If you are in the market for a healthy supplement, mushroom supplements may not be on the top of your list. These natural fungi supplements are not as common as regular health boosters. However, this is slowly changing as the market becomes more welcoming of these fungi-derived health supplements. Since these wonder products are relatively new to the market, it isn’t easy to know what you should expect from them. Hence, you may buy a product that isn’t right for you. To avoid purchasing substandard supplements, you must invest in researching and learning about the brand and the products.
For instance, Freshcap Mushrooms review shows it is a reliable brand that houses many mushroom supplements, from capsules to powders. Here are a few tips for buying a mushroom supplement to best suit your needs.
Table of Contents
How to Choose a Trusted Mushroom Supplement Brand
1. Product Ingredients
Just because a supplement bottle has a picture of mushrooms or has the word ‘mushroom’ written doesn’t mean it contains mushrooms. Some mushroom supplements contain mycelium instead of mature mushrooms, and it is not the same thing. Mycelium is easy to produce and manufacture into supplements on a large scale; thus, many companies plaster the word mushroom on their websites to hide that they are selling low potency supplements.
Therefore, check the list of ingredients and the nutritional facts label on the product’s sticker or print. Nonetheless, some companies add ambiguity by using Latin names, which everyone isn’t familiar with, to mislead the customers. If that is the case, then they are probably using mycelium.
Under the FDA requirements, companies must specify which part of their plant to produce a specific product. If a company doesn’t do so, it’s a shady investment, and we recommend you avoid using their products.
2. Do Your Background Research
Many mushroom supplement brands mention mycelium on grain (MOG) in the ingredients section. Mycelium is the plant stage of the fungi that aren’t fully grown, i.e., and it hasn’t produced any mushrooms yet. The name may sound scientifically fancy; however, MOG contains little to no beneficial compounds abundantly present in actual mushrooms.
Some companies claim to use mycelium and mushrooms as a selling point. They claim that the products contain benefits from both the mycelium and the mushrooms calling it ‘full spectrum’ and charging a higher price. All this may sound fancy; however, it is just a marketing gimmick. Mycelium on grain cannot be full-spectrum as it is not from a fully grown plant. In fact, a company claiming to be full-spectrum might only contain 10% of mushrooms.
Overall, if a company claims to be full-spectrum and boasts about how many different parts of the plant are in the product, they are just trying to sugar coat and sell an inferior product.
3. Study the Type of Mushroom in the Product
There is more than one type of mushroom with beneficial qualities for the health of the mind and body. Some companies use only one kind of mushroom, while others use up to 10 types of mushrooms per serving. Moreover, mushrooms are not interchangeable. Each one has a unique composition and offers a different set of benefits. Therefore, do your research to figure out which mushroom you need for your situation.
For instance, if what you need comes from reishi mushrooms, be careful about the sourcing, as many companies try to take a shortcut, shutting down on the time and expense required to grow healthy reishi mushrooms fully. According to research, more than 74% of reishi supplements do not deliver what they claim. Of 19 different supplements tested, only five lived up to the standard.
4. Make Sure the Product is Organic
Mushroom supplements are best when they have a high concentration of extract, and when you are using a concentrated product, it is best to use one that is purely organic, free from toxins and impurities. Just because the product contains mushrooms, a natural plant, doesn’t mean it’s organic.
The product may contain inorganic fillers or artificial colors that compromise the organic aspect of a natural product. Moreover, the cultivation of mushrooms may use all kinds of pesticides, herbicides, and chemical fertilizers, leading to heavy metal inclusions in the extracts. Thus, it is best to look for USDA or NOP certification logo with the product. These regulatory authorities signify compliance with state-approved organic farming laws.
5. Focus on the Mushroom Source
Mushrooms are rarely grown at a Large Scale in the US as the cultivation process is very labor-intensive. Almost all companies import mushrooms from central Asia, specifically from China. In fact, around 85% of Mushrooms come from China. Therefore, the label ‘made in the USA’ can be misleading, although it isn’t entirely wrong since the products are packaged and manufactured in the US.
Chinese mushrooms are safe and reliable as long as they come from reputable sellers. A good seller will analyze the items they are selling to check their organic nature, safety, potency, and stability. They also run composition tests to see if there are any heavy metals.
A reliable brand like Freshcap provides details of their product’s test results and publicly offers an analysis of the composition and potency of the product. This type of company is customer responsive, so we recommend that you consider them to buy mushroom supplements.
6. Understand the Difference Between Mushroom Powder and Extract
A high-quality mushroom powder is very effective and has versatile consumption options. Although it is way more beneficial than mycelium on grain powders, it is not comparable to concentrated mushroom extracts that can be 8x more potent.
Hot water extracts from mushrooms have been used for thousands of years for medicinal purposes. These extracts provide all the benefits of mushrooms without their fibrous contents and proteins. Quite recently, a new alcohol extraction method has also gained popularity, as it can extract additional beneficial compounds like triterpenoids from mushrooms which are water-insoluble.
Final Thoughts
Mushroom supplements are an excellent product for health. They can enhance the physical and mental performance of people of all ages. Thus, choosing the right product for your needs is more important. By understanding the scientific terms, mushroom types, sourcing, certifications, and sourcing, you can easily make sure that you land on the product that is a bang for your buck and gives you exactly what you need.
Also read: 4 Tips for Safely Buying Supplements Online
