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Supplements

Lion's mane

لائنز مین · Hericium erinaceus
Weak evidence

Fashionable, with a couple of tiny human studies and a great deal of extrapolation from mice.

This is information, not medical advice. This page is information, not medical advice. Nothing here is a prescription, a diagnosis or a recommendation to take anything, and none of it replaces a doctor who knows your history. Supplements are not harmless because they are natural: they interact with prescription medicines, some are unsafe in pregnancy, and a few can cause real damage. Talk to a doctor or pharmacist before starting anything here, especially if you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, have a liver, kidney or heart condition, or take any regular medication. Never stop a prescribed antidepressant to try a supplement instead.

What it is

An edible mushroom, sold as powder and capsules, popular in nootropic marketing.

What the research says

Laboratory and animal work on nerve growth factor is genuinely interesting, and it is what almost every confident claim rests on. Human trials are very few and very small - a handful of studies in older adults and in menopausal women reporting modest improvements in mood or cognition. Nowhere near enough to call it effective.

What studies have used

Small studies used roughly 1 to 3 g daily of powdered fruiting body.

Recorded because a person who has decided to try something will find a number somewhere, and a forum's number is worse than a trial's. It is not a recommendation, and the right amount for you depends on things only a doctor who knows your history can weigh.

Who should be careful, and what it interacts with

Generally well tolerated. Skin rashes and breathing difficulty have been reported, and anyone with a mushroom allergy should avoid it. Little data in pregnancy. Products vary widely in whether they contain mushroom or grain filler.

In Pakistan

Imported and expensive relative to the evidence behind it.

Before you take it

Tell your doctor or pharmacist about everything else you take, prescription and herbal both. If you are pregnant, breastfeeding, under 18, or have a liver, kidney, heart or thyroid condition, ask first. And if what brought you here is that you have been feeling low or frightened for weeks, that deserves more than a supplement — ask us anything, anonymously, or talk to us on WhatsApp.

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