Mushroom Brain Boost is a popular natural supplement product designed to improve cognitive function. Real Mushrooms offers several highly-regarded mushroom blends geared toward enhancing alertness and focus. In this article we evaluate and compare the merits, in terms of effectiveness and value, of these products.
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There’s a lot to love about mushrooms. Sure, they’re delicious, but they’re also good for your overall health. Many varieties of mushrooms – such as Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and shiitake mushrooms – have been used for centuries in traditional Chinese medicine to treat a wide range of ailments. Recent research backs up mushrooms’ medicinal properties, suggesting they may help regulate the immune system, balance blood sugar levels, and bolster brain power.
You could incorporate all these mushrooms into your diet or keep it simple with a medicinal mushroom supplement. These supplements promise all the benefits of medicinal mushrooms in easy-to-swallow capsule or powder forms.
But there are many different mushroom supplements available, and mushroom supplement manufacturers aren’t always completely honest about where their products come from. Often, these supplements use the mushroom’s mycelium (a root-like part of the mushroom), which contains a lesser concentration of health-boosting nutrients when compared to the mushroom’s fruiting body – the part we would recognize as an actual mushroom.
Mycelia are also usually grown on grain, which means supplements that use it end up with lots of filler. Therefore, it’s important to do your research to make sure you’re getting the real thing. Take a look at this head-to-head comparison between two popular supplements: Mushroom Brain Boost and Real Mushrooms, so that you can make a well-informed decision.
Mushroom Brain Boost vs Real Mushrooms:
What are the ingredients, and where do they come from?
Mushroom Brain Boost comprises a complete blend of nootropic ingredients; however, in spite of its name, it contains absolutely no mushrooms or mushroom extracts. Its formula includes L-Glutamine, N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine HCL, and L+DMAE Bitartrate. L-Glutamine is an amino acid and an important component in your immune system. N-Acetyl-L-Carnitine HCL also occurs naturally in the human body, and studies have shown it might improve memory and energy.
Few studies have been done on the effects of L+DMAE Bitartrate. A small-scale study demonstrated that it might hydrate skin and reduce wrinkles, but its brain-boosting effects have yet to be confirmed. But still, none of these ingredients are mushrooms. If you’re looking for a nootropic supplement, Mushroom Brain Boost isn’t a bad option, but it won’t supply you with any of the health benefits of medicinal mushrooms.
With Real Mushrooms products, you’re getting just what it says on the tin. Many of their products are single-ingredient supplements, containing just one kind of mushroom with no mycelia or grain additives. If you want a more complete formula, Real Mushrooms also offers a number of mushroom-based blends. For example, the 5 Defenders blend contains extracts of five immune-boosting mushrooms: Turkey Tail, Reishi, maitake, shiitake, and Chaga.
The extracts are all synthesized safely and naturally from actual mushrooms. In addition, Real Mushrooms products are tested by a third party for the presence of beta-glucans, stimulating compounds that are found in medicinal mushrooms. With Real Mushrooms, you can be certain that you’re getting all-natural benefits without any unwanted additives.
Mushroom Brain Boost vs Real Mushrooms:
What are the benefits?
Mushroom Brain Boost targets the nervous system and aims to improve cognition, memory, and mood. In addition to the synthetic ingredients described above, Mushroom Brain Boost contains a variety of plant extracts. For example, St. John’s Wort is a flowering plant that has been used in traditional medicine for centuries. Although it was originally used to treat wounds, more recent studies have shown that it might alleviate symptoms of depression. Bacopa monnieri aids in memory and visual learning. Mushroom Brain Boost’s green tea and Ginkgo Biloba extracts can also help you achieve more complete and sustained focus. If improved brain power is what you need, Mushroom Brain Boost has got you covered.
Real Mushrooms provides a variety of products with specialized effects. Want to improve your focus? Try the RealClarity blend. RealClarity contains Lion’s Mane mushroom, which can elevate your mood, and, as demonstrated by a 2013 study, promote the construction of new neural pathways and brain cells. It also includes ashwagandha for better concentration, Rhodiola to stave off fatigue, and bacopa monnieri to speed visual learning. Maybe heightened stamina is your priority. If so, RealBoost is more your speed, with cordyceps mushroom to improve exercise performance, guayusa for concentration, and Panax Ginseng for cognitive function and quicker reaction time. No matter what you want from a mushroom supplement, Real Mushrooms has a blend for you.
Mushroom Brain Boost vs Real Mushrooms:
How much do they cost?
Mushroom Brain Boost and Real Mushrooms products have different costs but also come in different sizes and prescribe different doses. Mushroom Brain Boost costs $29.99 for 60 capsules. At two capsules per day, that’s a month’s supply at just under $1 per dose. There are slight discounts for bulk purchases, but it’s difficult to make a multi-month commitment to a supplement you’ve never even tried.
Real Mushrooms’ blends vary in price, but let’s use the Mushroom D2Z blend, which contains mushroom-extracted vitamin D and zinc, as an example. It’s priced at $29.95 a bottle. That bottle contains 120 capsules, so at two capsules per day, you’ve got a two-month supply for just under 50 cents per dose – half the price of Mushroom Brain Boost. If you try it and find out it works, Real Mushrooms also offers a subscribe and save option.
Mushroom Brain Boost vs Real Mushrooms:
The final verdict
When it comes to choosing a mushroom supplement, you can’t go wrong with Real Mushrooms. These supplements include complete blends of medicinal mushrooms and other organic ingredients, and they maximize their benefits through organic extraction and rigorous testing for active compounds. With Real Mushrooms’ variety of specialized blends, you’re sure to find one that works for you. All that at half the price of Mushroom Brain Boost.
Supplements sometimes claim to offer the same benefits but often leave out the nutrient-rich actual mushrooms in favor of easier-to-produce mycelia – or, like Mushroom Brain Boost, don’t even contain mushrooms at all. Real Mushrooms’ commitment to using, well, real mushrooms, without any substitutes or fillers, makes their products some of the best options on the market.
Make the most of medicinal mushrooms
Medicinal mushrooms can improve your cognitive performance and strengthen your immune system. But so-called mushroom supplements aren’t always what they seem. Although FDA regulations require mycelium products to be labeled properly, many manufacturers still refer to their mycelium-based supplements as “mushroom” products. Until industry-wide standards of testing and labeling can be enforced, it’s important to confirm that you’re getting the most out of real medicinal mushrooms by doing your own research.
Further Reading For Additional Reference:
National Library of Medicine: Medicinal Mushrooms: Ancient Remedies Meet Modern Science
Memorial Sloan Kettering Cancer Center: Reishi Mushroom
Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health: The Nutrition Source Food Features: Mushrooms
Important Note: The information contained in this article is for general informational purposes only, and should not be construed as health or medical advice, nor is it intended to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or health condition. Before embarking on any diet, fitness regimen, or program of nutritional supplementation, it is advisable to consult your healthcare professional in order to determine its safety and probable efficacy in terms of your individual state of health.
