Lion’s Mane Mushroom for Brain Health
It’s no secret that Lion’s Mane is my adaptogen of choice. It’s essentially a part of my every morning — in my smoothies, in my matcha, or both. And while I am so eager to tell you all the magic that this fungi contains and why you may want to bring it into your life, I first want to tell you how it came into mine.
It began with memory loss. There was a time when I was experiencing alarming levels of memory loss and an inability to focus because, fun fact, our stress hormone cortisol eats away at the part of the brain that plays a critical roll in memory (the hippocampus).
The interesting thing was that when I first started having these cognitive issues, I wasn’t particularly stressed. Or so I thought.
We have this idea that stress is about our work, money, feeling over extended, getting too little sleep and running around like a chicken with it’s head cut off, as one does in America. But stress can also be physiological, and anything that threatens homeostasis will trigger the stress response. A few examples of physiological stressors are blood sugar crashes, inflammation, sleep deprivation and over exercising.
While I wasn’t over extended with responsibilities, I had become addicted to working out, specifically indoor cycling classes. If you want to jack up your cortisol levels, I have a tried and true recipe >> do high intensity workouts every day. Don’t take rest days. Restrict your calories. Skip meals so your blood sugar crashes. And then wake up and do it the next day, and the next, and the next… It’s hardly a rare story for any women trying to live up to society’s standards.
The bottom line is that stress, regardless of the source (physiological or psychological, real or perceived) increases cortisol, and chronically high levels of cortisol damages the brain.
My reason for taking Lion’s Mane is no longer just about memory, that issue has since been resolved, but the memory scare made me aware of just how essential brain health is so I continue to take it to optimize brain function today and prevent degeneration in the future.
I do this alongside dietary and lifestyle changes like eating brain supporting nutrients, managing stress, optimizing sleep, lowering my exposure to toxins in my home and food, moving my body, and practicing mediation. To name a few. Because as much as Lion’s Mane is as close as you’ll get to a magic pill, it’s supplemental not a replacement for a brain supportive diet and lifestyle.
How Lion’s Mane Nourishes the Brain
Lion’s Mane (Hericium Erinaceus) is an adaptogenic mushroom that is mostly known for its ability to support brain function. It’s said that it’s been used for thousands of years by Buddhist monks to strength brain power and improve focus during meditation.
One of the key reasons that Lion’s Mane is such a powerful superfood for the brain is because of it’s ability to effectively increase Nerve Growth Factor (NGF) 1. NGF plays a significant roll in the maintenance, survival and regeneration of neurons.
NGF is influential on the brain in many ways, from maintaining overall brain function to helping brain cells grow and repair, thus preventing/reducing neurological degeneration and possibly repairing damage caused by head injuries.
Lion’s Mane is especially supportive of neurogenesis (the process by which new neurons are formed in the brain) in the hippocampus. The hippocampus is the area of the brain that is responsible for turning short term memory into long term memory, so it’s no wonder Lion’s Mane is most often thought of as a memory enhancing fungi.
Below are the possible benefits of Lion’s Mane on the brain, much of which can be attributed to NGF and neurogenesis:
Supports Memory, Focus, Mental Clarity and Overall Cognition
May Prevent Brain Degeneration
May Prevent Progression of Alzheimer’s
May Prevent Progression of Parkinson’s
May Improve Cognitive Impairment
May Aid in the Recovery of Brain Injuries
May Ease Anxiety and Depression
How I Consume Lion’s Mane
FRESH: Lion’s mane can be eaten in it’s whole form (cooked), just like any other edible mushroom. That is if you’re lucky enough to find it in the woods. I heard a rumor that you can sometimes find it in a grocery store but I’ve never seen it, even in the boujiest of health food stores in Los Angeles.
My favorite way to enjoy it has been on pizza with homemade pesto, or in egg scrambles. But alas, that only happens in the winter months, which brings me to:
POWDER FORM: This is how I have it daily. I add it to smoothies, matcha, cacao tonics, bliss balls, porridge and soups. My husband also enjoys it in his coffee.
Lion’s Mane in powder form is incredibly mild, more so than other mushroom powders so you’ll hardly notice it, if at all.
My favorite powder is by Fresh Cap Mushrooms. What I love about this company is how they source their mushrooms — they use only the fruiting body (the part you see above ground), rather than mycelium (fine filaments underground) which is far less medicinal. They also test every batch and value quality over quantity. Use the code “BLEUE” for 10% off any of their mushroom products.
CAPSULE: The other option is capsules. Personally, I don’t use capsules often because it’s less cost effective, but if the thought of mixing up mushroom potions in the kitchen doesn’t appeal to you then maybe capsule is your thing. But seriously, just add it to a smoothie. So easy peasy. If you’re not one to make smoothies, get on that bb! It’s the easiest and quickest way to pack in a whole lot of nutrients.
Foraging
Now I’ll leave you with a peek at foraging for mushrooms with my dad this year. He’s the one who taught me all I know about foraging, a tradition that has been passed down from generation to generation. There is nothing quite like a day spent in the woods, with hushed voices, surrounded by nature’s purest sounds. All the while, on a wild and primal treasure hunt.
A collection of yellow feet, candy caps and hedgehog mushrooms.
The darling of the foray, the hedge hog mushroom.
My dad and the joy of just finding a Lion’s Mane mushroom. Lion’s Mane mushroom typically grows on dead and decaying wood, we have however found it on a living tree before, just once.
A very fresh and healthy sized bloom of oyster mushrooms
This year we found fewer mushrooms than usual, but we did come across more oyster mushrooms than we could ever eat. But even if we were to return home without a single mushroom, it would be a day well spent. That’s part of the magic of hunting for mushrooms, it’s mostly about the experience.
Red Belted Conk mushroom, similar to reishi. Some experts argue it has even greater medicinal properties than reishi.
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End Notes: Lion’s Mane is known to be very safe (unless you are allergic to mushrooms) but always do your own research. From what I understand, there currently are no human studies examining the side effects of lion’s mane mushroom. There are however studies on rats, which showed no adverse side effects.
As always, this article is for informational purposes only and is not personal medical advice. Full disclaimer here.