How Lion's Mane Mushrooms Help The Body Manage Stress
Article at a Glance:
- Stress is a big buzzword these days, and while it's not all bad, chronic stress may have significant negative impacts on your body and well-being.
- Lion's Mane is rich in several antioxidant-rich compounds that help the body manage the physical effects of stress.
- Several animal studies indicate that lion's mane may help lower markers of oxidative stress, a key factor in aging and illness..
- For a tasty and convenient way to help manage the physical effects of stress, try our vegan gummies, which contain 500mg of lion's mane per serving.
The truth is that the stress response is a normal part of the body's defense against a perceived threat, injury, or infection, and, in this way, it is necessary and beneficial. A stressful event triggers what is known as an inflammatory response, which puts the immune system on alert.
Your immune system induces this response to protect the body from infection, disease, or injury. But when stress gets out of control and the immune system is working in overdrive, this is when chaos can set in.
First, let’s learn a bit more about the different types of stress which can be divided into two main categories:
- Acute stress: typically happens due to some acute event, injury, or illness, such as localized inflammation following a challenging workout or someone cutting you off on the freeway. In these situations inflammatory response jumps into gear, increasing your blood flow, triggering the immune system if needed, and helping the body react to the situation. If there is illness or injury involved, this is also how the body heals and recovers. Acute stress usually lasts for a short duration (a few minutes or days to a couple of weeks) and restores your body to its normal state before the illness or injury occurs.
- Chronic stress: typically a less severe form of stress, but it lasts considerably longer (>6 weeks). This is the type of stress most of us are always under between family issues, bills, work concerns, and more. Chronic stress is associated with many diseases and disorders, including autoimmune disorders, IBD, chronic stress, metabolic syndrome, and obesity.
The Effects of Chronic Stress
Above we said that the stress response is normal and necessary for keeping us safe and healthy. That remark was specifically in regard to acute stress. A short-term stress response helps us run away from dangerous situations, react appropriately to a threat, or heal from an illness or injury.
On the other hand, chronic stress is when the stress and subsequent inflammatory response go "bad," and the reason stress gets a bad rap.
Several factors, beyond day-to-day life issues, can lead to health problems caused by chronic stress. These may include:
- Genetics
- Stress-triggering diet (refined sugar, alcohol, trans fats, etc.)
- Excess body weight
- Sleep deprivation
- Other chronic medical conditions
- Certain types of medications
- Exposure to irritants or foreign substances (“toxins”) that the body can’t eliminate
Managing chronic stress begins with making some essential lifestyle changes beyond relaxing more often. A few places to start may include cleaning up your diet (if you’re eating too many refined foods), getting adequate sleep each night, and maintaining a healthy body weight (which occurs as a result of proper diet and exercise).
After taking care of those foundational elements, you can utilize various dietary supplements, including a supplement typically regarded for its brain-boosting benefits -- Lion’s Mane!
How Lion’s Mane Helps Manage Stress
Lion's Mane is rich in several potent bioactive compounds, several of which have been identified by researchers to possess powerful properties that may help mitigate the effects of chronic stress on the body.[1][2]
One particularly intriguing study that investigated various mushrooms' antioxidant capacity discovered that lion's mane ranked among the top sources in antioxidant activity, leading researchers to recommend it for consideration as a quality source of antioxidants.[3]
Several animal studies also indicate that lion's mane may help lower markers of oxidative stress, a sign of the physical effects of chronic physical and emotional stress.
Lion’s Mane Mushroom Gummies
At this point, you're probably wondering the best way to incorporate this magnificent mushroom into your life? While lion's mane supplements are available as capsules, extracts, and powders, we prefer gummies since they are convenient, easy to take, and mess-free.
Each Fungies® gummy contains 500mg of lion's mane per serving (standardized to contain 30% Beta-Glucans) and is gluten-free, gelatin-free, and vegan-friendly. Did we mention that they're delicious too?
So grab a bottle (or two) today and experience firsthand how lion's mane can help you manage your physical health and the effects of stress.
References
- Hou Y, Ding X, Hou W. Mol Med Rep. 2015 May;11(5):3794-9. doi: 10.3892/mmr.2014.3121. Epub 2014 Dec 19. PMID: 25529054.
- Gao Y, Zheng W, Wang M, Xiao X, Gao M, Gao Q, Xu D. J Food Biochem. 2019 Sep;43(9):e12985. doi: 10.1111/jfbc.12985. Epub 2019 Jul 25. PMID: 31489657.
- Abdullah N, Ismail SM, Aminudin N, Shuib AS, Lau BF. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:464238. doi: 10.1155/2012/464238. Epub 2011 Jun 18. PMID: 21716693; PMCID: PMC3118607.