How to pick a lion's mane supplement
Answer
Extract ratio, the part of the mushroom used, a standardisation marker, declared bulking agents and cost per day. No product carries an authorised claim, so nothing else can rank them.
Key takeaways
- What separates products?
- Extract ratio, fruiting body or mycelium, a standardisation marker, declared excipients and cost per day.
- Why not rank on effect?
- No lion's mane product carries an authorised health claim in the UK, so there is no claimed outcome to compare.
- What does a good label state?
- The ratio behind any mushroom equivalent figure, the part used, and a marker such as a polyphenol percentage.
The checks that work
Find the extract ratio, because without it a mushroom equivalent figure cannot be converted into extract weight. Check whether the part used is named, since mycelium grown on grain can be substantially grain by weight. Look for a standardisation marker. Check whether a bulking agent is declared and where it sits in the ingredients order.
Then cost per day, which for a product with no claim behind it is the figure that decides whether the purchase is defensible.
What a good one looks like
Futuro Labs Lion's Mane states 1500mg mushroom equivalent from a 5 to 1 extract, implying roughly 300mg of extract, with 50 percent polyphenols stated and brown rice flour declared as a bulking agent. One capsule a day, 120 days per tub, 13p a day.
That is a well specified product with no authorised health claim behind it, which is an unusual combination and an honest one.
What to ignore entirely
Premium, high strength, advanced and pharmaceutical grade have no regulated meaning. Large mushroom equivalent figures with no ratio attached cannot be converted into anything. And any product implying a focus, memory or cognitive benefit is asserting a claim that does not exist for lion's mane in the UK at any specification.
The full version
- How to check a lion's mane extract ratioThe conversion and why a bigger equivalent figure is not better.
- How to tell fruiting body from mycelium on a labelThe wording to look for and what silence means.
The product
Futuro Labs Lion's Mane
Futuro Labs Lion's Mane is the 1500mg mushroom equivalent one at 13p a day, from a 5 to 1 extract in a vegan capsule, UK made and GMP certified. It carries no authorised health claim of any kind.
- 1500mg mushroom equivalent, 5:1 extract
- 50% polyphenols, bulking agent declared
- Vegan capsule, UK made to GMP
- No authorised health claim exists
Sharper Rugby is published by Futuro Labs. If you buy through this link Futuro Labs earns from the sale. Prices are set by Amazon.
Questions players ask
What makes a good lion's mane product?
A stated extract ratio, the part used named, a standardisation marker and a declared bulking agent.
Why can they not be ranked on effect?
None carries an authorised health claim in the UK.
Is a bigger milligram figure better?
No. 10,000mg at 20 to 1 delivers less extract than 1500mg at 5 to 1.