Support a Healthy Gut with Lion’s Mane Mushroom
Article at a Glance:
- Lion’s Mane is a functional food with wide-reaching effects, including supporting healthy gut function.
- Lion’s Mane provides beta-glucan fiber, which fuels a healthy microbiome.
- Other unique compounds in Lion's Mane have positive effects on gut health.
Gut health is essential for the health of your whole body, and the functional mushroom Lion’s Mane can play a positive role. Learn how Lion’s Mane may support healthy gut function here, and see how Fungies® Lion's Mane Gummies can fit into your daily routine.
What is Lion's Mane?
Lion's Mane, Hericium erinaceus, is a delicious mushroom that doubles as a superfood with thousands of years of use in traditional medicine. Well-known for its ability to promote mental clarity, focus, and a balanced mood, it can also play other roles in your optimal health.
To get an idea of some other uses of Lion’s Mane, take a look at these articles:
- How Lion's Mane Mushrooms Help with Focus
- How Lion's Mane Mushrooms Improve Memory
- Fight Fatigue with These Mushrooms
Lion's Mane's effects are partly due to the unique polysaccharides that the mushroom provides. Polysaccharides act as plant-based antioxidants that can positively influence day-to-day inflammatory processes.[1]
Other benefits are thanks to a certain type of dietary fiber, beta-glucan, which is shown to support immune cell function and promote gut health as a prebiotic fiber.[1][2]
Polyphenol antioxidants are unique to lion's Mane as well. Erinacine and hericenone are two examples that have been studied for their antioxidant effects in test tube studies.[3]
Importance of Gut Health: What You Might Be Missing
Your gastrointestinal system does so much that it often goes under-appreciated.
Aside from healthy digestion, what does the term “gut health” actually mean?
One of the main aspects of gut health is the microbiome — the natural bacteria that live in your gastrointestinal system. Your microbiome thrives off of the fiber in the food you eat.
So many other healthy adaptations become possible when your microbiome is functioning properly.
A healthy microbiome supports a healthy immune system by communicating with the immune cells in your GI tract. This is your first line of defense from foodborne pathogens, so it’s not to be overlooked![4]
The microbiome supports antioxidant function, too. When your gut microbiome breaks down fiber from food, it creates molecules called short-chain fatty acids. These have essential anti-inflammatory and antioxidant functions for your gut's health and overall well-being.[5]
A thriving gut microbiome can extract more vitamins from your food, resulting in better digestion and metabolism. Short-chain fatty acids also affect metabolism as a clean-burning fuel source to power your work.
The effects are many, but the inputs are few. When you eat to optimize for a healthy microbiome, not only do you get better gut health, but you also support your overall health.
What Does Lion's Mane Do For Gut Health?
With its contribution of beta-glucan fiber, other polysaccharides, and antioxidant polyphenols, Lion's Mane offers considerable gut health benefits:
- It provides fiber in the form of beta-glucan, food your gut microbiome thrives on for its roles in immune, antioxidant, and overall digestive health.[1][2][6]
- It contains unique polysaccharides, which offer added support regarding the antioxidant and inflammation demands of exercise and daily life.[3][7]
- Potentially protects the liver from damage, as seen in one mouse study.[8]
- It may protect from inflammatory or oxidative triggers, which is especially important for fighting inflammation typical after exercise.[2][6][7]
New studies about Lion's Mane benefits are being published regularly, so remember that this list will only grow!
How To Use Lion's Mane for Gut Health
Lion's Mane mushroom is a delight to the senses in its taste and powerful effects. Even if you are lucky enough to find it fresh in the grocery store, you still don't know how many active compounds like polysaccharides contain.
If you're looking to get the benefits of Lion's Mane, you need a way to standardize your amount. Standardized extracts are the best way to go, as they tell you exactly how many ingredients you want in your supplement.
One of the easiest ways to add this functional mushroom to your daily routine is with Fungies® Lion's Mane Gummies.These gummies put those benefits seen in research within reach for anyone! Each serving provides 500 milligrams of Lion's Mane mushroom standardized to contain at least 30% beta-glucans.
If you found this article helpful, check out The Ultimate Guide to Lion's Mane for more!
References
- Cerletti C, Esposito S, Iacoviello L. Nutrients. 2021;13(7):2195. doi:10.3390/nu13072195.
- Sheng X, Yan J, Meng Y, et al. Food Funct. 2017;8(3):1020-1027. doi:10.1039/c7fo00071e.
- Xie G, Tang L, Xie Y, Xie L. Molecules. 2022;27(7). doi:10.3390/molecules27072157.
- Wiertsema SP, van Bergenhenegouwen J, Garssen J, Knippels LMJ. Nutrients. 2021;13(3):886. doi:10.3390/nu13030886.
- González-Bosch C, Boorman E, Zunszain PA, Mann GE. Redox Biol. 2021;47:102165. doi:10.1016/j.redox.2021.102165.
- Diling C, Chaoqun Z, Jian Y, et al. Frontiers in Immunology. 2017;8. Accessed February 16, 2023. (Link)
- Han ZH, Ye JM, Wang GF. Int J Biol Macromol. 2013;52:66-71. doi:10.1016/j.ijbiomac.2012.09.009.
- Kim SP, Moon E, Nam SH, Friedman M. J Agric Food Chem. 2012;60(22):5590-5596. doi:10.1021/jf300897w.