4. Boost Immune Health
Research in animals suggests that lion’s mane may strengthen the immune system, helping protect against bacteria, viruses, and other harmful substances.
A past study found that daily lion’s mane supplements extended the lifespan of mice injected with a hefty dose of salmonella bacteria by nearly 4 times more than mice that didn’t receive supplements.
A study published in February 2017 in Food & Function found that lion’s mane mushroom boosted activity in the intestinal immune system in mice. The intestinal immune system works to protect the body from harmful substances that make their way to the gut via the mouth or nose.
As the authors of a study published in June 2017 in Frontiers in Immunology explained, these effects may be partly due to beneficial changes in gut bacteria that activate the immune system.
However, most of the research has been done in animals thus far; human studies will hopefully show how lion’s mane might help the immune system.
5. Prevent Cancer
Lion’s mane has several unique compounds that may help fight cancer.
According to a study published in August 2020 in the International Journal of Biological Macromolecules, polysaccharide HEFP-2b, a compound in lion’s mane, slowed the growth of colon cancer cells in a test tube.
Another test-tube study, published in May 2020 in Food and Function Journal, demonstrated that peptides found in lion’s mane may help treat lung cancer. Researchers found that these peptides have the ability to capture free radicals (harmful substances linked with cancer) and trigger the death of cancerous lung cells.
But while these findings are promising, the anti-cancer effects of lion’s mane have only been studied in test tubes and animals. Human studies are needed.
6. Manage Diabetes
Lion’s mane may improve blood sugar control and symptoms like nerve pain, making it a potentially helpful tool for diabetes management.
For example, a test-tube study published in November 2020 in the Journal of Ethnopharmacology found that several compounds in lion’s mane prevented alpha-glucosidase activity. In this way, lion’s mane may work similarly to alpha-glucosidase inhibitors (AGIs), a group of antidiabetic medications used to manage type 2 diabetes. AGIs limit the absorption of carbohydrates from the small intestine, helping lower the rise in blood sugar following a meal, according to a July 2022 article in StatPearls.
What’s more, a study in Evidence-Based Complementary and Alternative Medicine revealed that feeding diabetic rats 40 mg of lion’s mane per kilogram of body weight significantly increased their pain threshold after six week of treatment. This suggests that lion’s mane may offer pain relief for diabetic neuropathy, a type of diabetic nerve damage that can cause pain and numbness in the legs and feet.
However, people with diabetes who are taking medication to control their blood sugar levels should approach lion’s mane with caution. Lion’s mane may interact with diabetes treatments, Richard says, causing blood sugar levels to drop too low.
In addition, most of the research in diabetes has been done in animals and test tubes so far — more studies in humans may show if lion’s mane can help with diabetes.
7. Reduce Heart Disease Risk
Research suggests that lion’s mane may lower your risk of heart disease, mainly through its effects on cholesterol.
For example, a test-tube study published in BioMed Research International found that lion’s mane extract may help prevent the oxidation of cholesterol in the bloodstream, which is beneficial for overall heart health.
Meanwhile, previous research evaluated lion’s mane’s cholesterol-lowering effects. Researchers fed lion’s mane to obese rats once a day for two weeks. By the end of the study, these rats showed significantly lower levels of total cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein cholesterol (also known as “bad” cholesterol), and triglycerides (a type of fat found in the blood) than rats that weren’t given lion’s mane.
Despite these findings, Michelle Routhenstein, RDN, a preventive cardiology dietitian and certified diabetes care and education specialist at Entirely Nourished in New York City, doesn’t recommend using lion’s mane to prevent or treat heart disease. “It’s not supported by human studies and the safety and side effects haven’t been studied either,” she explains.
There are safer, more effective ways to prevent heart disease through your diet, under the care of your primary physician, Routhenstein adds.
