Lion’s mane mushroom has many medicinal benefits and uses. It gets its name for looking just like the scruff of a lion, and has some very impressive health benefits.

Lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) is native to North America, Europe, and Asia, and is quite distinctive in appearance, with its white pom-pom, shaggy-looking mane.

According to an article by Dr. Axe, “one study published in the Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry lists the benefits by stating lion’s mane mushroom is ‘antibiotic, anti-carcinogenic, anti-diabetic, anti-fatigue, antihypertensive, anti-hyperlipodemic, anti-senescence [anti-aging], cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective, and neuroprotective, and improves anxiety, cognitive function, and depression.”

That’s quite a list!

Lion’s mane is also known by a few other names, due to its unique appearance; hedgehog mushroom, yamabushitake, and bearded tooth mushroom, sheepshead, satyr’s beard, and monkey’s head.

Lion’s Mane Mushroom Benefits

In an article by Katie Wells, founder of the website, Wellness Mama, she shares how lion’s mane is particularly known for its positive effects on the central nervous system. For centuries, Chinese medicine practitioners have been using lion’s mane to help with ‘fortifying the spleen, nourishing the gut, as an anti-cancer drug, to help promote digestion, increase vigour and strength, and help ulcers and chronic gastritis.’

Lion’s mane mushrooms may also help with the following:

Lowering Inflammation and Oxidative Stress

One study examining 14 different mushroom species found that lion’s mane had the fourth highest concentration of antioxidants, while a 2015 study confirmed that lion’s mane was able to reduce inflammation in fatty tissue.

This is important, as antioxidants help reduce oxidative stress in the body that cause disease. Furthermore, according to Dr. Axe, these antioxidants may also help with ‘preventing osteoporosis, Protecting against alcohol-induced liver damage, as shown in research on mice, and slowing the aging of skin, as displayed in a study on rats.’

Improve Cognitive Health

Research has shown that lion’s mane may help to improve focus by encouraging nerve growth factor (NGF).

According to an article published on Wellness Mama, ‘NGF is a neuropeptide that helps regulate growth, maintenance, proliferation, and survival of neurons or nerve cells. These neurons are like messengers, sending and processing information from the brain to the rest of the body. This research also shows that it can help improve photographic and short-term memory.’

A study conducted on older adults with mild cognitive impairment, found that consuming just 3g of powdered lion’s mane daily for 4 months significantly improved brain function. However, these benefits disappeared when supplementation was discontinued.

Lion’s mane has also been thought to help reduce anxiety and depression. This may be due to its effect on the autonomic nervous system (part of the nervous system that controls automatic functions, such as breathing, heartbeat, digestive processes, etc.), and its ability to stimulate NGF.

The sympathetic nervous system falls under the autonomic nervous system, and it controls the ‘fight or flight’ response.

When someone is experiencing anxiety or depression, the sympathetic nervous system is working on overdrive, while the parasympathetic nervous system (a.k.a the ‘rest and digest’ system) is lowered. NGF may help to restore balance between the autonomic and parasympathetic nervous systems, which can help reduce depression and anxiety.

According to Dr. Axe, “in one study, 30 women were given either a placebo or lion’s mane for four weeks. Researchers concluded, ‘Our results show that HE intake has the possibility to reduce depression and anxiety and these results suggest a different mechanism from NGF-enhancing action of H. erinaceus.'”

Reverse Neurodegenerative Diseases

By stimulating NGF, this may be beneficial for neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, and dementia.

Polysaccharides, a compound found in these mushrooms, were shown to be neuroprotective. Furthermore, neurite outgrowth, the growth of axons and dendrites from neurons (which essentially means neurons growing and learning in their “job” as messengers), also improved. With this increase in growth, it could potentially slow down or reverse cell degeneration in the brain (which is the common cause for developing diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s).

Assist Recovery from Nervous System Injures

Damage to the nervous system can be devastating, and in serious cases may result in paralysis or loss of mental functions, where healing can be a slow process.

According to Dr. Axe, ‘a 2012 study found that consuming lion’s mane mushroom could help regenerate damaged neurons from peripheral nerve injury (an injury affecting the tissue linking the brain and the spinal cord). This is also one of the reason’s why lion’s mane may help protect against the spread of Parkinson’s disease.’

Lion’s mane may also help reduce the severity of damage to the brain after a stroke.

According to an article published on Healthline, ‘in one study, high doses of lion’s mane mushroom extract given to rats immediately after a stroke helped decrease inflammation and reduce the size of stroke-related brain injury by 44%.’

Protect against Cancer

Lion’s mane may be effective against certain cancer cells.

According to an article published on the Dr. Axe website, ‘in varying degrees, compounds from or supplementation with lion’s mane mushroom has been found to potentially slow the progression or reverse the spread of leukaemia, gastric (stomach) cancer, lung cancer, cervical cancer, liver cancer, colon cancer, and breast cancer.’

More research however is required in this area.

Improve Digestive Health

The polysaccharides found in lion’s mane may help improve gastric issues, with studies showing its ability to protect against or even shrink gastric ulcers.

In an article published by Dr. Josh Axe, he states that, “research on mice from China published in the International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms confirms this, noting that ‘results indicate that the polysaccharide fraction is the active component of the H. erinaceus mycelium culture, which protects against gastric ulcers.'”

Risks and Side Effects

While there are no known side effects of lion’s mane mushroom, and it’s generally considered safe to consume, funguses have been known to cause allergic reactions such as skin rashes or breathing difficulties. So, always check with your doctor before consuming lion’s mane or any new product, particularly if you have allergies to other mushrooms. Furthermore, always read the label for the proper dosage, and follow the instructions on the label carefully.

How to Use

Lion’s mane isn’t a common food you’ll find at your local grocery store, but an Asian market might have some available. Another option is to grow your own at home using starter kit!

Alternatively, you can source dried lion’s mane in tea form, as capsules or extracts, as a concentrate, or taken in coffee or as an elixir.

Please always ensure supplementation is in conjunction with a healthy diet.

See here for more information on medicinal mushrooms like Chaga.

This blog is for general informational purposes only and does not constitute the practice of medicine, nursing or other professional health care services, including the giving of medical advice. The use of information on this blog or materials linked from this blog is at the user’s own risk. The content of this blog is not intended to be a substitute for professional medical advice, diagnosis, or treatment. Users should not disregard, or delay in obtaining, medical advice for any medical condition they may have, and should seek the assistance of their health care professionals for any such conditions.

Have you tried lion’s mane mushrooms before? Share in the comments below.

Lots of love,

Vanessa