Where to Find and How to Take Lion's Mane Mushrooms for Health

What is Lion's Mane Mushroom?

Lion's mane mushroom, also known as Hericium erinaceus or pom pom mushroom, is an edible mushroom native to North America, Europe, and Asia. Often characterized by its long cascading white tendrils, lion's mane has been used in traditional Chinese medicine for centuries.

In recent years, lion's mane mushroom has been gaining popularity in the west for its numerous health benefits. It contains bioactive compounds like hericenones and erinacines which are linked to stimulating nerve growth factor (NGF). NGF is a protein that plays a key role in maintaining and regenerating neurons.

Potential Health Benefits of Lion's Mane

Some of the potential health benefits associated with lion's mane mushroom include:

• Supports cognitive function and memory
• Protects against dementia and neurological decline
• May combat depression and anxiety
• Anti-inflammatory effects that could alleviate inflammation-related conditions
• Immune-boosting properties

Let's explore where you can find and how to take lion's mane mushroom to leverage its neuroprotective and brain-boosting potential.

Where to Find Lion's Mane Mushrooms

Growing Your Own

For the adventurous mycologists out there, you can try growing lion's mane mushroom at home. It grows on hardwood logs and sawdust in subtropical environments. You'll need mushroom plug dowels, a grow kit, or a liquid culture syringe to start your lion's mane harvest.

You can find lion's mane mushroom spawn plugs from specialty mushroom supply stores. Insert these wooden dowels into drilled holes of a log source like oak or beech. The mycelium fungus will colonize the log and fruition over the next several months.

Other options like all-in-one mushroom grow bags with substrate or liquid cultures allow growing lion's mane with less hands-on work. Just follow the growing instructions for your particular climate.

Foraging for Wild Lion's Mane

If you happen to live in a forested area of the Northern hemisphere, foraging for lion's mane in the wild during late summer and fall is an option. Look for old or dying hardwood trees like oak, beech, birch, and maple.

You'll often spot lion's mane mushroom emerging from tree wounds, rotting bark, or wood cracks. It distinguishes itself with dangling white strands rather than the smooth caps more typical of gilled mushrooms.

Purchase from Farmers Markets and Gourmet Grocers

More and more small-scale farmers and ecologically-minded food stores now carry fresh and dried lions mane mushroom.

Farmers markets can be an excellent place to locate artisanal growers selling sustainably harvested lions mane. Some grocery stores and food co-ops will also stock lion's mane, often as part of exotic mushroom variety packs.

Buy Lion's Mane Supplements Online or In-Store

However, the most convenient and cost-effective means of getting lions mane on a regular basis is through supplements.

Both encapsulated powders and liquid extracts made from the mushroom fruiting body, mycelium biomass, or both are widely available. Youll often see hot water or alcohol/ethanol used for extraction.

Quality supplements showcase the supplement facts, product testing for accuracy, organic certification, cGMP compliance, sustainable sourcing policies, and manufacturing transparency.

You can purchase reputable brands online through major retailers like Amazon, Walmart, CVS, Walgreens, and Vitamin Shoppe's websites. Brick-and-mortar shops for these chains as well as smaller vitamin stores and nutrition shops also frequently carry lions mane capsules and tinctures.

How to Take Lion's Mane

Lion's Mane Food Preparation

Fresh or dried lions mane mushrooms have a seafood-like flavor often described as similar to crab or lobster. They work well in dishes calling for shellfish as a tasty vegan alternative.

Common preparation methods for fresh lion's mane mushrooms include sauting in butter or olive oil, baking, steaming, or breading and frying. You can incorporate dried lion's mane mushroom pieces into soups, rice dishes, veggie burgers, meatless balls, and stir fries. Reconstitute them by soaking in hot water first to regain the original texture.

Lion's Mane Supplement Dosage Recommendations

Unless following the instruction of your doctor, most lions mane supplement bottles will list something along the lines of:

• Capsules: Take 2 capsules once or twice daily.
• Liquid extracts: Use a dropper to take 0.5-1mL once or twice daily.

Always start on the lower end when trying a new lion's mane product and work upwards slowly. Take lions mane supplements with food whenever possible.

For best absorption and efficacy, take lion's for at least 8-12 weeks continuously before reassessing your dosage or cycling off temporarily according to the bottles cycling recommendations.

Safety and Side Effects

Available research indicates lions mane mushroom is very safe when consuming typical edible amounts found in food or the amounts found in supplements.

However, a small subset of people may experience temporary digestive upset and diarrhea when taking lion's mane. Reduce your dosage or stop completely if this happens.

Due to potential effects on immune activity, avoid lion's mane mushroom in medicinal amounts if taking immunosuppressant medications prescribed after an organ transplant for example.

As with introducing any new medicinal food or supplement into your regimen, consult your physician before starting on lions mane mushroom if pregnant, breastfeeding, or currently managing a serious health condition with other medications.

Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute medical advice. Always consult with a healthcare professional before starting any new treatment regimen.