These days it seems our brains are constantly on hyperdrive and our ability to fully focus is suffering. One fix? A functional mushroom called lion’s mane. The research is in: the best lion’s mane supplements have many benefits on cognitive function and mood balance as well as stress support and immunity.
“Lion’s mane is considered a nervine (an herb for the nervous system) and a nootropic (an herb that improves memory, focus, and concentration),” explains herbalist Rachelle Robinett, RH, AHG. “Functional mushrooms have many benefits for gut health, brain health, and immunity.” Beyond the mental clarity and razor sharp focus, taking mushrooms like lion’s mane also comes without many of the potential side effects that are typically associated with stimulants like jitters, energy spikes, and mid-day crashes. Instead, they help regulate the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenals to support sustained energy, stress resilience, and antioxidant protection. “Ultimately, nervines, like lion’s mane, offer nearly immediate relief from the anxiety-induced symptoms that plague millions of us,” says Robinett. “They’re part of the path to rehabilitating our bodies’ ability to respond to life in a healthy way.”
Vogue’s Favorite Lion’s Mane Supplements
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The benefits of lion’s mane are many, but if you’re new to mushrooms, there’s a few things to know before incorporating them into your routine. “Lion’s mane is not a ‘quick fix’,” says herbalist and formulator at French skincare brand Verdoie, Blaire Edwards-Maschotta. “It works best over time so it requires consistency, so don’t expect it to work as quickly as a cup of coffee or energy drink does.” If you want to experience the benefits of this medicinal mushroom, we asked top herbalists to break down all the benefits, including the six best lion’s mane supplements you can start taking now.
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Best Overall: Urban Moonshine Wonder Human
- Why We Love It: Certified gluten-free, organic, and vegan, these capsules are like a brain boost in a bottle. Chock full of powerful mushrooms and herbs like lion’s mane, maitake, reishi, and more, they’re easy to swallow and said to help keep you calm, focused, and energized—no matter what the day brings. “I love that Wonder Human provides long-term cognitive support (with lion’s mane and schisandra) with acutely stimulating rhodiola, all balanced with the short-term tension-busting action bacopa,” says Edwards-Maschotta, who has previously worked with the team at Urban Moonshine and can “personally vouch for their company culture as well as their sourcing ethics—they never cut corners.” With a powerful blend of nootropics and adaptogens, the brand says it’s especially popular for anyone feeling run down or overwhelmed. “It’s important to contextualize lion’s mane more than just a “smart drug” or coffee/stimulant replacement,” says Edwards-Maschotta. “It’s so much more nourishing and has long term benefits.” Robinett agrees, noting that looking for capsules like these that are “simple to take every day, at any time, from fail-safe brands that are backed by herbalists and made with high-quality ingredients” is a priority when looking for the best herbal supplements.
- Key Ingredients: Lion’s mane, maitake, reishi, dandelion root
- Form: Capsules
- Serving Size: 2 capsules
- Certifications: USDA organic, cGMP compliant
Best Mushroom Coffee: Atlas+ Coffee Superblend
- Why We Love It: Another favorite of Edwards-Maschotta, this coffee blend is a drinkable dose of functional mushrooms and herbs to support not only focus and clarity, but also skin, energy, immunity, and gut health. It also is made with 45mg of caffeine, so it isn’t totally a mushroom-only coffee, if you’re a caffeine lover. “I love that Atlas+ offers Lion’s Mane in an easy, tasty beverage form,” says Edwards-Maschotta. “One serving has 1,000mg of lion’s mane as well as other functional mushrooms and herbs.” It’s brilliant for beginners because it can replace a morning or mid-afternoon coffee—and actually tastes like real coffee. “Mushrooms don’t taste great most of the time, so the average person doesn’t want to mix them into their coffee or smoothies,” says Edwards-Maschotta. “This is an easy way to get started taking mushrooms daily.”
- Key Ingredients: Lion’s mane, reishi, vitamin B12, vitamin D3, probiotics
- Form: Powder to liquid
- Serving Size: 1 tablespoon
- Certifications: USDA Organic, third-party tested
Best Tasting: Alice Mushrooms Brainstorm
- Why We Love It: For those with an insatiable sweet tooth, use the next time a craving for a little sweet treat hits you to your benefit with this delicious dark chocolate square. It’s the ultimate dessert-before-dinner or mid-morning snack that tastes insanely delicious and has less than one gram of sugar. They’re serious about where their mushrooms come from, too. Not only are they grown-to-order and sourced from women-owned farms, they’re grown on the substrate that’s most natural to them (lion’s mane on oak and maple logs, cordyceps on brown rice). They’re also made with the nutrient-dense fruiting body of both lion’s mane and cordyceps mushrooms, something Edwards-Maschotta looks for: “The first thing to look for when taking lion’s mane is making sure the product you’re purchasing is from the fruiting body, not the mycelium,” says Edwards-Maschotta. Fruiting bodies contain higher concentrations of bioactive compounds like hericenones, erinacines, and beta-glucans, all of which are linked to benefits like brain and immune health. “The fruiting body is what has traditionally been used for thousands of years, and may be more potent which could mean more benefits,” she adds.
- Key Ingredients: Organic semi-sweet dark chocolate, lion’s mane, cordyceps
- Form: Chocolate bar
- Serving Size: 1 square
- Certifications: USDA organic, OU-D kosher certified, third-party tested
Best Powder: Moon Juice Brain Dust
- Why We Love It: Say goodbye to brain fog with this adaptogenic mushroom powder, which melts into any beverage invisibly—no clumping, weird texture, or chalky aftertaste. Supercharged with a slew of different mushrooms, it’s a malty, bitter blend of nootropics (a.k.a cognitive boosters), that pairs perfectly with tea, coffee, smoothies, or your favorite type of milk. Tip: Use a milk frother to blend it imperceptibly in your drink and add a dash of your favorite natural sweetener. Known to power all-around mental clarity, alertness, and focus, this powder is an ideal pick-me-up for a post-lunch afternoon work slump or mid-morning meeting. “Lion’s mane is great to take preventatively, as needed, and long term,” explains Robinett. “Take them both before high-pressure presentations and to safeguard against burnout during longer periods of stress. Weave them into a self-care weekend and rely on them during hectic holiday seasons. Use them before bed, while working, or upon waking. There is no wrong time for a nervine.”
- Key Ingredients: Lion’s mane, gingko, rhodiola, ashwagandha
- Form: Powder
- Serving Size: 1 teaspoon
- Certifications: GMP-certified, third-party tested
Best Liquid: MaryRuth Organics Lion’s Mane Mushroom Supplement
- Why We Love It: If quick and painless drops are your thing, look no further than MaryRuth Organics’ herbal liquid formula for a dose of 100% organic lion’s mane, you can put right on your tongue (or mix it into water). There’s 1180 mg of lion’s mane in every serving, which you can take up to 3 times a day—which makes it incredibly easy to get an ideal, powerful dose. According to Edwards-Maschotta, “fairy dusting” lion’s mane isn’t going to cut it: “Clinical studies show cognitive benefits at relatively high doses, starting at around 2,000mg/day,” she says.
- Form: Drops
- Serving Size: 1 mL
- Certifications: USDA organic, Non-GMO Project verified, B Corp certified, Clean Label Project certified
Best Gummy: Grüns Nutrops Lion’s Mane Gummy
- Why We Love It: Not only are these lion’s mane gummies delicious (like lemon meringue marshmallow clouds!), they’re also caffeine-free, vegan, gluten-free, nut-free, and dairy-free, and come in low sugar and sugar-free options, so they’re suitable for a wide range of dietary restrictions. They’re also brilliantly stashed inside individual sachets so you can take them on the go for a mental boost whenever and wherever you need it. “As with nearly all herbs, lion’s mane works best when you take it regularly,” says Robinett. “You’ll notice the most benefits if you take them daily for an extended period of time.” Formulated with 10,000mg, using a 10:1 fruiting body of six different types of adaptogenic mushrooms for a comprehensive energy, focus, and memory pick-me-up, you’ll actually look forward to taking them.
- Key Ingredients: Lion’s mane, chaga, reishi, maitake, cordyceps
- Form: Gummy
- Serving Size: 1 packet
- Certifications: NSF-certified, GMP compliant, third-party tested
Everything You Need To Know
Lion’s mane is a type of edible, medicinal mushroom—and the common name applied to a handful of Hericium mushroom species. “Most often, lion’s mane refers to Hericium erinaceus,” explains Edwards-Maschotta. “Hericium is Latin for ‘hedgehog’ due to the fruiting body’s resemblance to the European hedgehog, and it grows throughout North America and Eurasia.” It’s also considered a functional mushroom, nervine, and nootropic. “The fruiting body is eaten in France, Japan and China as a food, and the dried mushroom has been used by Native Americans as a topical for medicinal purposes,” adds Edwards-Maschotta.
Conveniently, lion’s mane can be taken in powder, tincture, or capsule form, as well as barbecued. “The fact that an antidepressant, nerve-regenerating, neuroplasticity-encouraging mushroom exists, and that we can eat it as jerky or in place of steak, is just another example of the mind-expanding promise of herbalism,” says Robinett.
What are the benefits of taking lion’s mane?
“Anyone interested in better brain health (memory, focus, concentration) or anyone interested in preventing neurological decline is a great candidate for lion’s mane,” says Robinett. Renowned for its potential health benefits, specifically for cognitive and neurological health, lion’s mane has been used for centuries in many different cultures for different purposes. “Lion’s mane is most famously known for its ability to support the cognitive and nervous systems,” says Edwards-Maschotta. “But it’s even been used in traditional Chinese Medicine as a digestive supporting medicine as well as by Native Americans for medicinal purposes like stopping bleeding.”
According to the National Library of Medicine, the medicinal properties of H. erinaceus boast antioxidant and antimicrobial effects and there’s also been new interest placed on the potential neuroprotective and neuroregenerative properties of lion’s mane. “Lion mane’s extracts and constituents have been shown to support nerve-growth factor synthesis and clinical studies suggest cognitive function support as well as neuroprotective activity,” says Edwards-Maschotta. “Most studies focus on long term usage.” While more clinical studies need to be conducted, the research is promising.
Do lion’s mane supplements actually work?
Herbal supplements like lion’s mane can work, but they don’t perform overnight miracles. “You have to take herbal supplements consistently in order to notice any real benefits,” says Edwards-Maschotta. There is exciting research happening around mushrooms as medicine and particularly lion’s mane for acute and long-term benefits in healthy, young adults. “Studying the mushroom in young, healthy individuals is unique because historically, most of the lion’s mane clinical studies are focused on older adults suffering from cognitive impairment,” explains Edwards-Maschotta. “While it was a small sample size—only 41 individuals—so it’s hard to say the results are universal, this study did also show an acute improvement in cognitive performance as well as a long term (28 day) benefit in self-reported stress reduction.”
Is there a downside to taking lion’s mane?
Just like with any food or supplement, if you’re allergic or sensitive to it, it could have major downsides. It’s always important to speak with your doctor or a medical professional before starting any supplements or herbal remedies. “If you’re allergic to mushrooms, you should avoid taking lion’s mane for obvious reasons,” says Edwards-Maschotta. “Other than allergies, there isn’t much of a downside, as there are no notable contraindications or side effects, other than you should take it consistently to experience the best benefits.”