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Lion's mane is one of the mushrooms our naturopaths are asked about most for focus and memory. These are the questions they ask before you take it home.

A good fit if

• Memory or mental focus is the reason you're buying it
• You're comfortable with evidence that's real but comes from small trials
• You want a label that names Hericium erinaceus and gives a gram amount
• You're happy buying it as a food, since it can't carry an Australian health claim

Check with us first if

• You're having, or have had, cancer treatment. A review of case reports in people with cancer found mushroom products were the ones most often linked to severe reactions, mostly allergic. Talk to your treating team.
• You take a medicine that affects your immune system or thins your blood. We haven't found a human study on how lion's mane interacts with these, so we won't guess either way.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. No trial included pregnant or breastfeeding women, and there's no Australian rule setting a warning either way. That doesn't mean it's proven safe.
• It's for a child. There's no safety information for children.
• You're hoping it will prevent or treat dementia or mild cognitive impairment. The trials measured test scores in a research setting, not a diagnosis or a cure, so talk to your doctor about this.

• Fruiting-body powder or supplement. Best known for: The form used in the strongest human trials on thinking and memory. Absorption: Trial doses ran 1.8 to 3 g a day; absorption itself wasn't measured. Typical use: The usual pick if thinking and memory are why you're buying.
• Mycelium extract (erinacines). Best known for: Erinacines, the compounds with the strongest lab data on nerve growth. Absorption: That nerve-growth evidence comes from lab and animal work, not human trials. Typical use: A fair choice, as long as you know the erinacine research is still early-stage.
• Hot-water or concentrated extract. Best known for: A stronger dose in a smaller capsule than raw powder. Absorption: Not measured separately in the research we hold. Typical use: Handy if you'd rather not mix a powder.
• Mushroom coffee or blend. Best known for: Lion's mane blended into a drink rather than taken on its own. Absorption: Blends rarely state how much lion's mane they contain, so you can't compare them to the trials. Typical use: If the research is why you're buying, a single-mushroom product is the better pick.

Reference values. There's no Nutrient Reference Value for lion's mane. It's a mushroom, not an essential nutrient, so the NHMRC doesn't set one.

Typical supplemental range. The human trials we've reviewed used 1.8 to 3 g a day. The strongest one used 3 g a day, taken as four 250 mg tablets of 96% dry Yamabushitake powder three times a day, for 16 weeks. A smaller pilot trial used 1.8 g a day. Australian products usually sit in that range. These figures are for context, not a recommendation.

Upper level. None is set. Lion's mane isn't on Australia's permitted ingredients list at all, so there's no Australian limit to quote, high or low.

Worth knowing. Check the label names Hericium erinaceus, says which part of the mushroom is used and gives a gram amount, not just "proprietary blend". What you need depends on your age, diet and health, so talk to one of our naturopaths.

Food first, where the diet allows it.

• Lion's mane itself: not commonly eaten as everyday food here; taken as a powder, capsule or extract
• Shiitake, oyster and enoki: culinary sources of the same (1,3)(1,6)-beta-D-glucan fibre

If any of these sound like you, talk to one of our naturopaths or your doctor before you start.

• You're allergic to mushrooms or mould. Allergic reactions are a recognised side effect of lion's mane, though often unreported, and allergy was the main cause in severe cases reviewed in people with cancer using mushroom products.
• You have cancer. Mushroom health-food products were behind most of the severe reactions reported in people with cancer. Check with your treating team first.
• You're pregnant or breastfeeding. None of the trials we hold included pregnant or breastfeeding women, and there's no Schedule 1 entry to set a warning either way.
• It's for a child. No safety position has been set for lion's mane in children.
• You take immunosuppressants, blood thinners or transplant medicine. No human interaction studies exist, so we can't say either way.
• If you take prescription medicines, check with your doctor, pharmacist or our naturopaths before you start.