Does Lion's Mane Interact With Medications? What To Know
Supplements might not come with a dozen instructions and a doctor’s visit, but that doesn’t mean their effects can’t be powerful. Many supplements have been used for hundreds of years in traditional forms of folk medicine, and some of them can even render prescription medications more or less effective.
If you’re interested in taking lion’s mane, your first question might be whether it will affect your medications or not. Here’s what you need to know about lion’s mane interactions.
What Is Lion’s Mane?
Before we dive into how it works with medications, it might be helpful to know exactly what lion’s mane is. Long story short, lion’s mane (Hericium erinaceus) is a functional mushroom that grows in colder climates throughout America, Asia, and Europe. This mushroom is white and furry in appearance, which is likely where it got its name.
While functional mushrooms might be fairly new to your local supplement aisle, they’ve been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for thousands of years. In TCM, lion’s mane was used to support mental health and encourage a good mood. Of course, we now have scientific research that has revealed even more benefits.
These include:
- Supporting Focus: Lion’s mane can support focus and memory, making it a popular nootropic.
- Encouraging a Good Night’s Sleep: Lion’s mane can support a balanced nervous system, which can support high-quality sleep at night.
- Supporting Gut Health: This mushroom contains beta-glucans, a type of prebiotic fiber that can feed healthy gut bacteria. It can also support gut health by encouraging enzyme production.
- Encouraging Immune Health: Lion’s mane is chock-full of antioxidants, which can help defend the body from free radical damage.
- Supporting Long-Term Brain Health: Lion’s mane can support overall cognitive function in older adults, which may be a result of its antioxidant properties.
Does Lion’s Mane Interact With Medications?
To put it simply, there’s no specific research that says lion’s mane interacts with medications or particular health conditions. That said, there are a few things that could go wrong when you consider the particular ways that lion’s mane works.
Here are some potential interactions to be aware of:
- Bleeding Disorders: Lion’s mane may exacerbate symptoms of bleeding disorders.
- Blood Thinners: Lion’s mane may combine with blood thinners and amplify the effects to a dangerous level.
- Blood Sugar Medication: Lion’s mane may combine with blood sugar medications to cause unstable and unhealthy blood sugars.
- Mushroom Allergies: It is possible to have a life-threatening mushroom allergy. If you have this allergy or it runs in your family, talk to your doctor and proceed with caution.
Of course, these might not be the only interactions out there. Also, doctors don’t know if lion’s mane can have negative effects on children, women who are pregnant, or those who are breastfeeding.
All of this means that if you have a preexisting health condition or take any medications, you should speak with your doctor before trying lion’s mane. They can give you personalized advice based on your unique health background.
How Much Lion’s Mane Should You Take?
When it comes to lion’s mane dosage, it’s hard to say an exact number. Lion’s mane isn’t the same as vitamin C or magnesium — there’s no government guideline that tells us how much we should take every day.
Instead, it’s up to us to pay attention to our bodies and find a dose that works for us. A great place to start is with whatever serving size is recommended for your supplement. If it causes any side effects, stop taking it and talk to your doctor. If you’re clear to keep trying, start with a smaller dose and see how it goes.
How Can You Take Lion’s Mane?
Lion’s mane supplements come in all shapes and sizes, which means you have tons of options for how you incorporate this fabulous fungus into your daily routine. For instance, you can get a liquid lion’s mane extract and take it plain or add it to your morning water. You can also try lion’s mane powdered supplements, which are incredibly easy to add to overnight oats or smoothies.
Whichever form you use, just make sure the lion’s mane has been properly extracted. If a supplement uses lion’s mane powder without putting it through an extraction process, you might not get the same level of benefits.
This is because the mushroom compounds that give lion’s mane its benefits are not very bioavailable. You could eat lion’s mane raw from the wild and your body wouldn’t be able to extract the nutrients. However, if you use an extraction process to pull out these compounds, your body can make use of the full spectrum of lion’s mane benefits.
At Everyday Dose, we make functional mushroom blends using a double extraction process. Our powders are also easy and simple to use — just add water (and a little milk or sweetener, if that’s your vibe), and you have a delicious lion’s mane supplement.
The Bottom Line
Lion’s mane is a popular functional mushroom that can support focus, help detoxify the body, and encourage a good night’s sleep. Although there are no known side effects of lion’s mane, it could interact with blood thinners, blood sugar medications, and bleeding disorders. It’s also possible to be allergic to lion’s mane.
If you want to try lion’s mane for yourself, give our Mushroom Coffee+ a try. It combines the power of lion’s mane with other nootropics like L-theanine and 45 mg of caffeine, as well as other health-supporting ingredients like chaga mushroom and collagen protein. To learn more about the wonders of medicinal mushrooms, visit the Everyday Dose blog today!
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