Summary

What are adaptogenic mushrooms and how can they benefit your long-term wellness goals? Learn more about Lion's mane, Cordyceps, and Reishi in this guide.

Adaptogens are a class of herbs and fungi that help your body adapt to stress. They have been used for centuries in Eastern medicine and are gaining popularity in Western medicine as well.

In this article, we’ll explore what adaptogenic mushrooms are and how they work. We’ll also detail three types of adaptogenic mushrooms and how they compare with each other. Finally, we’ll help you decide if you should add adaptogenic mushrooms to your diet!

How Do Adaptogens Work?

Adaptogens help the body adapt to stress. Stress can be physical, mental, or emotional and is often a result of our daily life. The way we respond to stress depends on many factors: genetics, gender, lifestyle, and even our environment. The main function of an adaptogen is to help balance these responses so that the body can deal with them in a healthy way.

A common cause of stress is fatigue caused by overwork or poor sleep habits. Adaptogens can help with this because they increase energy levels by regulating cortisol levels in the body (cortisol is also known as “the stress hormone”). Another benefit of adaptogens is that they improve sleep quality by increasing melatonin production at night time—which leads us to another benefit …

Adaptogens help us to have better quality sleep. This is because they increase serotonin levels in the body, which helps us relax and feel happier. And when we feel happy, we are more likely to fall asleep quicker at night!

Adaptogens are also great for boosting the immune system and reducing inflammation in the body. This makes them a great option for those who suffer from chronic pain or have had surgery recently. One of the ways that adaptogens can help with both of these issues is by increasing our energy levels – which helps us get through long days at work or exercise sessions.

The best way to take adaptogens is in a format that works for you. That might be tea, capsules, tinctures, or our favorite—chocolate! The recommended dosage varies depending on which individual herb you are taking, but it’s usually around 200 milligrams per day. If you decide to try an adaptogen for the first time, then start with a low dose (maybe half of the recommended amount) and work your way up from there!

What is Lion’s Mane?

Lion’s Mane is a medicinal mushroom that grows on wood. It is not a mushroom you will find in most grocery stores, but it can be found in certain health food stores or online. The Lion’s Mane mushroom is not a hallucinogenic mushroom; it does not contain any psilocybin or other similar alkaloids. In fact, the Lion’s Mane mushroom has been used for centuries as both a medicinal and culinary herb by the Chinese and Japanese people.

Lion’s Mane mushrooms are used to treat cognitive impairments such as Alzheimer’s disease, dementia, and memory loss due to aging or stress. They also help with peripheral nerve injuries from stroke or diabetes because of their antioxidant properties, which aid cell regeneration while increasing circulation throughout the body, including brain cells that produce neurotransmitters like dopamine which affect mood balance through chemical reactions in our bodies.

What are the Benefits of Lion’s Mane?

The Lion’s Mane mushroom has been shown to help with anxiety, depression, and insomnia. Lion’s Mane can also improve brain function. This mushroom can help reduce inflammation by lowering the level of pro-inflammatory molecules in the body, such as NF-kappaB and TNF-alpha.

You might be wondering what makes this mushroom so powerful. Well, it’s mainly due to its beta-glucans which are polysaccharides that could be responsible for many of its health benefits, including boosting immune function and fighting cancer cells in your body!

Lion’s mane helps to restore and repair the myelin sheath and encourages the Nerve Growth Factor (NGF). This is how our bodies produce new nerve cells.

What is Cordyceps?

Cordyceps is a genus of ascomycete fungi that includes about 400 species. It’s known to grow on caterpillars, which is where it gets its name. The fungus infects the insect and grows through its body until the mushroom emerges from its head.

The most common use for cordyceps is to boost immunity, which makes sense when you consider how many immune cells are in our bodies—roughly 80 percent of them lie in our gut, lungs, and skin!

Cordyceps has been used traditionally in Chinese medicine for several centuries as an anti-inflammatory agent. It’s also been studied clinically: In one study published in 2013 by scientists at Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, patients with type 2 diabetes were given either 1 g daily of cordyceps extract or a placebo over 24 weeks; after 12 weeks, they had no significant difference between groups, but at 24 weeks those who took cordyceps had lower blood sugar levels than those taking placebo.

What Are the Benefits of Cordyceps?

Cordyceps is a medicinal mushroom that has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries. Like many other mushrooms, Cordyceps is also known as caterpillar fungus because it grows on the bodies of insects, who then become part of the mushroom’s fruiting body. The most commonly used form of cordyceps is Cs-4, which was discovered in Tibet and can be taken daily to boost energy levels and overall vitality.

Cordyceps has been shown to help with breathing issues such as asthma or bronchitis, fatigue after exercise or intense mental activity (which can be caused by stress), high cholesterol levels (hypercholesterolemia), liver disease caused by alcohol consumption, chronic kidney disease (CKD) due to diabetes mellitus type 1 or 2 along with proteinuria (protein in urine). 

Cordyceps is also known to breakdown amyloid plaque to restore neural connections and heal neural pathways.

What is Reishi?

Reishi is a type of polypore mushroom that grows on trees in Asia. It’s been known since ancient times as the “mushroom of immortality,” and can be found in traditional Chinese medicine as well as Ayurvedic practices.

Reishi mushrooms are believed to boost immune system function, aid in digestion and absorption of nutrients, reduce inflammation and help with blood sugar regulation.

The active compounds in Reishi mushrooms include triterpenes and polysaccharides (a kind of sugar), which are associated with many health benefits, including boosting brain function and alleviating pain.

What Are the Benefits of Reishi?

Reishi can be used to help with sleep disorders, such as insomnia and restlessness. Reishi contains triterpenes, which are compounds that have been linked to anti-inflammatory effects. It also has a number of antioxidants, such as quercetin and gallic acid. These compounds make Reishi useful for preventing cancer growth, reducing “bad” cholesterol levels in the blood, lowering blood pressure levels, and protecting against heart disease.

Reishi can be used to counter the impact of stress on your body by reducing cortisol levels. When you’re stressed out, your body produces more cortisol than usual—which makes it difficult for you to maintain normal mental function or physical health. By taking Reishi regularly over time, this supplement may improve how well your brain responds during stressful situations.

Boost Your Wellness With Adaptogenic Mushrooms

If you’re looking for a way to improve your health and wellness, adaptogenic mushrooms are an option that may work well for you. Adaptogenic mushrooms can help lower cortisol levels and boost energy, which translates into better sleep quality at night and better focus during the day.

Adaptogenic mushrooms are a great way to enhance your health and wellness routine. They can help boost your immune system, improve cognitive function and mood, increase energy levels, and even aid in weight loss. No matter what type of mushroom you choose to use (and there are many!), it will give your body some much-needed support that goes beyond just one part of your life.