Mushrooms are poppin’ up everywhere nowadays (pun of course intended) and for good reason: an impressive amount of research is revealing how these powerhouse fungi can support your immune system, brain function, energy levels, and more.
All of their widespread benefits aside, I wanted to take a minute to talk about how powerful certain medicinal mushrooms can be for performance, and how you can incorporate them into your regime.
Medicinal Mushrooms And Athletic Performance
If this is your first time diving into medicinal mushrooms, know that these are a little different than your standard portabello or cremini culinary mushrooms (although these have nutritional benefits as well). Medicinal mushrooms are those that contain active compounds that can have medicinal effects on a variety of health issues.
Some common medicinal mushrooms include: chaga, reishi, lion’s mane, turkey tail, maitake, and cordyceps.
Traditionally, many of these mushrooms have been consumed less for culinary purposes, but more for medicinal effects, which is where they’ve gained their name.
When it comes to our focus on athletic performance, many of these medicinal compounds and properties have been found to assist in various factors that can give a boost to endurance, power output, and more.
Cordyceps in particular have been widely studied for their impact on performance. Research has shown that cordyceps may increase production of ATP (adenosine triphosphate) which is a crucial molecule for delivering energy to our muscles. Other studies have also shown that supplementation with cordyceps reduces fatigue during forced swimming tests, highlighting its ability to possibly improve endurance.
Even more studies have found that cordyceps supplementation improved tolerance to high-intensity exercise, as well as significantly improving VO2 Max. In essence, this means that subjects were able to tolerate exercise that was more intense for longer.
Another medicinal ‘shroom, Chaga mushroom, has also gained some impressive animal studies behind its name. One found that chaga extract also increased resilience to high-intensity exercise, while also decreasing fatigue markers like buildup of lactic acid.
Many medicinal mushrooms are rich in compounds called polysaccharides and beta glucans, as well as a host of synergistic antioxidants and minerals, which researchers believe are responsible for their positive effects on performance. And more good news: these benefits affect not only to your gym time, but can also support higher energy levels overall by creating a more robust immune system and resilience to the damaging effects of stress.
Let’s get into how you can get them into your routine.
How To Incorporate Mushrooms Into Your Training Regime
If you’ve seen the mushroom lattes floating around, you’ve likely come to the conclusion that medicinal mushrooms can be used very creatively.
How you choose to add them to your regime basically comes down to personal preference. You can choose a powder and add it to smoothies, coffee, or your pre-workout (see Onnit’s ‘Shroom Tech Sport below and save).
Alternatively, you can also take mushrooms as a tincture, or in capsule form.
Whether you choose a blend of several varieties or a single species like cordyceps, also comes down to personal preference. If you also want some of the benefits of other species for things like immunity, you may want to consider a blend.
As far as dose timing, I like to take mine in the morning to get the energy and stamina flowing for the day!
Get your daily dose of performance-supporting ‘shrooms with ‘Shroom Tech SPORT. Save by using my code: PRIMAL at checkout!
The Bottom Line
• Studies have shown that several medicinal mushrooms may help enhance performance
• Cordyceps has been widely studied for its ability to support increased resilience to high intensity exercise
• Medicinal mushrooms contain unique compounds like polysaccharides and beta glucans that researchers believe lend them their performance-supporting benefits
