Are you looking for ways to boost your health and well-being in ? If you haven’t yet, incorporating functional mushrooms into your life is an easy and effective way to get proactive about your health – and best of all, it doesn’t take much effort to get started.
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But how does functional mushrooms work, and how can you be sure your chosen mushroom supplement is as effective as the marketing promises? In this article, we’ll give you a crash course in how functional mushrooms work, what to look for in an effective supplement, and a quick checklist for getting the most out of your functional mushrooms.
We live in a stressful, polluted world, and while you might be used to it, your body still feels the effects. Stress, as well as things like air pollution, cigarette smoke, and various medications release compounds called free radicals in your body.
Free radicals are compounds that attack molecules in various parts of your body, causing oxidative stress – and over time, this may lead to cell damage and a range of degenerative health conditions. In short, free radicals and oxidative stress has a negative impact on your general health and well-being, and may lead to larger health issues down the line if left unchecked.
However, antioxidants and adaptogens can help the body to fight free radicals and thus improve your general well-being. Antioxidants are found in many fruits and vegetables, and those with the most concentration of beneficial nutrients and antioxidants are often referred to as superfoods.
Functional mushrooms are considered superfoods – in fact, they’re some of the best. Also known as adaptogenic mushrooms, functional mushrooms are jam-packed full of powerful antioxidants and nutrients that boost your immune system, help fight free radicals, and improve your overall well-being.
If you want to dig into the research behind functional mushrooms and their proven effects, check out this comprehensive guide to research studies on the effects of mushrooms like Reishi, Turkey Tail, Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, Chaga and Maitake.
Now that we’re clear on why you should make functional mushrooms part of your healthy habits in , let’s dig into how to find quality mushroom supplements that actually work.
The fact is, not all mushroom supplements are created equal. But when wading through the range of brands and products online, all claiming to be the best, it’s difficult to know which supplements actually work and why. So, what makes a mushroom supplement effective? Here’s what to look for before buying.
When we speak about mushrooms, we often talk about the mycelium and the fruiting body. The fruiting body is the part of the mushroom that you can see – the traditional cap and stem, if you will. The mycelium is the connected network of spores that grow underground, as a type of root system.
To get the most out of your functional mushrooms, you want a supplement packed with as many beneficial nutrients and antioxidants as possible, which is why it’s important to check if a supplement is made only from the mycelium, the fruiting body, or both. In most adaptogenic mushrooms, you’ll find majority of the beneficial compounds in the fruiting body, and any quality mushroom supplement will contain at least some of the fruiting body.
However, it’s a common misconception that mycelium is entirely useless and only included as filler. There are actually many beneficial compounds in the mycelium too, and these adaptogens may differ from the adaptogens in the fruiting body. In other words, if your supplement contains only the fruiting body, you may miss out on some of the benefits found in the mycelium. The best supplements will contain both, to give you as wide a range of antioxidants and adaptogens as possible.
There are also some sustainability considerations for supplements that only use the fruiting body – learn more about ethical and sustainable mushroom sourcing here.
The beneficial compounds you want from your adaptogenic mushrooms are locked away tight inside their cell walls, which are made from chitin – it’s an organic polymer that is stronger than cellulose, and impossible for your body to break down on its own.
This is important, because a supplement that simply grinds a mushroom into a powder may contain all of the beneficial compounds you’re looking for, but they’re still a waste – your body won’t be able to absorb them. Instead, you should opt for mushroom supplements that have extracted the adaptogens from inside the mushrooms to make them bioavailable.
Some of the nutrients in functional mushrooms are water-soluble, while others are alcohol-soluble. This is why you should always opt for supplements using a double-extraction method, meaning they extract nutrients using both alcohol and water. Otherwise, you may not get the full effect of your mushroom of choice.
Mug on bedside table with mushroom-infused hot drink.
Saying your supplements are effective is one thing – proving it is another. Any mushroom supplier worth their salt will third-party test their final product’s nutrient density, to ensure that the quality remains high and consistent, and that they can actually deliver the benefits they promise.
Most commonly, companies will (and should) test their supplements for beta-glucans, a highly beneficial compound found in the cell walls of mushrooms. Beta-glucans boost the immune system, improve heart health, and a variety of other important functions in your body.
If you ask your supplier, the test results should be available for you to see, so be wary of a company that doesn’t test their products' nutrient density or hesitate to share the results.
How much are you getting per serving? It should be clearly listed on any supplement how many mg of extract it contains per serving, so that you know you’re eating enough per day to get the desired effect.
Most studies testing the efficiency of functional mushrooms have test subjects consuming between -mg of extract per day, and it’s generally agreed that less than 500mg of extract per day won’t give any real results.
Apart from the nutrient efficiency of your mushroom supplements, it’s important to look for organic and clean products that have been produced and harvested sustainably. Mushrooms easily absorb toxins in their surroundings, and if grown in poorly controlled environments they may contain heavy metals, pesticides, and other pollutants that you don’t want anywhere near your body.
Want to learn how to find non-toxic, sustainable, and ethical mushroom supplements? Check out this article that deep-dives on mushroom production and clean sourcing.
If you’re ready to start incorporating functional mushrooms into your healthy habits, there are a couple of things to bear in mind so you actually reap the benefits from your efforts.
As you can tell from above, not all mushroom supplements are created equal, so do your research and choose one that is truly effective, clean of any toxins, and that supports your personal health goals and needs.
Different mushrooms contain different adaptogens, and are typically used for different health-boosting effects – for instance, Lion’s mane is best known for focus and brain health, while Reishi is best known for its calming effects. If you’re unsure about which mushrooms are best suited for the effects you’re looking for, check out this guide to functional mushrooms and their proven effects.
It’s simple math – if you don’t consume enough adaptogens, you’re not going to get the effect you’re hoping for. So make sure to pick a supplement that is rigorously tested for its nutrient efficiency, and that it contains enough mg of extract per serving.
Most studies measuring the effects of adaptogenic mushrooms look at subjects consuming between mg and mg of extract per day – to see real results, you should try to consume at least mg of extract per day, but anything below 500mg is unlikely to get you results.
Consistent consumption is an important key to see results from adaptogenic mushrooms. Just like with vitamins, if you stop eating them, their effects wane. Free radicals are consistently released in the body, and so adaptogens must also be consistently consumed – they’re not stored up for life, but used up as fuel for your body.
Research finds that it usually takes about two weeks of consistent consumption before you start to feel the effects of functional mushrooms. It also finds that if you stop eating them for a longer period of time, their effects cease.
If you’re looking for a way to incorporate functional mushrooms into your daily life, coffee is one of the easiest and most delicious ways to go about it. Coffee is already a natural part of your life, so you don’t need to add on yet another thing to your routine to enjoy the benefits of functional mushrooms – all you need to do is switch up your beans.
Even better, coffee infused with functional mushrooms is kinder on sensitive stomachs, and can relieve the jitters and caffeine crashes that so many of us struggle with. This is because the antioxidants in functional mushrooms can balance out the effects of caffeine and acidity in your body – in other words, switching to mushroom coffee is healthier and makes you feel better.
If you’re looking for a quality mushroom coffee to try, look no further than Peak State Coffee. Our coffees are 100% organic, Fair trade certified, and shade-grown for maximum sustainability and nutrient efficiency.
It’s also the world’s first whole bean coffee infused with functional mushrooms, through our unique, patented infusion process. We use both mycelium and fruiting body from U.S. grown mushrooms, a double-extraction method, and third-party test all our products for beta glucans. Each 8oz cup of Peak State coffee contains 500mg of mushroom extract, to ensure you get enough throughout the day to get the desired effects.
If you are looking for more details, kindly visit Wholesale Mushroom Powder.
Curious to give it a try? Get a free sample of your preferred roast shipped right to your front door, or try our variety pack to see which roast and flavor suits you best!
When looking for effective mushroom supplements, there are a few key things to put on your checklist. A quality mushroom supplement should consist of at least part of the mushroom’s fruiting body, but preferably both fruiting body and mycelium. The mushrooms should be double-extracted to ensure the beneficial adaptogens can be absorbed by your body, and the supplier should third-party test their final products for beta-glucans as well as toxins.
For more considerations about ethical and clean mushroom sourcing, check out this article that deep-dives into mushroom sourcing and its pitfalls.
To get the most out of functional mushrooms, make sure you’re getting about mg of mushroom extract per day or more – anything less than 500mg won’t yield any real results.
Consistent, daily consumption is also key – like with vitamins, if you stop consuming them, the effect wanes.
If you’re looking to incorporate functional mushrooms into your healthy habits in , coffee infused with functional mushroom extract is one of the best ways to do it. Most likely, coffee is already part of your daily routine, so you won’t have to change much to get the added benefits. Besides, the adaptogens actually balance out the jittery effects of caffeine and makes the acidity kinder on sensitive stomachs.
Wellness mushrooms, sometimes also called functional mushrooms or medicinal mushrooms, have a long history of use in Asia and particularly in China. One of the most revered mushrooms, Reishi, has over 2,000 years of recorded use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) where it is called the ‘mushroom of immortality’.
Over 50 mushrooms are included in TCM to correct major imbalances in the body which manifest as a multitude of diseases.
With such a serious respect for the value of mushrooms, the Chinese are dedicated to growing the highest quality of mushroom fruiting bodies, the part of the mushroom that grows above ground and that we commonly eat.
Mycelium, the roots of mushrooms that grow underground, are not part of TCM’s long history of use but have in recent times become studied for their health benefits. A number of USA companies began growing mycelium and selling it in place of fruiting bodies because mycelium is faster and more economic to grow than fruiting bodies. Typically, companies aren’t making extracts of mycelium either which also makes it cheaper to produce.
Fruiting bodies of mushrooms are best consumed as a water and/or alcohol extract in order to make their wellness compounds absorbable. Beta-glucans, the best known active ingredient in wellness mushrooms, is bound inside a fiber called chitin which is not digestible by humans. In order to release the Beta-glucans, mushrooms like reishi, lion’s mane or turkey tail are extracted with hot water first and then sometimes also with alcohol which is called a “dual extract”.
Extraction also concentrates these beneficial active ingredients to increase their potency. It used to be that brands would state the ratio of an extract like this: 4:1 which means 4 parts of mushrooms to 1 part of solvent such as water. Now, however, brands are not giving this extract ratio on their labels for two reasons.
First, the extracts may only be pure powder, not actual extracts. A very popular US brand lists their extracts as 1:1 but in fact these are just pure powdered mushrooms. No extracts are made at a single concentration strength because the cost of making an extract is too high. Extracts have to be concentrated in order for them to be profitable for the manufacturer.
Second, in order to combat fraudulent claims about extract potency, authentic mushroom extract suppliers now report the level of the Beta-glucans in the extract to show how much of the active ingredient it contains. They may mix various extracts together to get the desired level and thus the ratio of the extract may not be fixed. It is much better to know how much of an active ingredient is in an extract than to know how concentrated the raw material is in it.
If you buy a mushroom extract like Reishi or Lion’s Mane from a brand on Amazon, you can check the label to see if the quantity or the content of the active ingredient is stated. For instance, the level of Beta-glucans would say “Beta-glucans >25%”. If nothing is mentioned, it is doubtful that the extract is real or has not been adulterated. Brands that stand behind an extract they are selling will proudly make such statements. Of course the higher price will also reflect its value.
Only a laboratory can verify the actual level of an active ingredient, but there are ways to test a mushroom extract at home to determine if it is in fact an extract by tasting it.
The most popular cheap substance to dilute mushroom extracts with is maltodextrin, a type of dextrose or sugar that converts rapidly to glucose in the intestines. It tastes very sweet. Mushrooms don’t taste sweet at all. If the mushroom extract you bought tastes sweet, it’s got maltodextrin diluting it.
Brands are adulterating mushroom extracts up to 80-90% with maltodextrin to make huge profits. Consider this: Real mushroom extracts cost at least $25 per pound or more depending on how potent the extract is. That cost is before importing it, packaging it and shipping it to you. (That is also before the new tariffs on Chinese products take effect.) Most brands on Amazon sell 1 lb of a mushroom extract for $25-$35. Since Amazon takes roughly half the retail price in fees and shipping costs, that means the price of the extract would have to be less than $12/lb. It is impossible to buy a pound of unadulterated mushroom extract at such a low price.
An example of fraud being committed by a brand that sells thousands of bags of Chaga per month on Amazon claims that it is a 100:1 extract. First off, you can’t actually make an extract at such a large concentration as 100 parts of an ingredient can’t fit into 1 part of solvent. Even if you could, imagine the cost. It would have to sell for thousands of dollars!
So if this so-called 100:1 product isn’t an extract, what is it? It doesn’t taste sweet so it isn’t a diluted extract either.
Here’s how you can tell it’s just a powdered mushroom. Powdered mushrooms don’t dissolve in water. Extracts do since they have been extracted in water and then spray dried. They can be reconstituted in water by simply stirring them into it.
Take a glass cup and mix a tablespoon of the mushroom product into 8 ounces of hot water. Then wait 5-10 minutes. If you see lots of sediment settling in the bottom of your cup, you bought powdered mushrooms. If the product remains mixed into the liquid, you bought a real extract. But make sure it doesn’t taste sweet or it’s been adulterated. Maltodextrin is highly soluble in water which is why it is used as a ‘filler’ or adulterant.
Another test to determine if you bought an extract versus a powder, is to leave a couple of tablespoons of the product in a pile on a piece of paper exposed to air. Extracts are hydroscopic, meaning that they draw moisture out of the air. The pile will turn hard in a day or so when sitting exposed to oxygen. Powders will still be completely loose. You will be able to pick up a pinch of powder with your fingers without any problem just like you could pick up wheat flour.
I was shocked to learn during my trip to China last fall about the rampant adulteration and fraud common among mushroom coffee brands. Most all of them are packed by co-manufacturers who buy the ingredients for the brands. It just so happened that a team member here at Teeccino discovered who is the co-packer for the largest mushroom coffee brand in the US. This brand is exclusively packed by the co-manufacturer and sales of their instant mushroom coffee exceeds $300 million dollars a year!
The co-manufacturer sent us samples of all the mushroom extracts they provide. The prices they quoted are rock bottom. Sure enough, the “extracts” tasted super sweet. They had so much maltodextrin in them that they didn’t even get slightly hard when exposed to oxygen. No wonder this brand can spend millions of dollars a month advertising its products. Between its high retail price and the low cost of its ingredients, a mega ad budget is affordable.
Sadly, I think the effects people feel when they drink these mushroom coffees is coming from caffeine, not from any wellness benefits of the mushrooms. Most of these brands have lots of other ingredients in them like coconut milk or protein powders, so the caffeine is less than a typical cup of coffee. The sweetness is also hidden by the flavor of other ingredients.
Maybe people are simply feeling better because they’re consuming less caffeine. They are still getting the effects of caffeine for increased alertness and suppressed fatigue but they attribute it to mushroom health benefits.
You can buy pure and genuine mushroom extracts made to a very high quality standard from China. For the Chinese, medicinal or wellness mushrooms aren’t a fad. Their use is taken very seriously because they are relied upon to treat life-threatening illnesses.
I know there is so much press about bad quality standards from China but what I’ve learned is that the real problem is foreign buyers demanding such low prices that adulteration is the only way to satisfy them.
The mushroom extracts we use in Teeccino’s Mushroom Adaptogen blends including our newest Miraculous Mushrooms Adapt & Protect are made from 100% mushrooms without any maltodextrin or any other adulterants. Taste them and they taste like mushrooms. Put them in hot water and they dissolve. Leave them out in the air and they get hard. Test them at an independent laboratory and the Beta-glucan content matches the specification sheet provided by the Chinese company that grows and extracts them.
Our extracts are 25-35% Beta-glucans depending on the mushroom but until now we haven’t labeled it. Just when I decided we should change our packaging to let our customers know about the potency of our mushroom extracts, the biggest problem to ever face our Company has occurred.
The Trump administration’s tariffs are hitting Teeccino hard. We can’t replace our ingredients with USA grown ingredients as the plants either don’t grow here or can’t be harvested here. We just paid 10% more for a container of chicory which is a big hit to our cash flow as well as our profit margin. With 145% tariffs on Chinese products, it is impossible to import more mushroom extracts. No company here in the US extracts mushroom fruiting bodies. There are US mushroom growers but not extractors. What to do?
All I can say is we’re praying that these tariffs get removed. Teeccino is hardly alone. So many companies large and small are in a dilemma about what to do. Do we raise prices now to reflect the new reality or wait to see if the tariffs go away?
Our decision today is to keep selling our products at the affordable price we try our best to maintain so everyone can drink Teeccino.
We have enough of our mushroom extracts to last us a few months.
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