If you’ve been scrolling through TikTok or Instagram recently, you’ve no doubt seen that mushroom supplements are everywhere!
They are without doubt one of the hottest wellness trends of the last few years.
But with so many different options on the market, how do you know whether the supplement you’re buying is of high quality and is actually going to give you the benefits you’re looking for?
As with all natural health products, there is a range of functional mushroom options to choose from. All are differentiated by quality, formulation, sourcing, packaging, pricing, certifications and method of consumption (e.g., capsule, tea, powder, tincture). This can all get a bit confusing, particularly for the beginner.
But fear not! To help you make up your mind, in this blog we cover our top tips for choosing the best quality product. So you can make an informed choice and ultimately get the most health benefit for your money.
1. The Best Functional Mushrooms for You
First, it is important to consider which type of functional mushroom you want to supplement with. There is no correct answer for this; it really depends on the specific health benefits you are looking to get out of mushrooms.
There are a number of different types of functional mushrooms, each boasting their own health benefits. The primary and most studied are Reishi, Cordyceps, Lion's Mane, Turkey Tail, and Chaga.
It's always important to do your research to determine which mushroom best suits your needs. A customised stack of different mushrooms will likely be the best option for you. For some help, you can read our post on The 6 Pillars Of Health And Wellness With Functional Mushrooms, which will help you choose a specific mushroom for a specific benefit.
2. The Best Form of Consumption
There are many different forms of taking mushrooms; you can eat them whole, in a powder, extracted, encapsulated, in gummies, tinctures and even in drinks. A modern day mega trend are mushroom coffees, which offer a surprisingly tasty alternative to regular coffee whilst also making it easy to stay consistent with your supplementation.
The Shroomex Magic Brew blend is a great option if you're curious about trying a mushroom coffee. It tastes delicious and packs a huge dose of Lions's Mane, Cordyceps and Chaga in a single cup of brew.
In general, we advise against using mushroom tinctures. Whilst popular, they contain very little extracted mushroom compounds. Tinctures are created by immersing the mushroom's fruiting body in alcohol, resulting in a final product that contains more alcohol than mushroom compounds. Typically, tinctures are about 30 times less potent than high-quality powder extracts.
So, the best options we recommend are capsules, powder, or mushroom coffee. Whichever form tickles your fancy!
3. Fruiting Body vs Mycelium on Grain
When purchasing mushroom supplements, it's important to be aware that many companies resort to using low quality fillers in their products, like mycelium on grain, even though they label themselves as a ‘mushroom supplement’.
Mycelium on grain is the mushroom's rootlike structure grown out on a grain. This mycelium and grain are ground together, which results in a product that is high in grain starch but low in concentration of beneficial compounds. Sadly, numerous leading brands in the industry compromise on quality by using subpar mycelium on grain and even chemical fillers.
The real potency and benefits of mushrooms primarily come from the fruiting body. This is where almost all of the beneficial, bioactive compounds like beta glucan, terpenes and polyphenols are found in mushrooms. Whereas a typical fruiting body extract typically contains 25-30% beta glucan, a mycelium on grain extract may only contain 3-5% beta glucan in comparison.
Fruiting body powder and extracts are also the most extensively researched and studied in relation to specific health benefits. If you want to follow science and get maximum benefit from your mushroom supplement, always choose 100%, whole fruiting body extracts.
4. Certified Organic Ingredients
An organic certification is a good indication, but it's not the be-all and end-all regarding mushroom supplement quality. In fact, there are a lot of companies that sell mycelium on grain powder but proudly display an organic certification. Organic certifications do not make the key distinction between fruiting body and mycelium, and tell you nothing about the product's potency. In other words, they're not a guarantee the product will be high quality.
The gold standard should be a certified organic fruiting body extract, with specified levels of bioactive ingredients.
5. Source of Origin: China Reigns Supreme
Quality extracts start with quality mushrooms. You may be surprised to learn that the highest quality mushroom extracts actually come from China, not the EU or the US.
The best mushrooms are grown deep in the mountains of the far east, the birthplace and capital of functional mushrooms. It is not without reason that mushrooms have been firmly anchored in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years, and the cradle of functional mushrooms is China – just as the cradle of champagne is firmly rooted in Champagne.
In the tranquil forested mountains, clean air and crystal-clear mineral water are bountiful and produce the highest quality, purest and most nutrient dense mushrooms anywhere in the world. We believe sourcing our ingredients from their true source and habitat is the only way to ensure the high quality we demand.
Wild mushroom strains harvested from the deep forests are cultivated using US and EU certified organic farming methods - free from herbicides, pesticides and chemical fertilisers. The mushrooms are grown in greenhouses that also make use of natural lighting and air flow. In addition, expert cultivators carefully monitor growing conditions, such as temperature and humidity, to produce mushrooms with the highest levels of bioactive compounds for maximum benefit.
Strict quality monitoring during all stages of cultivation is the only way to guarantee the quality and therapeutic effectiveness of the final product, so you can really feel a difference.
6. Ignore Extraction Ratios - Look for % of Bioactives
A lot of beginners get fooled into thinking that high extraction ratios = high quality product, but this is not automatically the case.
The extraction ratio refers to the amount of raw mushroom used to produce the finished extract. For example, a 20:1 extract ratio means that 20g of raw mushrooms were used to make 1g of extract.
A very high extract doesn’t necessarily equate to potency. It’s possible for a 20:1 extract to be lower in potency than a 1:1 extract.
What you really want to look for is the % of bioactive compounds contained within the product, since it’s the bioactive compounds that give mushrooms their benefits. For example, in our Shroomex Red Reishi, we have tested our sample at over 64% beta glucans, which is the highest concentration ever tested by Eurofins!
7. Dual Extracted for Maximum Benefit
Another key consideration is to look for dual extracted products, since these will be most bioavailable and will allow your body to absorb the beneficial mushroom compounds.
Take for example Reishi mushroom. It’s hard and woody and doesn’t make for good eating.
Our bodies weren’t designed to break down the tough cell walls of mushrooms, which is why we need to extract these compounds from the mushroom fruiting body.
Look for both a hot water and alcohol extract, AKA a dual extract. Dual extracts contain the greatest concentration of both beta glucan (water soluble) and terpene (alcohol soluble) bioactive compounds, so you get the full range of benefits mushrooms have to offer.
8. Importance of Sustainability
While sustainability can take many forms, in this case, it refers to the mushroom growing procedure and approach, as well as product packaging. From a harvesting standpoint, poor growing techniques and standards can result in damage to the mushroom's ecosystem and the surrounding environment, which is costly and unnecessary.
Look for a company using sustainable growing and harvesting practices, which generally means they are extracting products from cultivated mushrooms rather than decimating wild populations.
The impact of sustainability starts at the individual level, but it's equally essential for businesses to step up and take responsibility. Many profit driven companies might cut corners, sidelining sustainability or merely using it as a marketing ploy.
Therefore, it's essential to verify whether a company adopts a forward thinking sustainability mission. Even if sustainability isn't your primary concern, it speaks volumes about a brand's core values. A disregard for sustainability often suggests a lack of genuine care for both their products and customers.
9. Manufacturing Standards
Good Manufacturing Practices (GMP) are an excellent guideline for the supplement industry that provides a system of rigerous processes, procedures, and clarity to consumers.
When it comes to manufacturing standards, it's important to do your research and choose a reputable brand. Look for brands that use high quality, organic mushrooms and companies that follow Good Manufacturing Practices, otherwise known as GMPs. It's also a good idea to check for third-party certifications, such as the USDA Organic seal or NSF International, which certify that the product meets specific standards for purity and quality.
While unregulated products are still held to standards driven by government food standards agencies, supplements do not require safety and efficacy testing to be approved. This means as consumers, we must do our research first before buying any product.
Many invest more time researching a new vacuum cleaner than they do investigating the quality of supplements they'll consume on a daily basis. With potentially long lasting effects on their mind and body to boot!
Don’t be one of these people, and always do your due diligence on consumable products, especially ones you intend to take regularly.
10. Third-Party Lab Testing
One of the most important factors when buying mushroom supplements is third-party lab testing. By a mile, it is the best indication of quality, safety, efficacy and potency. The numbers don’t lie when it comes to verified third-party testing.
If a company is unable to provide certified third-party lab test results, it’s a strong indication that their product is of low quality.
Watch out for COAs that are not from an accredited lab, such as Eurofins. A lot of brands pass off homemade or doctored COAs as legitimate lab test results. But these are known to be extremely unreliable. Without a well-known and verified lab like Eurofins signing off on the testing, the results cannot be verified. Certain labs are also considered dry labs. A dry lab produces fake testing services to companies.
When looking at legitimate lab test results, there are a few things to consider. First is to ensure a high beta glucan content, since these are the primary bioactive compounds found within mushrooms that give them their health benefits.
You also want to make sure that the test results show the extract is free from heavy metal or pesticide contamination.
Third-party lab tests are the only way to guarantee the quality and therapeutic effectiveness of the final product, so you can really feel a difference.
11. Integrating into Your Life
When integrating functional mushrooms into your life, keep in mind that mushroom supplements are not a substitute for a healthy diet and lifestyle, even though they provide numerous health benefits.
Make sure you are eating a nutrient-rich diet, using mushroom supplements as an addition to take your health to the next level.
Whichever form of supplement you choose to take (capsule, powder etc.), make sure you test things out to see what integrates best with your lifestyle. If you're busy and looking for speed and convenience, then nothing beats capsules or Magic Brew. Since Magic Brew replaces your regular morning cup of coffee, it's quick, easy and potent!
12. Dosages and Frequencies
Remember that dosage also depends on a few other factors, the main ones being body weight and tolerance. In general, the recommending serving sizes for supplements will err on the side of caution. Since these products have to cater to everyone, the dose on the label will always be the lowest and safest dose possible to avoid adverse reactions.
So if you are a larger individual with higher than average bodyweight, or have taken mushrooms frequently before, you can try pushing the boat out a little and take 2-4x the recommended dose on the label. But please do this with caution, and only after trying a lower dose first and gradually tapering upwards.
In terms of frequency, most people see best results taking mushroom supplements once per day, usually in the morning before breakfast.
13. Where to Buy the Best
When it comes to finding the best brand to buy the highest quality mushrooms, make sure you are getting an organic certified, high potency extract with accessible third-party lab results for your viewing. Unfortunately, the sad reality is, only a few companies offer such a product. This is the reason we take quality so seriously, so if you want to find the best mushroom supplement, there’s been no higher verified potency and purity than Shroomex.
It's a good idea to compare prices and read reviews from other customers. This can help you understand the effectiveness and value of different products and brands.
Conclusion
Mushroom supplements can be a convenient and potentially transformational addition to your diet. There are loads of mushroom supplement brands out there, with a lot of low quality and cheap products being sold and marketed. You must be careful what you buy! Purchasing a high quality mushroom supplement really boils down to finding verified, potent, and pure extracts. Always do your research and choose a high quality, third-party lab tested brand before starting any new supplement regimen.
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