Anyone who is familiar with some of the oldest and most effective natural supplements know that certain types of mushrooms comprise a large portion of them.
While there are several types of fungi that one can consume for health and wellness reasons, Lion’s Mane is one of the most versatile in the world.
Lion’s Mane has been the subject of many promising trials and research groups over the last few decades, but revelations of its benefits are nothing new, as its use dates back hundreds of years.
Below, we’ll go over all of the essential aspects you need to know about this amazing mushroom, including some of its effects on various areas of your body.
What Is Lion’s Mane?
Lion’s Mane is certainly a mushroom by all definitions, but to most, it really doesn’t look like one when it’s fully grown. As the name indicates, Lion's Mane has a long, flowing appearance, often growing on hardwoods and leaving a long, flowing, shaggy “mane” of fungi in a bright white color.
The scientific name of Lion’s Mane is hericium erinaceus, and it belongs to what’s known as the tooth fungus group. It’s also sometimes called the monkey head mushroom, bearded tooth mushroom, and pom pom — for obvious reasons.
Unlike some other beneficial mushrooms, Lion’s Mane is edible, and can be prepared in a number of ways, with tea being one of the most popular. It has a slight seafood taste with earthy overtones when eaten raw or cooked.
Supplement forms of Lion’s Mane are typically made from a fine, concentrated powder that’s either mixed into food, or taken in pill form.
In terms of location, Lion’s Mane can be found in several different parts of the world, including North America, Europe, and Asia. Summer and late fall are the best times to find this mushroom, especially on beechwood.
For those wondering about its organic chemistry, Lion’s Mane contains several polysaccharides, including B-glucan, heteroglycans, and heteroxylans, as well as several cyathane derivative diterpenoids known as hericenones and erinacines. More on those last two in a moment.
Health Benefits Of Lion’s Mane
As mentioned earlier, Lion’s Mane has a wide range of benefits for your body, but the primary effects revolve around the nervous system and brain health.
Lion’s Mane For Dementia
Dementia is a common occurrence with elderly individuals, and is essentially a more drastic form of the cognitive decline one can experience when growing older. Part of this comes from the fact that the brain loses its ability to sustain and form new connections in old age.
Lion’s Mane contains hericenones and erinacines, which are two compounds that can actually stimulate the growth of brain cells.
In addition to brain cell growth, Lion’s Mane has also been shown to prevent the buildup of amyloid-beta plaques, something thought to be responsible for Alzheimer’s Disease.
That’s not all. A study conducted on older adults with slight mental impairment found that those who took Lion’s Mane for over four months received an improvement in mental functioning.
Further studies are set to explore these benefits even further, but all signs are very promising in the meantime.
Lion’s Mane For Anxiety And Depression
Depression is a condition that affects of 1/3rd of the world’s population to some degree, a fact that’s resulted in a market flooded with pharmaceuticals, snake-oil supplements, and a variety of random treatments that may not achieve the results desired.
There are a lot of contributing factors for depression, but one of the main ones seems to stem from chronic inflammation. Lion’s Mane has been shown to have strong anti-inflammatory properties.
Not hard to see where this is going.
It goes a bit further than that, however. Lion’s Mane can also help regenerate brain cells in the hippocampus region of the brain. Why does that matter? Well, the hippocampus is the part of the brain responsible for generating emotional responses.
Lion’s Mane For Heart Health
Heart-related illnesses remain one of the most lethal in the world, responsible for a large percentage of deaths, and also decreased health in general. Many of the issues responsible for heart conditions come from being obese, unhealthy levels of triglycerides, and cholesterol.
Lion’s Mane can help on all of these fronts.
Not only has Lion’s Mane been shown to improve metabolism of fats in the body, it an also lower the levels of triglycerides present. This can lead to faster weight loss, and less triglycerides in your system.
High levels of cholesterol are a major cause of heart problems, since cholesterol can form on the walls of your arteries, restricting blood flow and increasing your risk of a cardiac event.
Lion’s Mane can help oxidize blood, which reduces the chances of cholesterol forming this dangerous buildup in your arteries. And thanks to the hericenone in Lion’s Mane, it can also reduce blood clotting.
All of these heart benefits from a single type of mushroom.
Other Benefits Of Lion’s Mane
These are not the only potential health benefits of this amazing fungi. Other effects include the speeding of recovery from nervous system injuries, digestive tract health, management of diabetes symptoms, cancer-fighting properties, and boosting of the immune system.
Possible Side Effects Of Lion’s Mane
Another great aspect of Lion’s Mane is its complete lack of adverse effects. The only people who will experience any problems with Lion’s Mane are people who are allergic to mushrooms.
Conclusion
Although it is a bit of an odd-looking mushroom, Lion’s Mane has earned its reputation as one of the most useful natural supplements on the planet, period. Even a small amount taken on a regular basis can yield tangible results in your daily life.
If you are yet to give it a try, it may time to change that.