components of lion’s mane, and get them together, working synergistically, in some kind of oral solution or capsule without the other lion’s mane components that make people like me sick.
Unfortunately, I’m severely allergic to mushrooms. With chefs seemingly obsessed with everything mushroom lately, it’s very difficult for me to be able to look at a menu and just choose something without having to play 20 questions with the waitstaff and usually the chef. Please, mushrooms don’t have to go into everything!! 🙏🏻
Thank you for sharing this shroom science!🍄✨ We just finished developing a 5-in-1 mushroom supplement that includes Lion’s Mane plus 4 other highly impactful mushrooms. For all who are interested in functional mushrooms and wellness, we’d love to have you join us over on our website for the big launch!
can someone help me comprehend this question? so because these cells grow more rapidly and increase size, is there a trend of increased risk that comes as a byproduct of larger, rapidly growing cells that that have already been mutated through the cells’ DNA? basically, is there an increased risk of brain cell replication if the original cell has already been mutated like say, age, chemical reaction, radiation, inheritable disease?
1. Don’t take it every day or you’ll likely experience burnout. 2. Make sure it’s either USDA certified organic or EU certified organic or you might get some that are grown in areas with heavy pollutants. 3. Abdominal discomfort. 4. Skin irritation or rash. 5. Negative reaction with other medications. 6. Reduced blood sugar. 7. Other allergic reactions. His overall suggestion: Give it a shot.
I was severely traumatized years ago as a teenage, got diagnosed with OCD. Spent my whole life fighting OCD. I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Not until my wife recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Much respect to mother nature the great magic shrooms.
I’ve had brain trauma due to a bicycle accident. it took me a year to get back to normal. People have mentioned to me about how some of my short term focus and memory hasn’t been 100% ever since the accident. a few years after the fact, I learned about Lions mane and would take it pure every day. I instantly noticed more focus and overall better brain function. I use to take it with my coffee. a year or so ago, I discovered mudwater and then switched to using that once I realized how much caffeine has affected my gut and how I built a physical addiction to it ( I would get headaches without it ). After switching to mudwater, I’ve noticed that I am now back to where I was when I first started taking Lions mane. At this point in time, I don’t take it every day but I do notice that when I don’t, my brain activity, focus, etc isn’t on top of it’s game. For my day job, I am a product director with a mobile application architect/developer based keystone. So, it’s pretty critical that I am able to function at a high level daily for my daily flow state. I’ve noticed no negatives with lions mane other than vivid dreams. 😛
I’ve been taking 3000mg of lions mane, 2000 after waking and another 1000 around 2pm since Aug 3rd 2023. I have multiple sclerosis and have never in my life felt more cognitively clear. I exercise, drink tons of water and also don’t eat meat or dairy – just the stuff we can grow. I’ll try taking a Saturday off for two months to see if I notice anything – just like how I need rest days from the gym. I get mine from a Canadian company on the west coast. Im ALL for lions mane.
It’s hard to trust people these days when they plug their affiliate link at the end and casually say the product helped them increase their income. Everyone should be doing their own research. Definitely not bad info to consider. It’s just that the speaker’s intentions always become clear at the end of the articles.
Yeah, I noticed I ended up starting to have Lions Mane again, and my Obsessive-Compulsive Disorder has been moderately okay recently, but it’s been flaring up quite a lot. I think most definitely it’s because I’m having it every single day. I need to have a break, so I really appreciate you doing this article.
I could remember several years ago, I suffered severe depression and mental disorder. Was actually diagnosed with BPD. Not until my mom recommended me to psilocybin mushrooms treatment. Psilocybin treatment saved my life honestly. 8 years totally clean. Never thought I would be saying this about mushrooms.
There are no study that have shown any real negative consequences of taking it daily. If you’re experiencing issues with it, you’re probably taking too much and need to lower your daily doses. A very few could be allergic and should avoid it completely in that case. You should consult with a physician if you’re taking other medications it could interfere with. Overall, most people will be fine taking it daily.
I’ve come to learn about lions mane because of mudwtr. I have been thinking of growing my own mushrooms and making them into a tea. The research that I have done is that powder doesn’t give u the health benefits as much as extracts. If i use them as extracts and mix them. Do you think there will be any difference in the side effects?
The most IMPORTANT thing about Lion’s mane is WHERE YOU SOURCE IT FROM. Since it is a mushroom it can contain a ton of pollutants, heavy metals, or even mold. Ensure you do a lot of research and only buy from high quality brands who are completely transparent about how/where it’s grown and show things such as heavy metal test results on their websites. This is why so many people are getting horrible side effects and blaming it on the mushroom itself.
My experiences have been nothing but positive. I regularly have dreams about my past, meeting family and friends and my childhood home. I even met my first dog, Sam again and when I woke up had been crying my eyes out. I always take it at night and can’t speak to whether it boosts memory, focus etc but I love the dreams. To me it’s how you imagined an acid trip being and having reality bending experiences. Love it.
Oh my goodness, this explains so much. I have been waking up exhausted so tired. Then I forgot to take my vitamins for 2 days including the lion’s mane and I have felt great and energetic and doing things I always do. I think I too am reacting to lion’s mane everyday. Thank you so much exclamation point I will try the 5/2 method.
I just stated taking lions mane, I’m probably a few weeks into it, & all of a sudden I feel fatigued & exhausted & have to take a nap, can’t keep my eyes open!! I have never been one to take naps, and after surfing the internet to find out why, I really didn’t find anything, until I came across this article… I am going to stop taking it for a while & see what happens 🤷♀️ I can’t believe the effect it’s had on me … thank you for making this article, it’s a real life saver❤
Bought OM Mushroom Superfood Powder – Lion’s Mane – 60g. I plan to test it out the same way you are taking it 5 days on 2 days off which has really helped with the brain fog, I really process the thought or my mind connecting faster and reading or intaking information is better. thanks for the article summer & ali
I started slowly, taking a teaspoon of lion’s mane distributed here in the US. It’s USDA approved and kosher. That being said, after the first day of taking it, I had a minor psychodelic reaction, so had to go home early from work. Skipped a day and had another psychodelic reaction at work but finished the shift barely anyway. That night I slept for 3 hours and woke up with a reaction again so went back to bed. I’m currently on day 3, not going to take it at all and see what happens. At this point I think I am allergic and the reactions are because of that or maybe mental problems, but I need to function at work, so if needed I will seek out a mental therapist.
I lost my soulmate 31 years ago and I still grieve for her every day although with time it has gotten better – after taking lions mane for a week it has put me back to the immediate years after her passing – memories have come back and particularly my memories of how I felt emotionally in the immediate years – so not sure if this is a good thing for my long term grieving process .
I give up. I just ordered the multi mushroom supplement with turkey tail/lions mane ect.. for a 20 yr old cancer patient. Im desperate to help my friends son. I basically read all of the.comments that it can kills cancer cells and so many were cancer free. thankfully it never arrived today because after researching amazon to why I never got my order. It was out of stock. I definitely would have felt horrible if I did give it to him and it had a bad reaction. Thank you for the good info.
This click bait article is SO confusing. It’s simply throwing a bunch of monkey wrenches into the mix in the name of clicks. Yes, I agree that many Lion’s Mane products can be toxic but this is probably due to the fillers in the product, meaning the problem is not Lion’s Mane, the problem is low quality suppliers. Why do you not talk about the importance of dual extraction (alcohol and hot water) in your article? When you mention stomach discomfort, why do you not mention the fact that Lion’s Mane first and foremost heals the gut and repairs the intestinal lining. Look it up and you will find many clinical studies in the matter. One minute you are ringing the alarm with all the warning ⚠⚠⚠emojis but then low key mentioning how you sell Lion’s Mane. Confusing the market is not a vibe and I wish that your articles were more comprehensive and less fear mongering with a side of capitalism
I like your 5 days on 2 days off, but as an alternative I want to recommend alternating days (1 day on, 1 day off). I alternate days I take it and allow myself to have longer breaks if I’m going out of town, on vacation, etc. so that my *average intake is 3 times a week or less*. I feel that it has maximized positive effects
Like you said ‘too much’…..one can over dose on anything. Thank you for the info on imported products, especially China. Thanks again for mentioning Host Defence. I bought supplements from a Canadian family owned company who blatantly said they import mushrooms from China, needless to say that didn’t help their boast and I buy Host Defence again.
I’m in the sales industry and I take lions mane… and my sale went up I noticed I was more aware, focused, my short term memory for things I had to do were better, and my energy levels went up and I suffer from sleep apnea so I usually wake up tired and when I take lions mane it does wake me up as if I’m rested to the fullest capacity
I take Lion’s Maine everyday for 2 years. I notice a slight improvement, in cognition. But I take it in a certified organic supplement in the USA. Other than that, you know your own body, and buyer beware. I also notice that my deductive reasoning has in improve and a bit more confident. But, like I said, check the product and you know your own body.
How did you come up with the five days on two days off rule for yourself? And where can I find information about burnout associated with lions mane? I have taken lions mane for about two years now(host defense brand). I haven’t noticed any sort of negative side effects. But I have wondered if there may be some long-term negative affects of taking this every single day.
I’ve taken it daily and not really noticed burnout, but definitely tolerance to it. If you take it daily, the mood boost and focus will diminish. That being said, I’ve noticed talk about potential anti androgenic side effects in men. Things like libido issues and such. Never experienced this myself that I know of, but might be worth considering, especially if you’re already on antiandrogenic medication like finasteride.
While taking Lion’s mane it is also very important to know the dosage on the brand you purchase, because the side effects have been linked with taking high doses of it and not knowing, specially with powders or (bad) brands that their instructions say 2g(2000mg) or 4g(4000mg) per day, that’s honestly a lot, also some ppl have been making the mistake of taking more because they feel good with it. According to neuroscientist Robert WB Love the ideal amount per day should be between 250mg-500mg, and for starters 200mg so that’s way low that what some brands are selling out there, also it might have to do with the purity of the lion’s mane because some brands are putting filler in their capsules. Anyways, the one you recommend from Host Defense with the 7 mushrooms looks good because each capsule contain 143mg making it 286 a day if you take 2 like the instructions say.
It ruined my stomach. I only took a tea with some powder from a mushroom shop. I puked and had diarrhea every single hour for a total of 20 times. I passed out, went to the ER and they had never seen my case before… I had an overdose, I could not eat well for weeks. I still have stomach pain, I’m getting migraines constantly and generally very unwell since then. Later, I discovered that it might have different effects in people who have asthma. So be wary.
lions mane was meant to be eaten raw not as a supplement. I’m sorry I was not able to finish your article due to the way it was presented to me. RAW and FRESH is where you can reap the benefits. Please look into growing your own mushrooms. I have eaten wild oysters. and I’m telling you there is a BIG difference in supplements and the real thing. Its for you to decide, not me.
Your problem was that you were sleeping too much. Sleep too much and taking neuroenhancers would cause rapid bias of sensitization, and with your stomach waking up without any food, you definitely felt like you were fatigued and without nutrients, that sounds plausible. Check out the amount of time your stomach retains food before attaining acidity in your diet and the amount of time you sleep consistently will affect your retainable effectiveness. It’s hard to see with the clarity if you’re nutrient malnourished. Anyways, that’s what it seems like. Hope this helps!
I had some tonight the Host Defense Lions Mane mycelium 1/2 in 8 oz water around 5 pm well in 30 minutes I felt great but at the same time I had a headache on the right side of my head and I could feel like my blood pressure dropped because I felt a little short of breath and how I felt, and yet it took my anxiety away by 7pm my headache went away and I completely felt great with a relaxing energy, I got home at 8 9:30 pm checked my blood pressure it was 119/68 pulse 67 my pulse is usually higher like 79 or 85 Do you think I took to much it being my first time taking this powder? Because of me getting a headache and feeling the drop in blood pressure. I bought it at Sprouts Market.
It seems to work great for a lot of people, but unfortunately not for me. I have what I consider a high quality product (Swanson), but daily Lion’s Mane supplementation of 500mg makes me extremely lethargic. I like to think that it’s cause by some improvements being made in my brain just like having sore muscles after a workout, but I just cannot take it on a daily basis. I can barely function in such a state. Not even Modafinil lets me power through that tiredness.
I started taking lions mane in 2000mg tablets form,I have been taking them everyday,im suffering from total burn at the moment,I also thought I had covid again 😂. Everything was going great in the beginning,my memory has improved,my energy levels improved, the I hit a slump around 1 week ago. I’m going to stop taking them for 1 week,hopefully things will go back to normal,thanks for your advice.
For all that I’m perusal, reading and my short experience with lion’s mane, I think it might interact with other conditions to certain people.. the one time I took it, gave me unpleasant symptoms, but I have a genetically impaired detox system (it is believed 1 in 4 ppl worldwide does) and lived in a moldy environment, so have heavy load of mycotoxicity, plus a burden of heavy metals.. I’m ready to try lion’s mane again, and see what happens, but the bad symptoms for some, might be related to an interferring condition..