Mushroom Coffee: The Science Behind the Trend

[tao]

A new line of mushroom coffee promises to increase productivity, focus, energy, and much more. What's the science to support the claims?

 

Meg writes: “I recently got a free sample of Four Sigmatic mushroom coffee from an online grocer. Surprisingly enough, I enjoyed the flavor, but it’s awfully pricey. But if it does even half of what they say it does for you, it might be worth it. Do any of these claims actually hold water?”

 

Good question! Four Sigmatic is a Finnish company that blends various medicinal mushrooms with coffee, cocoa, tea, and/or various herbs to produce a variety of beverages that supposedly will increase your productivity, energy, immunity, and beauty. Sounds good to me!

 

But can drinking mushroom beverages really make you more productive, resilient, relaxed, or good-looking?

What Is Mushroom Coffee?

The product line features four different medicinal mushrooms that purport to produce a range of benefits. Reishi mushrooms are supposed to relieve stress and help you sleep as well as boost immune function. Cordyceps are thought to increase energy levels and athletic performance. Lion’s mane is supposed to sharpen memory and concentration. Chaga is a potent antioxidant—although most mushrooms have relatively high antioxidant activity.

 

These mushrooms have been used in traditional Chinese and Japanese medicine for thousands of years. There is also modern research demonstrating various beneficial effects, including increases in immune function and anti-cancer activity, reduced blood pressure and cholesterol, enhanced cognitive function, reduced anxiety, and so on.

 

But—and this is a big but—most of this research has been carried out either in test tubes or lab rats. In the relatively few controlled trials involving humans, the benefits have been modest or, in many cases, undetectable. Many of these research studies were small or involved subjects who were suffering from specific diseases, so it’s not clear whether the observed benefits would apply to a healthy population.

 

For example, one trial found that a reishi mushroom supplement reduced fatigue experienced by cancer patients. That’s not really the same as reducing fatigue in otherwise healthy people. Most of these studies have not been replicated or confirmed by subsequent trials. So, the science is still somewhat unsettled.

What Do People Say About Mushroom Coffee?

That leaves us with anecdotal evidence, and we are certainly not lacking in that. Many people say that after drinking these beverages, they feel remarkably energized, focused, or calm. They sleep better, they work better, they feel better. How much of that is due to good old-fashioned placebo effect? It’s hard to say. Sleep, energy, well-being, and focus are aspects of human experience that are notoriously subjective and suggestible.

 

It should also be noted that many of the people offering these glowing testimonials also participate in affiliate programs or partnerships. Meaning, they make money when you buy these products. That doesn’t necessarily mean that they are lying about the benefits that they experience. But the prospect of earning some money by sharing good news about these products could certainly contribute to a placebo effect.

 

But what’s wrong with exploiting a placebo effect if it makes us feel and function better?

The Placebo Effect is Real

My colleague Brock Armstrong recently devoted an episode of the Get-Fit Guy podcast to the topic of placebos and he makes several interesting points. First, he notes that when we perceive a positive effect from a placebo, we may not be imagining things. Our belief or expectation that the treatment will have a beneficial effect may actually change how our bodies behave and respond in measurable ways.

 

In other words, you may not just feel sharper after drinking some Lion’s Mane coffee, you might actually score better on a test of cognitive function. Is the mushroom responsible for this or is it power of suggestion? Perhaps it’s a bit of both. As long as it’s not doing any harm, who cares?

You may feel nothing or you may feel like a million bucks.

Brock also cites studies demonstrating that the placebo effect isn’t entirely dependent on deception. Even if you know you are taking a placebo instead of an active medication, you may still get some benefit.

 

(For more on how the placebo effect can be used to enhance athletic performance, be sure to check out his entire episode.)

 

Of course, a placebo must also be harmless. And these beverages do appear to be safe. The amount of active compounds per cup is generally less than the doses used in various research and are well within what’s considered safe.

 

But the power of suggestion can be a double-edged sword. It’s possible to experience negative effects from a sham treatment, something we call the nocebo effect. A friend of mine, for example, tried the lion’s mane coffee and experienced a temporary but unpleasant state of agitation. Was it a reaction to the mushroom or power of suggestion? Who cares? It was enough for him to decide that this product was not for him.

 

These products are thoughtfully produced. There are two categories of active compounds in medicinal mushrooms; polysaccharides, which are water-soluble, and triterpenoids, which are fat-soluble. To their credit, Four Sigmatic uses a dual extraction process that captures and preserves both types of compounds. The products are also tested for pesticide residues, heavy metals, and mycotoxins.

 

Even so, the company can’t offer any direct evidence that drinking these beverages will increase your productivity, focus, or energy, boost your immune system, help you relax, or make you more beautiful. You may feel nothing or you may feel like a million bucks. Whether or not the benefits you perceive justify the expense will depend on your subjective experience (and maybe your budget). As Meg points out, this stuff isn’t cheap…you’ll spend $1-$2 per cup.

 

You may also be thinking that the benefits would have to be pretty extraordinary to be worth drinking mushroom flavored coffee! But these extracts are fairly mild in flavor. When blended with coffee or cocoa, you can barely taste them.

 

< Here >

[Matrix]

lol how times have changed 40 years ago an ex friend gave me Mushroom Coffee I was incoherent for two days.

 

They were goldtops never had them again lol now I only drink tea and bourbon not together?

[luisam]

BS... I'm conservative in my coffee taste and I stick to pure coffee. PURE AND SIMPLE! I like coffee smelling and tasting coffee. I don't feel the need to buy any exotic mixtures of coffee with don't know what...   just to please the commercial expectations of some smart guys.  What the hell should know those fellows from FINLAND, a sub-arctic country, about coffee, a typically tropical culture!

By the way, if you want to know about some REALLY exotic coffee,  it's the civet coffee, a coffee that includes coffee beans eaten and defecated by some kind of a cat, or don't know what , called civet  Fermentation occurs as the beans pass through the civet's intestines, and after being defecated with other fecal matter, they are collected.
Producers of the cvet coffee argue that the process improves coffee through two mechanisms, selection – civets choosing to eat only certain coffee beans – and digestion – biological or chemical mechanisms in the animal's digestive tract altering the composition of the coffee. So, the next time someone offers you civet coffee as "the best coffee ever" you've drank, remember: it's made with cat sh*t!

 

[tao]

6 minutes ago, luisam said:

BS...

Yes, It's a good advice to the article writer:  Be Specific.  ?

 

8 minutes ago, luisam said:

it's made with monkey sh*t!

 

Thank lord, it's not BullSh*t.  ?

 

Cheers!