Lion’s mane mushrooms, also known as hou tou gu or yamabushitake, are large, white, shaggy mushrooms that resemble a lion’s mane as they grow.
They have both culinary and medical uses weed candy in Asian countries like China, India, Japan and Korea.
Lion’s mane mushrooms can be enjoyed raw, cooked, dried or steeped as a tea. Their extracts often used in over-the-counter health supplements.
Many describe their flavor as “seafood-like,” often comparing it to crab or lobster.
Lion’s mane mushrooms contain bioactive substances that have beneficial effects on the body, especially the brain, heart and gut.
Here are 9 health benefits of lion’s mane mushrooms and their extracts.
Could Protect Against Dementia
The brain’s ability to grow and form new connections typically declines with age, which may explain why mental functioning gets worse in many older adults.
Studies have found that lion’s mane mushrooms infused edibles contain two special compounds that can stimulate the growth of brain cells: hericenones and erinacines.
Additionally, animal studies have found that lion’s mane may help protect against Alzheimer’s disease, a degenerative brain disease that causes progressive memory loss.
In fact, lion’s mane mushroom and its extracts have been shown to reduce symptoms of memory loss in mice, as well as prevent neuronal damage caused by amyloid-beta plaques, which accumulate in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease.
While no studies have analyzed whether lion’s mane mushroom is beneficial for Alzheimer’s disease in humans, it appears to boost mental functioning.
A study in older adults with mild cognitive impairment found that consuming 3 grams of powdered lion’s mane mushroom daily for four months significantly improved mental functioning, but these benefits disappeared when supplementation stopped.
The ability of lion’s mane mushroom to promote nerve growth and protect the brain from Alzheimer’s-related damage may explain some of its beneficial effects edibles weed on brain health.
However, it’s important to note that most of the research has been conducted in animals or in test tubes. Therefore, more human studies are needed.