There is a wide variety of mushroom based supplements on the market. And you’ve likely seen reishi mushroom supplements popping up more and more in recent years.
Reishi mushroom has been used as a traditional medicine for thousands of years. Yet it has recently grown in popularity as a trending ingredient due to a wide range of claimed benefits.
There are also a wide variety of reishi products popping up to take advantage of reishi’s newfound popularity.
Many of these supplements offer varying methods of preparation or different additional ingredients. So, it’s important to do some research and choose one that suits your own needs.
To help, we’re looking at 7 of the best reishi mushroom supplements in the UK. We’ll detail who they’re likely to be the best for, and why. Hopefully, this will help you make an informed decision on reishi mushroom supplements.
What is Reishi Mushroom?
Reishi mushroom (Ganoderma lucidum) is traditionally used as an ingredient in Eastern culture. It has been used for over 2,000 years in traditional Chinese medicine and was historically known as ‘the Divine mushroom’.
The reishi fungus grows natively in warm, humid areas, mostly in Asia. But it is available globally via health stores, typically in dried form. It includes triterpenoids, polysaccharides and peptidoglycans – biomolecules that may be behind the health benefits people have found from ingesting the mushroom.
But what are those benefits?
There seems to be evidence for a wide range of different ones that may suit different people. Let’s dive into some of the most common:
What are the benefits of Reishi Mushroom supplements?
Immune Support
Reishi mushroom supplements are commonly used for immune system support.
While further research is needed, evidence suggests that ingesting reishi can affect the genes in white blood cells.
In fact, evidence even exists that ingesting polysaccharides, which are present in reishi mushroom, can induce production of immunoglobulin – otherwise known as antibodies. It is thought that this is the mechanism by which any immune system benefits from reishi mushroom are produced.
Yet reishi doesn’t necessarily just help people fight off illness. Its immune system benefits have also been found to help fight infections or reduce inflammation .
Improved Mood, Reduced Fatigue and Stress
Immune support is one of the most well known benefits of reishi, but far from the only one.
Other potential benefits include a generally improved quality of life, typically experienced as reduced fatigue and depression.
A study involving people suffering from aches, pains, dizziness, headaches and irritability found that after eight weeks of reishi supplementation, fatigue reduced and wellbeing was improved across the board.
A similar study showed that reishi took only four weeks to reduce fatigue, anxiety, depression, and improve quality of life in a group of 48 breast cancer survivors.
Blood Sugar and Heart Health
There appears to be some evidence that reishi mushroom can help protect the heart and improve heart health.
One 12 week study found that reishi mushroom could increase positive cholesterol (HDL) and also found evidence that it may reduce triglyceride levels.
With that said, other studies into reishi’s impact on heart health have found no benefits, so further research is needed before clear benefits can be claimed.
There is also some evidence that reishi can reduce blood sugar. This is a bit more promising than the above evidence, as multiple tests have found positive effects both in animals and humans .
While these tests are more promising, there have been reports of some studies showing reishi performed worse than placebo. So the exact situations in which reishi can reduce blood sugar are unclear.
Antioxidant Benefits
Reishi has been found to be an effective antioxidant.
There are numerous studies that support this, and it may be the most reliable benefit of reishi supplementation.
Antioxidants help prevent damage to cells by inhibiting oxidation. This reduces the production of free radicals, which can be toxic and cause multiple health issues.
Which Reishi Mushroom supplements should I buy?
1. Evopure Reishi Mushroom Powder with Cacao
evopure Reishi Mushroom Powder with Cacao A top pick, this product uses high quality reishi powder that is non-GMO, made in the UK. And it’s independently lab tested to give you a clear breakdown of what’s in each pouch.
The high standard of the product doesn’t stop at high quality reishi, however. The bag contains a nice blend of other ingredients with complementary benefits.
This includes cacao powder, a natural superfood packed full of antioxidants. It also includes maca root, which has stress busting and sleep promoting properties to fight fatigue even more than reishi alone.
Cinnamon is also included, packed full of antioxidants and vitamins and minerals.
What’s more, it contains coconut sugar and stevia as natural sweeteners.
The best part about this product is the above mentioned ingredients constitute the entire ingredient list! There are no fillers, preservatives or other unnecessary additives. This makes it one of the most reliable reishi products when it comes to managing stress, sleep or mood.
Visit evopure.co.uk to find out more
This dual extract tincture is made of reishi, pure grain alcohol and distilled water – nothing else! While this may mean it misses out on the extra relaxation-based benefits provided by the other ingredients in our top pick, it does make this tincture one of the best options for those looking to trial the benefits of reishi for themselves.
It is also made in the UK, and claims to be the strongest reishi tincture on the market with 20,000mg per bottle.
Organically grown on logs and extracted from fruiting bodies, these capsules contain 400mg of dried reishi powder each.
While this is a bit lower of a dose than our above choices, it is one of the highest quality capsules available and therefore may be the best choice for those who prefer capsules rather than preparing a drink or ingesting natural tasting tinctures. It contains 60 capsules (enough for a two-month supply).
These capsules are also independently lab tested for heavy metals and other contaminants, so you can be assured of their quality and purity.
4. Fushi Fresh Ground Organic Reishi Mushroom Capsules
Another high quality capsule for our list! Fushi’s offering is freshly ground and immediately capsulated from this year’s harvest.
At 60 caps for £12, it provides better value than Mindful Extract’s version, albeit at a slightly smaller dose of 310mg per capsule.
Regardless of the lower dosage, this is one of the highest quality reishi supplements in the UK and contains nothing but pure reishi mushroom, and the capsule itself. This means it’s 100 percent free of fillers, binders, bulking agents, glycerine, solvents, gluten, wheat, lactose, preservatives, artificial colouring or yeast.
5. Organic Reishi Cacao Latte by Mushrooms 4 Life
With a massive 1,000mg of reishi per cup, accents of cinnamon and vanilla, and a smooth cacao flavour, all on a creamy coconut base, this product comes close to our number one pick in terms of flavour and extra ingredients.
With 100 percent natural ingredients and UK products, the quality is there too. The latte is also dairy free, making it a great choice for vegans, as well as gluten and soya free too.
6. Puresport Reishi Supplement Capsules
Puresport is a relatively new company selling a range of supplements that have been growing in popularity. Their reishi capsules offer 30 percent polysaccharides content and are triple lab tested by three separate independent laboratories.
As a small business focused on athletes, Puresport also offers testing for banned substances which will be a huge plus for people involved in high level sport and athletics.
Like some other products on our list, these capsules contain 100 percent reishi extract with zero other ingredients, making it a highly effective way to test the benefits of reishi mushroom for yourself.
7: Seven Flower Organic Reishi Mushroom Spray
If none of the options in our list have done it for you yet, this may just be the one. It has a unique form of delivery as an oral spray. It is small enough to carry around in your bag. Plus, it allows you to have a quick dose of reishi mushroom on the go.
The spray also includes a range of sleep promoting herbal ingredients including hawthorn berries, St John’s wort, lavender and cinnamon.
Rather than being purely a reishi product, this one leverages reishi to boost a variety of other naturally relaxing ingredients to reduce stress.
Are Reishi Mushroom Supplements good for sleep?
The simplest answer is yes. But you should always do your research, and individual results may vary. The evidence that reishi mushroom can help with relaxation and stress is significantly higher than it is for other benefits.
Unlike sedatives or melatonin, reishi will not make you drowsy.
With that said, clinical trials found that those using reishi mushroom for three days experienced in an increase in levels of TNF. TNF is a key substance in sleep regulation, the hypothalamus region of the brain that regulates sleep/wake cycles, and the dorsal raphe nucleus associated with learning and memory. So this may represent the actions through which reishi can stimulate sleepiness and relaxation.
Another lab test in rats found decreased sleep latency, increased sleeping time, non-REM sleep time, and light sleep time. In other words, they fell asleep easier and slept for longer. It also noted a significant reduction in anxious actions such as fidgeting.
Of course, studies are still relatively premature, and more evidence is likely to come out in the near future, so you should also do your own research and keep up to date on the latest findings. But in general, reishi can be assumed to be effective for sleep.
Do Reishi Mushrooms have any side effects?
Reishi mushroom is generally safe to ingest and in the vast majority of cases does not provide any side effects. But, it is important to note that this may change with particularly high doses, or through regularly ingesting reishi for a long period of time.
It is also worth noting that individuals may experience unique side effects or allergies that require being careful with any supplement.
While uncommon, reishi has been associated with the following side effects:
Dizziness Rashes and itching Dry mouth Nausea Upset stomach The bottom line
Looking to research which reishi mushroom products are the best for you? There are a few things you need to look for. Namely:
A good quality reishi supplement should use reishi from fruiting bodies only. Independent lab testing is crucial. Any high quality supplier should provide this, as why wouldn’t you want to prove the quality of your product? A company that doesn’t publish independent lab test results is unlikely to be trustworthy.The purer, the better . While popular herbal ingredients that offer additional benefits are obviously fine, reishi supplement products do not need to contain preservatives, artificial colours or flavours, filler or anything else that doesn’t directly translate into results. Sustainability is key . With reishi mushroom growing in popularity, and numerous different ways of farming it existing, it’s important to support companies that choose sustainable methods that are able to continue growing into the future without causing damage to the environment.
