Mushrooms Explained
Although all the mushrooms we sell have some similar attributes in terms of supporting the immune system, blood sugar regulation, nerve regeneration, improving mental clarity and physical wellbeing, they also have that one stand out benefits they have become known for:
- Lion’s Mane has been shown to stimulate nerve cell growth and repair, aiding physical recovery as well as enhancing cognition. Personally we use this mushroom for mental clarity, focus and memory prior to work as well as improving nervous system recovery after heavy training sessions.
- Cordyceps increase ATP production, oxygen absorption / utilisation and lung capacity making it the ideal natural supplement for enhancing the cardiovascular system and exercise performance.
- Reishi calms the central nervous system, reducing stress whilst up-regulating natural detoxification pathways by boosting our cells ability to eradicate pathogens and increasing apoptosis. Apoptosis is the natural process of our body clearing out damaged cells such as those infected with a virus.
- Chaga mushroom acts as an anti-stress adaptogen and master anti-oxidant, protecting against free radicals / oxidative stress and the breakdown of DNA and cell membranes. This makes it a great way to counteract the damage caused by daily stressors, such as; air pollution, pseudo foods like vegetable oils and any toxic chemicals we come into contact with such as the ones in the average washing up liquid or cleaning sprays.
Modern technology has given the world access to these incredible mushrooms, which are native to China and have played a key role in Chinese medicine for centuries. In addition to this, the latest technology now enable us to extract these mushrooms into powder concentrates, condensing the healing and performance enhancing compounds within them.
MEDICINAL MUSHROOMS SUCH AS LION'S MANE, CORDYCEPS, CHAGA & REISHI HAVE BEEN USED BY HUMANS SINCE ANCIENT TIMES AS A NATURAL METHOD OF HEALING AND PERFORMANCE ENHANCEMENT.
When making a mushroom extract powder, there are a number of factors that need to be considered to ensure an extremely high quality product. These include:
- How they're are grown - they should be naturally wild-crafted, meaning they're cultivated in a controlled version of their natural environment on the substrate materials native to each particular mushroom with access to fresh air and sunlight.
- Organic status - as with all genuine health food products, they need to be organic, non-GMO and without additives or fillers.
- The extraction process - to maximise the number of beneficial compounds in the finished product, these mushrooms need to be dual-extracted.
- Concentration - in order to enhance these incredible mushrooms even further the powder can be concentrated and made many times stronger than the original mushroom.
- 100% pure mushroom - no added fillers, starch, grains or mycelium.
- Lab analysis - finally the finished powder extracts need to be tested for their levels of beneficial compounds and to ensure they contain no heavy metal or harmful chemicals.
At APE, we wanted to bring you a product that ticks all the above boxes. Having left no stone unturned in the creation of our own mushroom extract powders, our latest batch of 10:1 concentrated Cordyceps , 8:1 concentrated Lion's Mane , 8:1 concentrated Reishi a and new Dusk blend which includes 8:1 concentrated Chaga are made up of 25.6%, 21.1% and 31.4% beta-glucans, the beneficial compound known primarily for it's immune enhancing properties.
Failing to do these things will result in a mushroom extract powder that has poor levels of the bioactive compounds they're known for and subsequently you won't feel the effects to anywhere near the extent you should do.
What is mushroom potency and why does it matter?
Our mushroom powders are either 10:1 or 8:1 extracts, meaning we use 10 or 8 grams of raw Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi or Chaga to make just one gram of powder. To make one 40 gram pot, we use between 320-400 grams of mushrooms. Most mushroom powders on the market are 1:1 extracts, meaning they use just one gram of raw mushroom to make one gram of powder. With our products being 8-10 times the strength of others out there, you'll be getting 8-10 times the amount of beneficial nutrients these mushrooms are known for, including; beta-glucans, triterpenes, polyphenols and so on. Not only this but our medicinal mushrooms are wild-crafted, certified organic by the Soil Association and dual extracted, making them even more potent.
Lion's Mane
Lion's Mane mushroom has been shown to regenerate the myelin around nerve cell axons. Myelin enables impulses, including neural signals to transmit along nerve cells. The more efficient our myelin are, the quicker we can recall memories, react to external stimulus, etc. See a ball being thrown to you out the corner of your eye, how quickly you react depends on how your myelin are working. As we age, amyloid plaques form on our myelin, causing demyelination and slowing our reactions down. As this builds up over time, it leads to neurodegenerative diseases like dementia. A study was on completed on mice, in which they were put in to a maze with two routes. One route led to food and the other to a dead end. The mice quickly learned which route led to food and took this path every time. The mice were then injected with a neurotoxin that caused amyloid plaques to build up on their myelin. Within around two weeks the mice couldn't remember which way to go. At this point a number of the mice were dissected, which confirmed a build up of amyloid plaques. The rest of the mice were then fed Lion's Mane. Within a few weeks they had almost completely recovered. A representative sample of the remaining mice were dissected, showing that the amyloid plaques had reduced and their myelin had regenerated.
Studies suggest the Lion's Mane mushroom has the potential to:
Reishi
Traditionally Reishi has been regarded as the Queen of mushrooms due to its incredible ability to invoke relaxation, deep sleep, recovery and high levels of immunity. As with our other medicinal mushrooms, Reishi first started being documented for its healing powers in Chinese medicine thousands of years ago. In more recent years, science has been able to validate and provide more understanding around how this mushroom does what the ancient wisdom of China knew so long ago. The latest research indicates that the triterpenes within Reishi act in conjunction with its other bio-active compounds to calm and balance the human nervous system. This in turn lowers stress levels on the body, enhancing relaxation, deep sleep and recovery. In terms of immunity, Reishi has been demonstrated to up-regulate immune function in individuals who’s innate defences against pathogens have been suppressed. It does this by enhancing the production and activity of internal defence cells such as macrophage’s, which are like tiny soldiers tasked with defending our insides against bacteria and other harmful cells within our system. Macrophages literally detect, engulf and destroy harmful cells within the body. You can see why the name Reishi means ‘Mushroom of Immortality’ in Japanese.
Studies suggest the Reishi mushroom has the potential to:
Chaga
Modern science has demonstrated that triterpenoids, polyphenols and polysaccharides are major active ingredients in Chaga Mushroom. When isolated and tested, lots of these compounds were shown to have strong antioxidant and gene-protecting properties. This is why Chaga is regarded as nature's anti-oxidant and is known for protecting against oxidative damage, stopping damaged cells from proliferating, acting as an anti-inflammatory and being protective on a cellular and genetic level. This makes it an incredibly useful mushroom in modern society where daily stressors, which cause damage to the body are growing all the time and can often be unavoidable. To name just a few; air pollution, pseudo foods like vegetable oils and any toxic chemicals we come into contact with such as the ones in the average washing up liquid or cleaning sprays.
Studies suggest Chaga has the potential to:
- Act as a master anti-oxidant in the body
- Have anti-inflammatory effects
- Protect against cell damage
- Protect DNA
- Support stress management
- Boost the immune system
Cordyceps
Traditionally used to combat fatigue, general weakness and improve respiratory function, wild harvested Cordyceps are one of the most expensive supplements on the earth, costing as much as $20,000 USD per kilo. Advancements in technology, now enable us to cultivate this mushroom in a wild-crafted environment, meaning it can be farmed in way that replicates how it would grow naturally in the wild. Doing so makes this incredibly powerful mushroom affordable to the masses. The latest scientific analysis has validated what Chinese medicine doctors have known for centuries, demonstrating Cordyceps immune enhancing properties, as well as its ability to increase ATP production, oxygen absorption / utilisation and lung capacity. The latter three points make this a game changing natural supplement for athletes looking to enhance their energy levels, respiratory system and exercise performance. This was exemplified by China's women's running team, who claimed the addition of Cordyceps into their supplement regime played a major role in them broking three world records in 1993.
Studies suggest the Cordyceps mushroom has the potential to:
- Enhanced endurance / physical performance
- Increased ATP production
- Improved oxygen delivery
- Enhanced immunity
- Blood sugar support
- Nervous system support
- Anti-oxidant / anti-inflammatory supplement
