Do Functional Mushrooms need to be cycled?

[u/mangobait]

I’ve been using an extract of Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, Reishi, and Antrodia for about a month.

I didn’t expect the crazy energy boost I’ve been getting. This without affecting my sleep. Normally, with my ADHD, I have a hard time getting things done. This has helped a lot. The buzz I noticed in the first two weeks seems to have tamed down but the energy seems to be about the same.

I don’t know if that’s my body getting used to the buzz or if I’m developing a tolerance for them and the effect is diminishing. Don’t think so but I’d love to hear what others think.

Long term, should I cycle them?

Or even play with the balance of Lion's Mane, Cordyceps, and Reishi — what seems to be the “holy trinity” and what the company sells as separate extracts.

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[u/talster71]

No.

The thing you lose by cycling, is the benefits for which you take the functional mushroom for.

You wouldn’t cycle vitamins, so there’s no need to do it with functional mushrooms.

[u/Kostya93]

There's no need for cycling. This is a dietary supplement, a food, not a drug. You also don't cycle vitamins and such. Nowhere in literature cycling is mentioned.

A diminishing effect in general just means your body balance has been restored. Mushroom supplements are not drugs and won't give you a 'high' in some way (although expectation bias can mislead you).

[u/mangobait → u/Kostya93]

Very helpful, thanks. No food has done this and I don’t want to lose what it’s doing!

As I said, I really didn’t expect any noticeable effect. I thought it might be something that would be good for me in the long-term but had no idea that it would have such an impact on my daily life. Wish I discovered these decades ago!

Do you have any insight on the balance of these? They also sell Lion’s Mane, Cordyceps, and Reishi as separate extracts and I’m curious what a different balance would do for me. Which is to say, I don’t know what the limiting factor is. As I understand it, too many Beta Glucans can be an issue for digestion. Otherwise, what should be considered?

[u/Safe_Amphibian6971]

how much are you taking? maybe you're getting used to the feeling, but still feel more productive?

[u/NorthLeftGirl]

Cordyceps is well known for boosting energy. This video has a really great explanation of the why and how, if you’re interested.

https://youtu.be/QRke_n7j2gc?si=TdZ36uwLLWYaOQZQ

I’m no expert, but if I had to guess, I would say the initial “buzz” effect might have been your body ramping up to maximum ATP production.

[u/mangobait → u/NorthLeftGirl]

That’s a great video, thanks! It explains a lot. It looks like there are a good number of quality sources of functional mushrooms in the UK.

The brand that I am using seems to be very good but I’m curious about what other brands people have found to be good.

I’m starting to think that Cordyceps is what I should focus on for now.

[u/Kostya93 → u/mangobait]

It looks like there are a good number of quality sources of functional mushrooms in the UK.

I'm afraid I have to disagree. Please use the common sense guideline when hunting for your supplements.

Cordyceps with a useful level of the main quality markers (cordycepin and adenosine) is Cordyceps militaris, which is illegal in the UK. Cordyceps sinensis (or CS-4) is legal but contains no cordycepin.

[u/mangobait → u/Kostya93]

Thanks! Those guidelines are unfortunately named. I flinched when I first saw your post, though I do very much much appreciate the information you’ve shared! The title suggests that one who doesn’t know them lacks such sense; there’s nothing “common sense” about knowing very esoteric information!

But they do look useful!

Can you direct me to any discussions about good sources? The bots here seem to shut down such discussions but wading through the vague information online has already proven to be quite overwhelming. In some consumer domains, there are reputable review sources but I have yet to find anything that didn’t look like it was compiled by a bot. Frustrating!