What Is Lion’s Hair? A Newbie’s Overview to This Mushroom’s Recovery Properties
Mushrooms are having a moment. The global mushroom market was valued at a massive $50.3 billion in 2021 and also is expected to grow nearly 10 percent per year until 2030, according to a market evaluation record by Grand Sight Research.
One lions mane mushroom supplement making its means into the spotlight is the appropriately named lion’s mane (likewise called hedgehog mushroom). It’s a huge, white, shaggy mushroom that looks like a full-grown lion’s hair, and while it’s not the most beautiful fungus available, individuals are mixing it into soups, brewing it into teas, taking it in tinctures, and also ingesting it in capsule type, all in hopes of enjoying its numerous possible health and wellness advantages.
History of Lion’s Hair
” Lion’s mane, also understood officially as Hericium erinaceus, is an edible fungi that has actually been utilized in East Asia for centuries as food and also medicine,” states Monique Richard, a registered dietitian-nutritionist in Johnson City, Tennessee, as well as an agent for the Academy of Nourishment and also Dietetics.
In Chinese as well as Japanese clinical systems, lion’s mane is traditionally used to fortify the spleen, nourish the digestive tract, and, currently, to deal with cancer, per a term paper published March 2017 in the Journal of Restorative Medication.
Because of its effects on the central nervous system, lion’s hair is also made use of in typical Chinese medicine for sleeplessness and also muscular tissue weakness– signs and symptoms of low qi (life power pressure), according to the same paper.
Just how Lion’s Mane Functions
Several handy plant substances can be discovered in the lion’s mane fruiting bodies (the part we acknowledge as the mushroom) and also mycelium (the mushroom’s root-like framework).
” Lion’s hair includes a number of compounds that may have useful results on the body, including antioxidants, anti-inflammatory representatives, and nerve development factors,” states Lindsay Delk, RDN, based in Houston, who specializes in the connection in between food and mental wellness.
The active components in lion’s mane include polysaccharides, erinacines, hericerins, steroids, alkaloids, and lactones. “These components aid safeguard the body from damages triggered by complimentary radicals and swelling, and they [help to] promote the development as well as regrowth of afferent neuron,” Delk claims.
Specifically, lion’s mane has been linked with stimulating a protein referred to as nerve development factor (NGF). “Nerve growth aspect is necessary for mind health and wellness as well as neuron conductivity,” Richard claims. Nerve cell conductivity refers to the ability of nerves to transfer impulses with the nerve system.
Lion’s mane is also made use of to sustain heart and immune wellness. “The polysaccharides might be the helpful elements in supporting cardio and immune health, but a number of the bioactive substances with each other contribute to the possible advantages,” Richard says.
Where to Locate Lion’s Hair Mushrooms
There are two primary groups of lion’s hair: food and also supplements.
As a food, lion’s mane mushrooms frequently expand on dead as well as decaying trees throughout The United States and Canada, Europe, as well as Asia, generally in late summertime and also loss, according to Forest Wild animals.
You can additionally buy lion’s hair in supplement kind: pill, liquid, tablet, or powder.
Fresh lion’s hair and also lion’s hair supplements can be discovered online and also in natural food as well as supermarket.
Possible Advantages of Lion’s Mane
This fungus can bring lots of prospective health and wellness benefits to your diet. Here are a few significant ones.
May Improve Mind Feature
One noteworthy benefit of lion’s hair is its effect on the brain. Past research study located that lion’s hair mushrooms have hericenones and also erinacines, 2 compounds that may stimulate the development of brain cells in the lab.
May Help Lower Clinical Depression as well as Anxiety
Lion’s hair decreases swelling, which might assist reduce anxiety, Delk says. Writers of an evaluation published in December 2019 in the International Journal of Molecular Sciences of laboratory and also preliminary studies on the results of lion’s mane on the brain and also state of mind in a handful of patients wrote they felt it had promise as an effective treatment for clinical depression as well as urged additional research.
May Assistance Digestive Wellness
Research done on test tube examples and mice suggests that lion’s hair might stop the expansion of H. pylori, a bacteria that can have negative effects on the digestive tract cellular lining. Study on humans is required for researchers to completely recognize the effect of lion’s hair mushrooms on our gastrointestinal system.
Lion’s Mane Security and also Side Consequences
As a whole, fresh lion’s hair lugs couple of dangers. 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.