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Study finds mushrooms magnify memory by boosting nerve growth
- jnsaff2 4y agoNice work putting a word very similar to ‘magic’ next to a positive mushroom related study title. Gotta remember this trick.
- notfed 4y agoGreat observation. Are there categories of clickbait? I wonder what you'd call this one?
- goertzen 4y agoThe following will out perform every fancy nootropic: Drink as much water as you can. Breathe clean air. Walk. Get as much sleep as you can. Lift something heavy regularly.
- jamiecurle 4y agoAn excellent point. If I was being a pedant (which I tacitly now am), I'd be tempted to add two things: 1 - mindfulness meditation. Building the ability of the mind to hold attention is arguably just as useful as training the muscles. Especially for longer term knowledge workers who "get a bit bored of this staring at the screen thing". Like me. This comment is evidence of my ability to procrastinate. 2 - eat wide and well. Up to the individual to decide what that translates into, but eating wide and well will give you all the range of macro and micro nutrients you'll need for optimum cognitive performance.
- peanuty1 4y agoExcept there is such thing as drinking too much water.
- the_sleaze9 4y agoLet's add "Everything in moderation" to the end of the wholesome anti-aging routine
- adversaryIdiot 4y agoNow define moderation!
- papito 4y agoEverything is correct except for the first one. Hydration is HEAVILY dependent on age. Younger bodies can hold on to way more water, and that decreases as we age. This is the primary reason why we get worse hangovers as we age. Drink water while it makes you feel good, but for the love of God, do not force-hydrate yourself, especially if you are not 40. https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/why-your-hangovers-just-keep-getting-worse-with-age.html https://www.thecut.com/2016/06/why-your-hangovers-just-keep-...
- canadiantim 4y agoIncorrect. This is a fanciful notion quite frankly that is more a romantic idea than anything grounded in reality
- throw1234651234 4y agoWhat's incorrect? You don't think sleep increases working memory and long term brain health? Exercise doesn't fix everything? Water isn't the best thing to drink? Don't dispute universal givens without strong evidence.
- canadiantim 4y agoSleep does increase working memory and long term brain health. Exercise is one of the best things one can do to remain cognitively fit. Water is one of the best all-around things one can do for your health. But: your claim is that all of these things will out perform every fancy nootropic. This dismisses the entirety of pharmacology effectively... which is quite frankly the citation that needs evidence. There is a lot of nootropics / pharmaceutical drugs / herbs / mushrooms / etc out there. It's simply incorrect to assert that sleep, exercise and water are more effective than the intelligent use of some of these things. I get your overall point and I appreciate it and believe a lot of it, but I just think you're wrong in how heavily you assert it.
- throw1234651234 4y agoI am a different person than root, just calling it out though our views are the same and we might as well be the same for practical discussion reasons. Anyway, your statement above is reasonable. I personally find all nootropics to be absolutely useless, except uppers - coffee, energy drinks, etc. They work, but there is a heavy cost afterward. I am very interested in this topic and have read everything from military research to micro-dosing bros in the valley, and I haven't found anything that is remotely effective in improving memory / brain activity / focus. Again, Adderral gets grouped with "effective, but side effects too costly". The benefit of the things listed above is that there is absolutely no downside other than time. Edit: If you have an example of something that you consider effective, definitely list it please.
- alfor 4y agoGet sunlight daily. We need infrared to keep our inflammation under control, not just UV for vit-D.
- sambeau 4y agoAnd, UV for our skin to produce NO to reduce our blood pressure
- yesenadam 4y agoTLDR: Lion's mane mushrooms, not magic ones or the common white mushrooms. Link to full text of paper: Hericerin derivatives activates a pan-neurotrophic pathway in central hippocampal neurons converging to ERK1/2 signaling enhancing spatial memory https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.15767 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.15767
- EngManagerIsMe 4y ago... in vitro and in 40 male mice.
- fwlr 4y agoThe effects of lions mane mushroom has been studied in humans before (https://examine.com/supplements/lionsmane/#research-breakdown https://examine.com/supplements/lionsmane/#research-breakdow...). This is a study specifically of the mechanism by which those effects arise.
- cpncrunch 4y agoThe one human trial there shows no difference between active and placebo groups. https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biomedres/31/4/31_4_231/_pdf/-char/en https://www.jstage.jst.go.jp/article/biomedres/31/4/31_4_231...
- dymk 4y ago> Our results show that HE intake has the possibility to reduce depression and anxiety and these results suggest a different mechanism from NGF-enhancing action of H. erinaceus. No, it says that there is a possible difference, but the mechanism is not what they thought it might be
- cpncrunch 4y agoThe abstract is just hype. Read the full text. There was no difference between groups. The study failed!
- apsec112 4y agoIN MICE https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.15767 https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1111/jnc.15767
- samstave 4y agoFound the person who has never taken mushrooms
- frizkie 4y agoYou mean you found the person who approaches bold claims with an appropriate amount of skepticism in a world increasingly inundated with hyperbolic or even outright misleading headlines? And then goes the extra mile to share their findings and constructively communicate their concerns to others who might also be subjected to the same hyperbole? Yep, found them.
- antegamisou 4y agoThis place has become even worse than Reddit as karma farming goes…
- red-iron-pine 4y agoYeah I've noticed a serious uptick in the past ~2 years of bots and blatant shilling. HN is arguably not as popular as reddit, but also not as complex, so smaller efforts to game the system work better.
- Jeff_Brown 4y agoWhat's the point? I remember being excited when my karma crossed 1000 here for no reason. Nothing happened, obviously.
- samstave 4y agoI wasnt karma farming. Do you recall the time when one needed a certain karma score in order to downvote? I never downvote, but there are times when I wanted to - but couldnt, even though I am way beyond the initial karma limit which was ~400 or something... I've been on this site daily for 15 years. I still never feel the need to upvote or downvote very often. I also think its criminally funny that the HN forum lacks so many features of moderation, comment management, topic curation etc of even such of the companies they fund. It works - because its a self-entrenched psuedo-sapio-walled-garden... I love HN - but lets not act like its flawless.
- carabiner 4y agoI took a few pills of "ORIVeDA Lion's Mane Extract Combination Fruiting Body and Mycelium 2-Pack" every day for a few weeks. According to Reddit it's a well reputed brand and supposed to be high quality. It was expensive. Anyway, I noticed zero effects, positive or otherwise.
- wyldfire 4y agoNice try cordyceps, not falling for that one. No pancakes for breakfast today!
- SkyMarshal 4y agoYou can eat all the cordyceps you want until global warming causes it to mutate to be able to survive human body temperatures. We’ve probably still got a few decades before then.
- prepend 4y agoAnd has them evolve to get around an immune system. That’s probably as big of a barrier as their operating temperature range.
- cmrdporcupine 4y agoAlso it's not like the earth hasn't had hotter periods of history (since fungi evolution) and doesn't have hot regions in which fungi could have already evolved higher body heat/environmental temperature tolerance. There are likely strong biological constraints and trade-offs for why fungi have stuck to their niches. Also a human brain with complex higher functions is remarkable different from an ant brain. It's likely that a "brain manipulating fungus" attacking a complex mammalian brain would simply cause organism to malfunction and die or cause intense disorganized mental illness rather than any organized behavioural patterns.
- prepend 4y agoI can’t wait until we have gain of function fungi that make by brain ignore boredom. Or be compelled to exercise just enough to keep be healthy.
- dukeofdoom 4y agomakes sense similar effect to beer on belly
- goodpoint 4y agoHuh?!
- dukeofdoom 4y agomakes it grow
- aliasxneo 4y agoI drink a coffee alternative that happens to have Lion's Mane in it. Can't really be objective on if it has really made a difference in my memory since that's not the reason I primarily bought it (it was to get off coffee which is negatively impacting me).
- rubicon33 4y agoHey there, mind sharing the product? Sounds interesting!
- TedDoesntTalk 4y agoI add Laird Performance Mushroom powder to my coffee… when I can remember. Unfortunately it’s not cheap. I leaned about it from Dr Rhonda Patrick https://lairdsuperfood.com/products/performance-mushrooms?variant=32964577329187 https://lairdsuperfood.com/products/performance-mushrooms?va...
- rubicon33 4y agoThanks!
- nsenifty 4y agoThis brand, along with most other US sourced products (including Paul Stamet's brand) contains more biomass (the grain substrate on which mushroom grows) than the mushroom itself. For instance, one of the FAQ on their site states it has 2g of starch per 2g serving! I am looking for a good lion's mane supplement in the US too but I haven't found a good one yet.
- say_it_as_it_is 4y agoIs there a lab that verifies this?
- sainez 4y agoThe supplement industry is in sorry state. It hurts to see people throwing away money on useless products on Amazon. Real Mushrooms is the only mushroom supplier I trust. (No affiliation, you can find discussions about them on Reddit)
- ltbarcly3 4y agoThis is yet another tiny study paid for by the company selling the supplement. Medicalxpress.com? really guys?
- _Adam 4y agoKey point I think should be more prominent: The effect was on cultured brain cells. The reason brain tumors and other disorders of the brain are so hard to treat is that the blood-brain barrier keeps many big molecules out. That doesn't mean the molecule isn't therapeutically relevant, only that there's a ways to go to making it useful for actual humans/mice and not just cells in a petri dish. Still a fascinating discovery and I look forward to more research. Edit: Not totally true, the actual study link has more details. >We further found that dietary supplementation with H. erinaceus crude extract significantly enhanced recognition memory. The human BBB may still be an obstacle but I'm sure we'll see more studies soon.
- pbj1968 4y agoHahaha.. nice try, still not eating them
- 10g1k 4y agoKnown to CTM for, what, 4,000 years?
- anon84873628 4y agoWell, that's why they wanted to study it.
- zoklet-enjoyer 4y agoNoopept is cheaper
- x86x87 4y agoLol. They're not the same thing. Noopept is a racetam which comes with its own pros and cons. You could take/eat as much lion's mane as you want and you'd be fine. Now try a whole noopept bottle (srsly: Do not do this!)
- PragmaticPulp 4y agoLion’s Mane mushroom is a reasonably safe supplement if you want to experiment. Be warned that it has a reputation for suppressing libido, reducing motivation, or inducing apathy in some people. Some people seem to like it, but it’s not really the miracle mushroom that all of the YouTube ads and podcasts are suggesting lately.
- x86x87 4y agoIt works pretty well. Been talking it for years and there seems to be a small noticeable boost. 2 things: 1) the effects are gone if you stop taking it 2) you're going to have some weird dreams if you take it in the evening (ie take it in the morning) Apart from that, I have not noticed any libido, motivation or aphathy side effects but that's a data point of 1. YMMV
- chrisco255 4y agoYeah never affected libido for me or motivation. But I also take other supplements inc NMN, Creatine, BCD vits, Zinc, Magnesium, and sometimes Modafinil and eat a meat based diet.
- x86x87 4y agoTried NMN and NR. Decided to stick with NR. Since we're talkimg supplements I like the OG: fish oil, vitamin D, multivitamin.
- aik 4y agoInteresting. I have taken it for years as well. It’s one of only two supplements that I’ve ever noticed a very noticeable positive difference from (magnesium is the other, which for me has a very noticeable ability to help me sleep deeper, ie keeps me from waking at night). I take lions mane most nights before bed. Haven’t noticed any weird dreams, nor the other effects around libido or motivation. I’ve been a chronic bad sleeper most of my life, and regularly would wake up feeling terribly in my head (headache, etc) after a subpar night of sleep. Lions mane has completely removed that feeling - my mind is clear in the morning and ready to go. Especially on nights when I go to bed extra late, I know if I take this stuff before bed I’ll be pretty good still in the morning. Years ago I suggested some friends and family try it and nobody has had equally noticeable effects if any, so I no longer do. These things are just super individualized for whatever reason. Cool to hear some others here have benefitted too. I’m not sure if it’s the properties where it helps with inflammation or what it is that benefits me specifically. Would love to know. Also what side effects there are from long term use.
- DoreenMichele 4y agoI did some looking around. I have no familiarity with this mushroom nor its medicinal uses. Some thoughts: This mushroom has like 77 known compounds and this study looked at two of them (together, not individually). Western medicine often seeks to isolate "active ingredients" in order to be able to create monetizable drug products. This may not be such a hot idea. My recollection is that malaria is increasingly resistant to synthetic quinine derivatives but is not developing resistance to actual quinine, an extract from the bark of a tree. It may be more powerful but overly simplified. It's also problematic to study both compounds together if there are no prior studies on each individually. How do you know which does what?
- sethammons 4y agoCould adapting to quinine derivatives bridge a previously unbridgeable gap leading to quinine resistance? Everything seems to be a web or tied together. Could quinine resistance tip some balance resulting an explosion of malaria? </insomnia-thoughts>
- npunt 4y agoIf you have histamine intolerance be aware that Lion's Mane may trigger a histamine response. Happened to my partner, which was frustrating since it provided cognitive benefits for her.
- DoreenMichele 4y agohttps://lonestarmushrooms.com/pages/lions-mane-nutritional-content#:~:text=Lions%20Mane%20Nutritional%20Content%20and%20Health%20Benefits%201,8%20Folate%3A%208%25%20of%20the%20DV%20More%20items https://lonestarmushrooms.com/pages/lions-mane-nutritional-c... It's high in some of the B vitamins, which are important to brain function. She may just have a vitamin deficiency.
- FollowingTheDao 4y agoEveryone should get their levels of nutrition tested before trying anything weird and expensive like Lion's Mane.
- litiholofan 4y agoHere is an interesting article written from an anthroposophic perspective of why this happens. https://www.anthromed.org/library/2018/12/6/the-fungi https://www.anthromed.org/library/2018/12/6/the-fungi
- morninglight 4y ago> ...have been used in traditional medicine in Asian countries for centuries Seriously, is there ANYTHING that is not used in Chinese medicine?
- another_story 4y agoIt's just regular food here. A bit pricey at times, but not uncommon.
- DuckFeathers 4y agoIf "study finds" anything, it's safe to run away from it. It's the same studies that found "cholesterol free" toxic plant oils (that they produce just to prevent from being eaten) to be healthier than the ONE COMMON food ingredient that all of humanity has had in their diets: "animal fats"... it's the same studies that found untested, unproven vaccines to be "safe and effective". "Study finding it beneficial" is a signal that people have stopped eating shitty low-nutrient, low quality, cheap to grow fungus... but they really want to sell it for a premium. Unlike fruit-bearing plants, fungus do not benefit from anything or anyone eating them... so fungus have no incentive to be symbiotic. There is no reason to eat fungus except in the face of starvation.
- xipix 4y agoEdible mushrooms do benefit from being eaten. Their total biomass is today much greater than if they'd remained naturally-selected, growing in the wild. That said, the evolutionary feedback loop of incrementally more intelligent humans farming and eating them does seem tenuous.
- Nasrudith 4y agoSaid feedback loop would start with discovery of any benefits. Anything amazing probably would be expensive energetically to select for, let alone the stupid odds of developing an intelligence increaser. Ironically the hypotheical smart mushroom would probably be mostly "betrayed" if synthesizing is more efficient post discovery, relegating it to a niche curiosity at best.
- morog 4y agoAnyone whom has taken a psilocybin containing mushroom will tell you that mushrooms have strange and magical powers ranging from deep insight to madness, so it doesn't seem so far fetched that a mushroom can improve cognition. I have found Lions mane, reishi and chaga mushroom supplements taken in combination over a few days have a noticeable effect increasing my calm and keeping me focused. Apparently microdosing with psilocybe mushroom has a similar effect according to my psychonaut friends.
- amirbehzad 4y ago[dead]
- quchen 4y ago> Anyone whom has taken a psilocybin containing mushroom will tell you that [X] mushrooms have strange and magical powers There’s a »psilocybin« missing in the [X] spot. Fungi are an entire biological kingdom, with variety as big as there is from corals to elephants in the animal kingdom. Very, very few fungi are psychoactive.
- taneq 4y agoOr rather, if you disrupt your brain’s function on certain diverting ways you can get it to produce some wacky subjective effects. You can get some interesting patterns on your computer screen if you slowly unplug your graphics card while it’s running, too. Doesn’t mean you can make your computer smarter that way.
- jamiecurle 4y agoThis ̶m̶u̶s̶h̶r̶o̶o̶m̶ ̶ fungi is easy enough to grow and cultivate yourself[2][3] - IF - you have time for such shenanigans. I did this last year through summer and autumn in my garage. I'm making no claims about effects or health benefits, but it is tasty and I managed to grow it on a number of substrates (including waste such as brown cardboard and coffee grounds). If you're in the UK (as I am)and you see it wild, don't pick it though as Lions Mane / Bearded Tooth is a protected species[1]. Gourmet mushrooms are starting to filter into food chains in various locations through local independents who are very passionate and skilled about their cultivation practice[4]. Mycology is a fascinating hobby and plays very nice with woodworking as the waste from one activity feeds into the next on a small scale. [1]: https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fungi-and-lichens/bearded-tooth/ https://www.woodlandtrust.org.uk/trees-woods-and-wildlife/fu... [2]: https://grocycle.com/growing-lions-mane/ https://grocycle.com/growing-lions-mane/ [3]: https://fungiacademy.com/how-to-grow-lions-mane-mushrooms/ https://fungiacademy.com/how-to-grow-lions-mane-mushrooms/ [4]: https://southwestmushrooms.com/en-gb https://southwestmushrooms.com/en-gb
- vintermann 4y agoIt's surprising more mushrooms aren't actively cultivated. One thing is the mycorrhizing kinds which are hard to farm, but there are plenty of types which just need the right substrate and some care. Lion's mane, which unfortunately doesn't grow in my country, is one, but there is also sulfur shelf a.k.a. chicken of the woods which I would have thought would be a great candidate for mass cultivation. Shaggy mane inkcaps have terrible shelf life, so I understand why those aren't cultivated, but it should also be fairly straightforward to do on a small scale.
- jamiecurle 4y agoThe "myco space" for want of a better term is very interesting and food is only a small part of that area of operations. packaging - https://www.mycopack.co.uk/ https://www.mycopack.co.uk/ furniture - https://plainmagazine.com/designer-researcher-come-sustainable-furniture-made-fungus-wood/ https://plainmagazine.com/designer-researcher-come-sustainab... If I had a few more days per week and few spare hundred K kicking around I'd be having a poke at some of this stuff as a small scale business. I totally agree, it is surprising that fungi and mushrooms (the fruiting bodies of fungi) are not more widely cultivated - especially as use goes beyond food. I'mn currently experimenting with hollowing out Fomes fomentarius [1] brackets(hoof fungus), polishing them up, flattening the backs and finishing them with hardwax. Not quite sure where this will go but I'd like to see if I could fit battery powered lights in them and use them as odd but quirky reading lights. [1]: https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fomes_fomentarius_BW43.JPG https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Fomes_fomentarius_BW...
- say_it_as_it_is 4y agoPaul Stamets has been talking about Lion's Mane for years. It is an incredible supplement.
- bgitarts 4y agoAt what dosages?
- mtkhaos 4y agoJust throwing this out there as a neurodegenerative in remission. It's not the main reason why. But I can definitely tell when I haven't taken my Lion's mane caps that morning. This after years of elimination, trial and error out the necessity survival. It's worth a human trial once we can actually measure the effects.
- lambdaba 4y agocan you say more about your experience? what issues did you have and what else are you doing/have tried?
- yonaguska 4y agoI can speak about my experience, as someone that's ADHD, and has poor memory. I combined it with bacopa monnieri. My working memory feels like it's gotten a ton better. It took a few weeks for me to realize effects. I was no longer constantly forgetting things, able to manage more while coding, and able to participate a whole lot more during work meetings, as I could actually recall things more readily. I would say that this is just placebo, except that my wife also noticed that I was not constantly forgetting everything. With the concerta shortage hitting my area, I actually stopped taking my stimulants for about 2 months, and while my hyper active tendencies didn't go away, I was able to still perform at work. Having a better working memory made context switching much less expensive. I no longer feel dependent on my meds, and only take them when I know I'll be driving for long periods of time, as they do make me a safer driver. Side effects Occasional headaches for the first two weeks, this was fixed by ensuring that I had enough magnesium in my system. Also, if you're taking capsules, start out with half the daily dose for a few weeks. Also, a noticeable decrease in sex drive. I think it comes back after a few weeks though. Maca root also counters this- if you see this as a problem. Also, I will say that no supplement beats out good sleeping habits, diet, and exercise, so your mileage may vary and that's where I would personally start.
- b1c1jones 4y agoFungus affects brain... hmmm...
- CE02 4y agoAs someone who has been very interested in diet and health from many perspectives, be it general health and wellness when I was younger, competitive cycling and rowing, and more recently competitive bodybuilding, I have come to a tragically bland conclusion. Every day it seems like there's a new study about a new food that will revolutionize XYZ. Meanwhile, most people don't sleep well, dont drink enough water, overindulge in alcohol, don't get enough excercise, and don't get much sunlight. I think it should be everyone's primary focus to sleep well, drink water, get outside, get active, and eat generally decently. The huge cognitive and physical gains that would come from these basic activities far surpass any marginal benefit from optimization. I hate to say it, but if you're not eating a good amount of vegetables and fruit, decent protein, sleep, etc, no amount of mushrooms will catch up to that detriment. Now if these fundementals are in place, findings like this are truly fascinating! I just see so many people put the cart before the horse far too often.
- stantaylor 4y ago> Meanwhile, most people don't sleep well, dont drink enough water, overindulge in alcohol, don't get enough excercise, and don't get much sunlight. A couple I know in their mid-60s were both diagnosed with type 2 diabetes. They were both sedentary, overweight and ate horribly. They embarked on an ambitious diet and exercise plan, have both lost a lot of weight and are both no longer diabetic. It truly is fantastic, and I'm happy for them. One of them is convinced that people just don't know that they can beat type 2 diabetes; she wants to publish a book about what they've done. I keep trying to tell her it's not a lack of information, but a lack of will for most people, that she and her husband are very much outliers in that regard. Her publishing their method won't change things for hardly anyone. I'm 59 years old and have been a moderate athlete my whole life; I keep my weight decent (not as low as I'd like but well under official obesity levels), eat pretty well, get enough sleep. I am having a medical procedure done tomorrow (that's completely unrelated to anything here), and the nurse who did intake for the hospital was shocked that I don't take any prescription medications. I call that a win.
- CE02 4y agoI completely agree, but to add to this I also think it's an issue with information overload. Popular culture and pop science is all about quick fixes and crazy complicated "30 day transitions". It causes people to think that there are 3 types of people: 1) People who are naturally fit without effort. 2) People who have crazy gnarly diets and regiments. 3) Everyone else. This causes them to give up as it seems like far too steep of a climb. It's incredibly sad because the basics of "eat a little less, a little cleaner, and go for a walk" would kickstart a revolutionary change in most people. If you're maintaining weight on 3500 calories, it doesn't take a ton of work to start losing a bit of weight, even if its at a slow rate. People just see the first step as insurmountable. Not to mention the millions of fashion models and actors who take steroids then say they have a perfectly attainable physique and it was all hard work. Alas, that is a disucssion for another post. P.S. Hope the procedure goes well!
- thenerdhead 4y agoThis mushroom has been used by monks for centuries, finally seeing "recent" science. There's a 2010 study about how it helped elderly Japanese men and women in cognitive decline after 16 weeks. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18844328/ https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18844328/ The other studies are mostly in rats/mice around the nerve regeneration, immune system, and anxiety/depression. This finding might be similar to: https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3176599/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3176599/ I've been off and on it for years and it takes 4 weeks to see noticeable effects for those who want to try at home. I mostly got into it due to recovery of a covid infection that turned into an extended one while I am young and healthy. I believe it has helped me significantly, but might be too early to generalize.
- stephenitis 4y agoWhole Foods in DC has been selling Lions Mane at the grocery store for 7.99 a box ($1 an ounce) The producer is Smallhold located in NY.
- TurkishPoptart 4y agocan anyone recommend a Lion's Mane supplement? Unfortunately Fungi Perfecta does not give actual ground mushrooms but stealthily sells ground-up _mycelium_.