Lion’s mane is beginning to gain traction in North American markets, as lion’s mane can help with depression and anxiety. Lion’s mane originates from Asia, where it was used for culinary and medicinal purposes, but is now very popular globally and can be found in many types of nutraceutical products. One 2012 study found that lion’s mane was ranked 4th out of 14 mushroom products in terms of its antioxidant contents, which makes it superior to many types of mushroom products. While lion’s mane can help with many types of physical health issues, one intriguing thing to note is that lion’s mane can help with depression and anxiety too.
The health benefits of lion’s mane are extensive and include reduced inflammation & improved cognitive and cardiovascular health. Supplements containing lion’s mane extract are available at health food stores, and both the fungus and its extracts tend to be beneficial for one’s health. The following section discusses the potential advantages of lion’s mane mushrooms and the potential dangers and side effects of their usage. Although lion’s mane can boost your physical health, most notably lion’s mane can help with depression and anxiety in some cases.
Efforts To Reduce Depression & Anxiety
Extracts from the lion’s mane mushroom may have anti-anxiety and antidepressant properties. Although lion’s mane is currently well known for numerous types of physical health benefits, which we have previously discussed in other blog posts, researchers are beginning to pay more attention to lion mane’s ability to alleviate symptoms of depression and anxiety.
Luckily, lion’s mane has been studied in detail in the past decade, and this product has been used for centuries for physical and mental health in other countries. New studies, on both animals and humans, have shown that lion’s mane can help with depression and anxiety. One study conducted in 2010 concluded that consuming lion’s mane could help to reduce the symptoms of anxiety and depression during a four-week study of 30 individuals. This is not much of a surprise, given that many types of nutraceutical products used to decrease mental health symptoms have anti-inflammatory properties. Research is even being conducted to see how effective turmeric is in reducing depression and anxiety, due to its anti-inflammatory properties.
While there are several possible reasons for anxiety or depression, chronic inflammation may play a significant role. Lion’s mane mushroom extract contains anti-inflammatory properties that can help alleviate anxiety and depression based on human and animal studies.
Other animal studies have discovered that lion’s mane extract can also help repair brain cells and enhance the hippocampus’s function, a part of the brain involved in-memory processing and emotional reactions.
The researchers hypothesize that enhanced hippocampal function may account for the decreases in anxious and depressed behaviors observed in mice given these extracts. This may be one of the main reasons that lion’s mane helps with depression and anxiety. While these animal findings are encouraging, human studies on the mental health benefits of lion’s mane are more limited. At the moment, it is clear that lion’s mane can help with depression and anxiety in the same way as any other nutraceutical product that reduces inflammation.
Reducing Inflammation & Oxidative Stress
Chronic inflammation with oxidative stress is thought to be at the core of many contemporary diseases, including cardiovascular disease, cancer, or autoimmune disorders. This is one of the main reasons why many types of nutraceutical products offer similar health benefits. Lion’s mane mushrooms have been shown to have potent anti-inflammatory and antioxidant components that may help mitigate the effects of various diseases. The results shown so far are pretty encouraging, although there have not been enough human studies. Notably, lion’s mane may prove to be useful in preventing various types of neurodegenerative diseases, although this possibility has not been studied in detail. This is encouraging, as lion’s mane could be one of several nutraceutical products that could be used to reduce the symptoms of conditions such as Alzheimer’s or dementia.
Risks & Limited Research
Although most research on lion’s mane mushrooms has been conducted on animals, it appears to be helpful to consume the mushrooms in moderation, as many humans do in many places around Asia. The safety and efficacy of lion’s mane supplements are less clear, as dietary supplements are not regulated in the same way as food and pharmaceutical products. However, in animal tests, even large doses had no harmful effects on rats and there have been limited observed side effects in humans. Other nutraceutical products, such as lithium or magnesium, may be more helpful in boosting your mental health. However, it is worthwhile to try lion’s mane to see if lion’s mane can help with depression or anxiety.
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