Creatine or lion's mane?
Answer
Creatine, comfortably. It carries the strongest authorised claim of anything discussed here, at 3g a day. Lion's mane carries none of any kind.
Key takeaways
- Which has the stronger claim?
- Creatine, by a distance. It increases physical performance in successive bursts of short term high intensity exercise, at 3g a day.
- Does lion's mane carry anything?
- No authorised health claim of any kind in the UK.
- Are they comparable?
- Not really. They are aimed at different things, and only one of them has an assessed effect.
The widest claim gap on this site
Creatine increases physical performance in successive bursts of short term high intensity exercise, at a daily intake of 3g. That is one of very few authorised performance claims in any category, and it is unusually well matched to what rugby asks for.
Lion's mane carries no authorised health claim in the UK of any kind. So on claim strength this is not a close comparison, and it is worth saying plainly on a site that sells one of them and not the other.
They are not really alternatives
Creatine is about repeated high intensity effort. Lion's mane is marketed at focus and memory, for which no claim exists. A player choosing between them is choosing between two different intentions rather than two routes to the same thing.
If the question is what to spend money on, creatine has the evidence and Futuro Labs does not make it. This site names no other supplement brands, so there is no recommendation attached to that.
What lion's mane is honestly for
Curiosity about an early research literature at a price where being wrong costs little. Futuro Labs Lion's Mane is 1500mg mushroom equivalent from a 5 to 1 extract at 13p a day, about four pounds a month.
That is a legitimate purchase described accurately. It is not a competitor to a product with an assessed performance claim, and pretending otherwise would be the easiest thing for this site to do and the least useful.
The full version
- Do rugby players take creatine?The claim in full, and why this site has nothing to sell there.
- Is lion's mane actually worth it?The case for and against, with no claim to rely on.
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.
- 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
Which is better?
Creatine on claim strength, by a distance. Lion's mane carries no claim of any kind.
Are they alternatives?
No. One is about repeated high intensity effort and the other is marketed at focus.
Does Futuro Labs make creatine?
No, and no other supplement brand is named on this site.