These days, you can’t venture (or scroll) too far without hearing the buzz about lion’s mane mushroom tea, a superfood that celebs like Gwyneth Paltrow and Mischa Barton can’t get enough of. There’s a reason it’s trending: there are very few drinks that have the stacked health benefits of this one.

Lion’s mane tea is loaded with plant compounds that may actually make your brain feel younger. Your favorite version of yourself—the one who wakes up energized, remembers every appointment, and rarely loses her focus—can come to life with the help of brain-boosting mushroom tea.

In this article, we’ll cover what mushroom tea is, the five health benefits it possesses, and how to make it.

Modern mushroom tea is a tea that is usually made of some type of adaptogenic mushroom. An adaptogen is an ingredient that can reduce the effects of stress on your body (1).

Some of the most popular mushrooms used in tea are reishi, chaga, maitake, and of course, lion’s mane. Lion’s mane mushrooms, also known as hou tou gu or yamabushitake, are used medicinally and as food in many parts of Asia, and are treasured for their health benefits (2).

Most lion’s mane mushroom tea is made using a powdered form of the mushroom. Lion’s mane itself has a slightly sweet flavor, but how your lion’s mane tea will taste depends on which brand or blend of tea you choose.

Here at NativePath, our new Native Mind Lion’s Mane Tea is crafted with rose hips, Rhodiola, monk fruit, and peppermint. The monk fruit and peppermint create a sweet, refreshing, and uplifting taste that's delicious at any time of day.

Lion’s mane tea is more than delicious. It also packs a punch for your health, especially your brain! Here are some benefits of lion’s mane…

1. It May Help Prevent Dementia and Alzheimers

As we get older, our brain’s ability to grow and make new connections tends to decrease (3). But lion’s mane includes two compounds (hericenones and erinacines) that can help stimulate brain cell growth (4). This may help prevent Alzheimer’s and dementia.

In studies on mice, lion’s mane has been found to reduce symptoms of memory loss while also preventing damage caused by amyloid-beta plaques—a type of plaque that shows up in brains affected by Alzheimer’s disease (5, 6, 7).

In humans, one study found that people with mild cases of Alzheimer’s disease who supplemented with lion’s mane daily for nearly a year performed better on cognitive tests (8)!

More research is needed, but it’s a promising start!

2. It Keeps You Happy and Calm

Research has found that lion’s mane can help reduce symptoms of mild anxiety, depression, and just plain crankiness. This is believed to be thanks to its anti-inflammatory effects (9, 10, 11). It may also help boost your hippocampus, the part of your brain that processes emotions and memories (12, 13). All tickets to a better mood!

3. It Kicks Inflammation to the Curb

Lion’s mane can soothe inflammation and oxidative stress, and that comes with heaps of health benefits. When it comes to this mushroom’s anti-inflammatory effects, soothing depression and anxiety is just the tip of the iceberg.

Many diseases, including cancer, heart disease, and autoimmune issues, are thought to be caused by chronic inflammation and oxidative stress. Lion’s mane may help reduce the effects of those health issues, too (14, 15, 16). Research has found that the mushroom’s anti-inflammatory properties may especially help with managing inflammatory bowel disease (IBD), stroke, liver damage, and obesity (17, 18, 19, 20).

4. It Jump-Starts Your Gut Health (& Your Brain!)

Lion’s mane is also great for your digestive system—yet another perk for your brain!

Your brain and your gut are constantly communicating with each other through something called the gut-brain axis. (21, 22). They send messages back and forth through the vagus nerve—which runs from the brain all the way down to the abdomen, where a whopping 500 million neurons live (23, 24, 25).

What does this mean for you?

Put simply, any perks for your gut are also perks for your mind.

When it comes to gut health, lion’s mane may protect against ulcers and against H. pylori, a common bacteria that can cause problems for the stomach (26, 27, 28, 29). This mega mushroom may even help manage ulcerative colitis and Crohn’s disease (30, 31).

5. Supercharges Your Immune System

Early animal studies have found that lion’s mane may boost your immune system. More research is needed, but so far this is believed to be due to positive changes that lion’s mane creates in your gut bacteria, as well as a boost of activity in your intestinal immune system (32, 33).

With Native Mind, making mushroom tea is simple: mix the tea into hot water and go! One cup of this refreshing, delicious tea contains 1,500 mg of lion’s mane, which is equivalent to roughly one whole lion’s mane mushroom. You’ll get all the perks of the superfood without having to track down raw lion’s mane, weigh it, prep it, or handle it.

Lion’s mane is your brain’s best friend. This ultra-trendy, tasty tea can keep you feeling sharp, focused, and calm so that you crush your day from morning until night. Enter your name and email below to be the first to know when Native Mind—our new mushroom tea—is back in stock!