Lion’s Mane: Cognitive Superfood or Overblown Hype?

tl;dr

Lion’s mane shows inconsistent results across 8 studies on cognition. Some research shows no real perks, and even some worse outcomes in certain mental tasks for healthy young and middle-aged folks. It might give a little boost to older individuals, but since most studies have big flaws, it's tough to give lion's mane a thumbs-up right now.

The Full Breakdown

Lion’s mane is a funky-looking mushroom with a bunch of quirky names—from bearded tooth fungus to bearded hedgehog. All these nicknames point to its scientific tag, Hericium erinaceus. But we're not here to get lost in names; we're here to chat about the science—which, to be honest, is pretty overhyped.

When thinking about the benefits of something, the first thing to ask is—who's it actually helping? Is it people who are already feeling fine and just want a little extra kick? Or is it for someone dealing with issues that need fixing?

So, if we start by looking at healthy individuals, we're short on studies about brain function up to now [1][2][3][4]. Peeking into these studies, the results are all over the place; some show a bit of benefit [1][2], and others show either nothing or even slightly worse outcomes [1][3][4].

In studies with mixed results [1], people taking lion's mane sped up their reaction times but messed up more on accuracy. Kinda backwards to make quicker decisions but get more wrong answers, right? However, in that same study, they did feel a tad less stressed. Then there's a study making the rounds on social media [2] that showed better memory and overall brain power compared to a placebo—that sounds promising, doesn't it? But the actual difference between placebo and lion’s mane was teeny-tiny. When you add in studies showing no benefit [3][4] compared to placebo, it seems the evidence leans more against lion’s mane for boosting brain function in healthy folks than for it. Of course, this small bunch of studies is just that—small—so if more research comes out showing a real effect, this conclusion might change. But as things stand, it'd be hard to make a strong case in favor based on what we've got.

But we've been focusing on healthy people—what about those who might need an extra hand?

Here, things seem a bit clearer. Again, the evidence is pretty sparse, but at least it's more consistent. In studies looking at people with mild cognitive issues, dementia, and even just older adults in their 70s, lion’s mane seems to offer some benefits [5][6][7][8]. All these studies show some brain-boosting effects from taking lion's mane. However, several of them have shaky methods—bad study setups, no placebo groups, tiny sample sizes, not enough blinding [7][8]. The better studies focus on Alzheimer's and mild cognitive impairment [5][6]. So, while lion’s mane might help older folks with brain issues, the evidence is thin and not the strongest, meaning we need more research.

All in all, we've decided to skip lion’s mane because studies in healthier, younger people (50 and under) show mixed results, including some negative effects on thinking skills. Plus, some studies that show benefits have problems with how they were set up. If, in the future, more solid studies come out showing benefits, we're open to adding lion’s mane to our mix.

The References Roundup

[1] Docherty S, Doughty FL, Smith EF. The Acute and Chronic Effects of Lion's Mane Mushroom Supplementation on Cognitive Function, Stress and Mood in Young Adults: A Double-Blind, Parallel Groups, Pilot Study. Nutrients. 2023;15(22):4842. Published 2023 Nov 20. doi:10.3390/nu15224842

[2] Saitsu Y, Nishide A, Kikushima K, Shimizu K, Ohnuki K. Improvement of cognitive functions by oral intake of Hericium erinaceus. Biomed Res. 2019;40(4):125-131. doi:10.2220/biomedres.40.125

[3] Grozier CD, Alves VA, Killen LG, Simpson JD, O'Neal EK, Waldman HS. Four Weeks of Hericium erinaceus Supplementation Does Not Impact Markers of Metabolic Flexibility or Cognition. Int J Exerc Sci. 2022;15(2):1366-1380. Published 2022 Oct 1.

[4] Nagano M, Shimizu K, Kondo R, et al. Reduction of depression and anxiety by 4 weeks Hericium erinaceus intake. Biomed Res. 2010;31(4):231-237. doi:10.2220/biomedres.31.231

[5] Mori K, Inatomi S, Ouchi K, Azumi Y, Tuchida T. Improving effects of the mushroom Yamabushitake (Hericium erinaceus) on mild cognitive impairment: a double-blind placebo-controlled clinical trial. Phytother Res. 2009;23(3):367-372. doi:10.1002/ptr.2634

[6] Li IC, Chang HH, Lin CH, et al. Prevention of Early Alzheimer's Disease by Erinacine A-Enriched Hericium erinaceus Mycelia Pilot Double-Blind Placebo-Controlled Study. Front Aging Neurosci. 2020;12:155. Published 2020 Jun 3. doi:10.3389/fnagi.2020.00155

[7] Vigna L, Morelli F, Agnelli GM, et al. Hericium erinaceus Improves Mood and Sleep Disorders in Patients Affected by Overweight or Obesity: Could Circulating Pro-BDNF and BDNF Be Potential Biomarkers?. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2019;2019:7861297. Published 2019 Apr 18. doi:10.1155/2019/7861297

[8] Hisayoshi Okamura, Nobuko Anno, Akira Tsuda, Takahiro Inokuchi, Naohisa Uchimura, Kazutoyo Inanaga, The effects of Hericium erinaceus (Amyloban® 3399) on sleep quality and subjective well-being among female undergraduate students: A pilot study, Personalized Medicine Universe, Volume 4, 2015, Pages 76-78, ISSN 2186-4950, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.pmu.2015.03.006.