Lion’s mane is a popular nutraceutical product that is gaining traction in North America and Europe due to the numerous mental and physical health benefits of lion’s mane. Lion’s mane may be able to help improve one’s cognitive abilities, assist with anxiety and depression, and potentially help alleviate other health issues. While it is commonly taken due to the cognitive benefits it provides, lion’s mane may also be useful as a dietary supplement that potentially boosts physical health. Due to the diverse health benefits and respectable consumer awareness of lion’s mane, it is highly likely that nutraceutical companies will flock to this area in the future and begin offering products with lion’s mane.
An Overview of Lion’s Mane
Lion’s mane is a popular health food product, originating from China, which provides consumers with a wide variety of health benefits. Lion’s mane is available in many forms, including capsules, liquid, tablets, or powder. It is commonly purchased in powder form and mixed with hot water. It is also possible to mix lion’s mane with other common hot beverages, such as coffee or tea. Lion’s mane is very affordable, as you can purchase over 70 servings of lion’s mane for less than $20 from some companies.
Lion’s mane also assists with digestion, helps support the nervous system, and potentially lowers the risk of heart disease, cancer, ulcers, and diabetes. Lion’s mane also has anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and immune-boosting characteristics, making it an excellent product for health-conscious consumers to incorporate as a part of a healthy, balanced diet. It can easily be added to tea or coffee, or even added to other types of food such as soup or oatmeal. Lion’s mane can be a key driver in maintaining your physical health, even though most of the hype around lions’ mane is related to the vast number of neurological benefits of consuming lion’s mane.
Health Benefits of Lion’s Mane
Most people choose to consume lion’s mane because of the various neurological benefits. Consuming lion’s mane has been linked to the following benefits:
- Lion’s mane may be able to help alleviate the symptoms of anxiety and depression according to some studies. One study performed on 30 individuals found that lion’s mane could help to reduce symptoms of anxiety and depression after four weeks. Researchers have suggested that this occurs because of its anti-inflammatory properties, a characteristic common among many types of nutraceutical products.
- Lion’s mane is commonly consumed because it, along with many other typres of functional mushrooms, have been shown to improve cognitive functioning. Lion’s mane has also been linked to improved cognitive function and could also have the potential to alleviate the symptoms of other serious diseases such as Alzheimer’s or Parkinson’s. Lion’s mane can also be useful for people that have memory problems or issues with cognitive impairment.
- Studies have shown that lion’s mane helps to create hericenones and erinacines, which are both essential in supporting the growth of brain cells. This could help with overall cognitive function, and help people that have Alzheimer’s.
- A WebMD article also noted that lion’s mane, as well as other mushroom beverages, has a large number of health benefits. Some of the health benefits of lion’s mane that this article mentioned includes boosting the immune system and easing inflamation.
- One study from NCBI noted that lion’s mane was also able to help with nerve health, in addition to improving brain health. If studied further, lion’s mane could potentially be able o assist with other diseases that result from nerve damage, and may be able to help with other serious issues such as strokes.
The health benefits of lion’s mane are extremely diverse, and more research studies could help to provide clarity regarding some of the health benefits that are suspected, but not yet proven.
Growth Potential in Other Markets
Lion’s mane has been commonly used as both a culinary and medical mushroom in Asian countries such as Korea, China, Japan, and India. However, consumers in parts of the world such as North America and Europe are becoming increasingly familiar with the advantages of lion’s mane, mainly because of the cognitive benefits of lion’s mane. The global functional mushroom market, which includes lions’ mane, reishi, and other products, is projected to grow by 8% during 2020-2025 according to Mordor Intelligence. As the health benefits of lion’s mane become more commonly known, this product may gain more traction in markets such as North America and Europe in the future. Companies in North America are even launching hybrid lion’s mane products, which contain lion’s mane mixed with coffee and other types of mushrooms.
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