Lion’s Mane for Seniors: How it Can Help Support Healthy Aging
Article at a Glance:
- Getting older can come with a number of health-related concerns, including challenges affecting memory, heart health, immunity, and inflammation.
- Lion’s Mane mushrooms may offer some relief for common problems faced by seniors.
- Taking Lion’s Mane Gummies can be a convenient and delicious way for seniors to help support their health as part of their daily routine.
Getting older is an inevitable part of life, and while health concerns can happen at any time, seniors are more susceptible to a number of challenges.
We often associate getting older with slowing down, memory issues, and a heightened fracture risk with falling. There are also age-related changes that occur in regard to heart, digestive, and immune health, as well as the effects of inflammation on the body.
Fortunately, some of these concerns can be alleviated through lifestyle habits like having brain-engaging hobbies, socializing, staying physically active, not smoking, and nourishing your body with a healthy diet. Adding Lion’s Mane to your daily routine can also make a difference in some of the obstacles many seniors face.
Your Brain On Lion's Mane
Having trouble remembering things is a hallmark sign of getting older. While we all have days when we forget where we put our phone or keys or perhaps why we walked into a room, forgetfulness can become more troubling as the brain ages. With this can come difficulty concentrating, multitasking, and understandable frustration.
This is because its ability to grow and form new connections can begin to decline. Dementias are more prominent among elderly individuals as well.
Lion's Mane contains two compounds, hericenones and erinacines, which may help support the normal creation of new brain cells. Research has observed their ability to influence a normal inflammatory response in the brain positively.[1]
Furthermore, one 2020 study found that giving people with mild cognitive disease 1 gram daily of Lion’s Mane for 49 weeks supported normal cognitive test performance compared to the effects of a placebo.[2]
Lion's Mane for Immune Health
Getting older can also mean a higher susceptibility to falling ill or experiencing more prolonged sickness. Doing things to support your body's natural immune response is a good prevention practice.
While more research is needed, Lion’s Mane may help support immune health by targeting your gut bacteria and intestinal immune system activity. This help protects you from potentially harmful germs that can enter through your nose and mouth and reach your digestive system.[3]
How Lion's Mane Supports Heart Health
As you age, it's common to experience stiffening of the blood vessels and arteries. This can make it harder for your heart to pump blood throughout your body. Other risk factors for heart disease that can become more prominent with age include being overweight or obese, having high triglycerides, and being more prone to blood clots.
Some research indicates that Lion's Mane may have potential protective effects on heart health. Animal studies have found that Lion's Mane extract may positively affect normal blood fat levels and fat metabolism in mice.[4][5]
Lion's Mane for Inflammation and Stress
Chronic inflammation is believed to be an underlying trigger for a number of conditions, and its effects can be magnified in older age if left unmanaged.[6] Many things can promote inflammation, such as environmental factors, diet, and stress. Adding Lion’s Mane to your routine may help support a normal inflammatory response.[7]
Furthermore, Lion’s Mane is an adaptogen or a compound that helps reduce the negative effects of stress on the body. One study found that, compared to 13 other culinary mushroom species, Lion’s Mane had the highest antioxidant ability.[8] Antioxidants help protect our cells from oxidative stress that can lead to disease.
Add Lion’s Mane to your daily routine, no matter your age. Try Fungies® blueberry and strawberry flavored gummies. Each serving is packed with 500 mg of dual extracted Lion’s Mane mushroom.
References
- 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.
- Kushairi N, Phan CW, Sabaratnam V, David P, Naidu M. Lion's Mane Mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Bull.: Fr.) Pers. Suppresses H2O2-Induced Oxidative Damage and LPS-Induced Inflammation in HT22 Hippocampal Neurons and BV2 Microglia. Antioxidants (Basel). 2019;8(8):261. Published 2019 Aug 1. doi:10.3390/antiox8080261.
- Sheng X, Yan J, Meng Y, et al. Immunomodulatory effects of Hericium erinaceus derived polysaccharides are mediated by intestinal immunology. Food Funct. 2017;8(3):1020-1027. doi:10.1039/c7fo00071e.
- Choi WS, Kim YS, Park BS, Kim JE, Lee SE. Hypolipidaemic Effect of Hericium erinaceum Grown in Artemisia capillaris on Obese Rats. Mycobiology. 2013;41(2):94-99. doi:10.5941/MYCO.2013.41.2.94.
- Hiwatashi K, Kosaka Y, Suzuki N, et al. Yamabushitake mushroom (Hericium erinaceus) improved lipid metabolism in mice fed a high-fat diet. Biosci Biotechnol Biochem. 2010;74(7):1447-1451. doi:10.1271/bbb.100130.
- Furman D, Campisi J, Verdin E, et al. Chronic inflammation in the etiology of disease across the lifespan. Nat Med. 2019;25(12):1822-1832. doi:10.1038/s41591-019-0675-0
- Mori K, Ouchi K, Hirasawa N. The Anti-Inflammatory Effects of Lion's Mane Culinary-Medicinal Mushroom, Hericium erinaceus (Higher Basidiomycetes) in a Coculture System of 3T3-L1 Adipocytes and RAW264 Macrophages. Int J Med Mushrooms. 2015;17(7):609-618. doi:10.1615/intjmedmushrooms.v17.i7.10.
- Abdullah N, Ismail SM, Aminudin N, Shuib AS, Lau BF. Evaluation of Selected Culinary-Medicinal Mushrooms for Antioxidant and ACE Inhibitory Activities. Evid Based Complement Alternat Med. 2012;2012:464238. doi:10.1155/2012/464238.