Among the various superfoods and botanical ingredients we’ve discussed on the PurePower blog, lion’s mane could possibly be the most powerful.
Officially named Hericium erinaceus, lion’s mane gets its generic name from its dramatic presentation in the wild: large clumps of dangling spines, often white, that resemble a cross between a shower loofa and Gandalf’s beard — or a lion’s mane. The mushroom is most commonly found growing from hardwood like the American beech.
Fondly referred to as the “memory mushroom,” lion’s mane is another herb (or fungi as it is officially called) – long-used in traditional Chinese medicine for its nutritional and health benefits – that is now beginning to make waves in the athletic world.
Before we get into its potential benefits for athletes, let’s talk a little bit about what we know about lion’s mane. Studies have shown that consuming lion’s mane offers multiple health benefits, particularly to the brain, heart and gut. One study conducted in 2015 cited a long list of health-promoting properties:
antibiotic |
anticarcinogenic |
antidiabetic |
antifatigue |
antihypertensive |
antihyperlipodemic |
antisenescence |
cardioprotective |
hepatoprotective |
hepatoprotective |
nephroprotective |
neuroprotective |