Anxiety and depression, as well as other mood disorders, can have a severe impact on your health and well-being. They can cause everything from chronic pain to sleep disorders and high-stress levels. As a result, it is vital to treat the issues and put you in a more positive mood as early as possible.
While some people will seek advice and prescription medications from a mental health professional, others will prefer a more natural alternative medicine. In this instance, findings suggest that the medicinal properties of certain functional fungi are among the best ways to treat affective disorders.
How functional mushrooms are added to your daily routine is another matter. While many edible mushrooms are out there, they do not all work the same. For example, psilocybin mushrooms, better known as magic mushrooms, can cause mental health issues rather than cure them.
That is why we made this guide to the best mushrooms for anxiety and depression on the market. We will detail the bioactive compounds certain mushrooms contain, as well as the best supplements to get them from, to ensure people with anxiety and depression see significant improvements in their health.
The 7 Best Mushroom Supplements For Anxiety
- Nootrum Mushrooms
- Double Wood Supplements Reishi Mushroom Extract
- Elm & Rye Mushroom Complex
- Genius Mushrooms
- Freshcap Ultimate Mushroom Complex
- Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms
- NutriFlair Premium Mushroom Complex
Nootrum Mushrooms
Nootrum Mushrooms is a supplement made from a range of 10 different medicinal mushrooms, all of which are known to have anti-inflammatory properties and offer anti-anxiety effects. They are all present in their optimal doses and can offer various other physical and mental health benefits.
Nootrum Mushrooms contains reishi mushroom extract, shiitake mushroom extract, lion’s mane mushroom extract, cordyceps sinensis powder, and a blend of maitake mushroom, turkey tail mushroom, chaga mushroom, royal sun agaricus mushroom, white button mushroom, and black fungus extracts.
Lion’s mane mushrooms improve brain and immune system health and functions, blood flow to the brain, nerve growth factor, and the growth and repair of neurites and brain and nerve cells while helping reduce inflammation and blood lipid, blood pressure, blood sugar, and cholesterol levels.
Cordyceps mushrooms boost the health and functions of the brain, immune system, testicles, and heart, improve brain cell growth, mental clarity, and physical performance, and reduce the signs of aging, mental decline, headaches, inflammation, arthritis, diabetes, diarrhea, and tumors.
Reishi mushrooms boost the health of the brain, immune system, and urinary tract; improve mood, sleep quality, strength, and stamina; alleviate anxiety, stress, and high blood sugar and blood pressure; and prevent or treat metabolic syndrome, fatigue, and many other physical and mental health conditions.
Shiitake mushrooms are rich in vitamins and provide numerous mental and physical health benefits. This includes boosting your heart and brain health, energy levels, nerve growth factors, immunity, weight loss, and reducing anxiety, inflammation, and other chronic mental health conditions.
Maitake mushrooms contain antioxidants, beta-glucans, minerals, and vitamins that boost brain and immune health and functions and brain-derived neurotrophic factors, reduce anxiety, blood sugar, blood pressure, and cholesterol, and help treat various diseases, illnesses, and health problems.
Turkey tail mushrooms are full of antioxidants, beta-glucans, and polysaccharides. They can improve mental health, immune function, gut health, digestion, and physical performance, reduce anxiety disorders, inflammation, and high blood sugar, and help combat type 2 diabetes.
Chaga mushrooms contain melanin, polyphenols, triterpenoids, and polysaccharides. These compounds relieve anxiety and depression, boost immunity and gut health, lower blood sugar and cholesterol levels, and prevent or treat cell mutation, fatigue, and certain chronic illnesses.
Royal sun agaricus mushrooms can boost brain, immune system, and liver health and functions and alleviate occasional anxiety and depression symptoms, stress, hunger, mood swings, allergic reactions, physical weakness, high blood sugar or cholesterol, alopecia, arthritis, and other health issues.
White button mushrooms boost immunity, the production of vital immune compounds, gut and prostate health and functions, and muscle growth, and can prevent or reduce anxiety and stress levels, oxidative stress and damage, inflammation, and a range of other chronic health issues.
Black fungus extract is from medicinal mushrooms high in probiotics, antioxidants, beta-glucans, and fiber. It boosts brain, gut, liver, and immune health and functions, reduces cholesterol, protects the cells from free radicals and oxidative damage, and boosts circulation and blood flow to the brain cells.
By combining potent doses of these clinically proven, 10:1 mushroom extracts, Nootrum Mushrooms can safely and effectively reduce inflammation, anxiety, and depression while boosting your immunity and mental and physical health and functions in virtually every way.
When you throw in its very reasonable price tag and an incredible range of other potential health benefits it can offer, Nootrum Mushrooms are easily the best mushrooms for anxiety and depression sufferers who are looking to use natural means to alleviate their symptoms and enhance their well-being.
Pros
- Uses a diverse range of medicinal mushrooms that all combat anxiety and depression symptoms
- All of the active compounds present are very high-quality, potent medicinal mushroom 10:1 extracts.
- It contains no artificial flavors and uses only organic medicinal mushrooms.
- Very reasonably priced
Cons
- As one of the newer mushroom supplements, reviews from past users are still quite limited.
- It has to be bought directly from the official Nootrum website
Double Wood Supplements Reishi Mushroom Extract
While most dietary supplements on this list use a blend of different medicinal mushrooms, Double Wood Supplements Reishi Mushroom Extract relies on just one. It is a soy, gluten, and GMO-free, vegan-friendly supplement that contains only a 1,000 mg dose of pure, high-quality reishi mushroom extract 4:1.
Produced in GMP-certified facilities, its potent dose of reishi mushrooms is as strong as any we have seen, so it will safely and effectively deliver all of the mental and physical health benefits this functional mushroom is known for.
Admittedly, using only one ingredient is limiting, as reishi mushrooms are most effective when used as part of a more diverse formula. That said, if you want to use just a single ingredient, reishi mushrooms come in second to only lion’s mane mushrooms when it comes to their benefits.
Perhaps its most significant selling point is the 100 percent money-back guarantee every purchase comes with. This, combined with its very reasonable price tag, means it is virtually risk-free and makes it an excellent option for people worried about taking mushroom supplements for the first time.
That is why we rank Double Wood Supplements Reishi Mushroom Extract as the best option for people who either only want to use reishi mushrooms or are worried about taking mushroom extract supplements for the first time.
Pros
- Very reasonably priced
- It contains a potent dose of pure reishi mushrooms
- Every purchase comes with a 100 percent money-back guarantee
Cons
- Using only one medicinal mushroom limits the range of potential benefits it can offer
Elm & Rye Mushroom Complex
Elm & Rye Mushroom Complex is a unique mushroom supplement, as it is sold in traditional capsules, gummies, and even as a coffee creamer. This makes it an ideal choice for people who have trouble or do not like swallowing traditional pills and capsules.
The Elm & Rye Mushroom Complex formula consists exclusively of high-quality, lab-tested medicinal mushroom extracts we have examined. It includes lion’s mane, reishi, cordyceps, and chaga mushroom extracts.
Carefully formulated to deliver a wide range of benefits, Elm & Rye claims that their Mushroom Complex can improve your cognitive function and health, keep your mood and blood sugar levels steady, relieve anxiety and depression, and enhance your overall health and wellness.
With daily servings of the gummy version containing only a single gummy, they are also one of the most enjoyable natural ways to consume mushrooms for anxiety and depression symptoms.
However, there are a few issues with Elm & Rye Mushroom Complex gummies that we need to point out.
Using a proprietary blend hides the exact ingredient dosages, which is always a red flag and makes it impossible for us to gauge exactly how well it will work, while it is also one of the more expensive supplements of its kind that is on the market today.
Despite this issue, though, if you want to improve your mental health and functions, are not too worried about money, and have problems when it comes to taking traditional pills or capsules, Elm & Rye Mushroom Complex gummies are a perfect option for you to try.
Pros
- Gummies or a coffee creamer are ideal for people who have issues with traditional pills or capsules.
- Uses a good range of mushrooms, which research suggests boost your physical and mental health and functions
Cons
- One of the pricier supplements of its kind currently on the market
- A proprietary blend hides the exact dose of each ingredient present and prevents us from knowing exactly how it will work
Genius Mushrooms
Genius Mushrooms is a supplement to boost your mental clarity, immunity, mood, ATP production, energy levels, memory, oxygen utilization, aerobic capacity, and athletic endurance. It also boasts a very reasonable price tag, making it a supplement attainable for everyone.
The Genius Mushrooms formula contains three organic mushrooms we have repeatedly examined: lion’s mane, cordyceps, and reishi.
Together, they will enhance your brain, heart, immune system, testicle functions, performance and health, focus, mental clarity, mood, memory, concentration, physical performance, brain cell and nerve growth, and circulation.
They can also help to reduce anxiety and depression, mental decline, high blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease, tumors, inflammation, and certain chronic diseases and health conditions.
Genius Mushrooms has flaws, as lion’s mane extract is the only ingredient present in its optimal dose, while all of the other mushrooms need to be used in more diverse formulas to produce their full effects. However, this is not overly surprising when you consider the price range it is in.
This is why, even though it is not the overall most potent medicinal mushroom product currently on the market, Genius Mushrooms can still be one of the best mushroom products for anxiety for people who are shopping on a very tight budget.
Pros
- Contains three of the best mushrooms for anxiety and depression symptoms
- Lions mane extract is present in its optimal dose
- 100 percent organic and very reasonably priced
Cons
- Using only three ingredients limits its range of potential benefits
- Most of the ingredients are present in dosages that will not produce optimal results without being used in a more diverse formula
Freshcap Ultimate Mushroom Complex
Freshcap Ultimate Mushroom Complex is a mushroom product to help improve your energy levels, immunity, mental clarity, and focus. It is free from GMOs, gluten, flow aids, and grain fillers and uses only organic ingredients.
It contains 167-gram doses of high-quality, whole fruiting body extracts of six of the best mushrooms for anxiety, which are lion’s mane mushrooms, cordyceps mushrooms, reishi mushrooms, turkey tail mushrooms, chaga mushrooms, and maitake mushrooms.
Every mushroom in Freshcap Ultimate Mushroom Complex was present in Nootrum Mushrooms, and they will again offer all of the same benefits to your brain, immunity, and overall physical and mental health as before.
The one issue with Freshcap Ultimate Mushroom Complex is that most dosages are, unfortunately, lower than what will produce optimal effects.
However, as Freshcap Ultimate Mushroom Complex does contain the highest dose of chaga mushroom extract that we have seen, it can still be a perfect choice for people who are specifically looking to use chaga mushrooms to try and treat their anxiety and depression symptoms.
Pros
- It contains one of the most potent doses of chaga mushroom of any supplement on the market.
- It contains a good range of proven medicinal mushrooms
- GMO and gluten-free
Cons
- Most of the mushrooms are present in doses lower than what is required to produce optimal results.
Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms
Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms is a supplement designed to utilize the antioxidant properties of functional mushrooms to boost your immunity and mental health and functions while being GMO-free, vegetarian-friendly, and produced in GMP-certified facilities.
The Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms formula contains an impressive dose of lion’s mane 10:1 extract, as well as chaga mushroom 10:1 extract, maitake mushroom 4:1 extract, shiitake mushroom 4:1 extract, and reishi mushroom extract with 30% polysaccharides.
These medicinal mushrooms have been proven to work in a nutrition examination survey and were present in Nootrum Mushrooms, although they were used in different dosages. This means they will again produce the same potential benefits, only to differing degrees.
They will boost your immunity, the production of immune, nerve, and brain cells, heart and brain health and functions, sleep quality, weight loss, energy and testosterone levels, concentration, focus, blood flow, production of beneficial bacteria, and mood.
They then also relieve stress, anxiety and depression, brain fog, cell mutation, fatigue, inflammation, mental decline, high blood sugar, blood pressure and cholesterol, neurodegenerative diseases, and many other chronic illnesses and health conditions.
Unfortunately, there is one issue with Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms: the lion’s mane mushroom extract is the only ingredient present that has been included in sufficient dosage to allow it to produce all of the benefits that medicinal mushrooms could typically offer.
Despite this, Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms mix one of the most potent doses of lion’s mane mushroom extract with other medicinal mushrooms proven to help combat anxiety and depression.
So, while it will not be for everyone, as the research suggests, lion’s mane mushrooms are the best out there if you want to rely primarily on them to combat mental health disorders; Stonehenge Health Dynamic Mushrooms can still be an excellent option to try.
Pros
- It boasts one of the most potent doses of lion’s mane mushroom in any supplement.
- It uses many functional mushrooms to boost your physical and mental health and well-being in many ways.
Cons
- One of the pricier functional mushroom supplements on the market
- All of the functional mushrooms besides lion’s mane are present in relatively low doses
- Chaga mushrooms need more research to prove how they affect your health and well-being
NutriFlair Premium Mushroom Complex
Nutriflair Premium Mushroom Complex is a vegan-friendly, GMO-free mushroom supplement made from a blend of 10 different functional mushrooms. It is designed to boost immunity, focus, mental clarity, memory, vitality, and physical and mental health and well-being and reduce anxiety and depression.
The Nutriflair Premium Mushroom Complex contains varying doses of cordyceps mushrooms, reishi mushrooms, lion’s mane mushrooms, chaga mushrooms, maitake mushrooms, turkey tail mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, enoki mushrooms, Agaricus mushrooms, and oyster mushrooms.
Reishi, lion’s mane, chaga, maitake, turkey tail, shiitake, Agaricus, and cordyceps mushrooms were all in Nootrum Mushrooms, albeit in different dosages, so they will again provide all of the same benefits to some degree.
Enoki mushrooms boast anti-inflammatory properties, and they have been used in Chinese medicine for centuries, as they are said to improve weight loss and gut, immune, and central nervous system mental health and functions and help treat allergies, diseases, viruses, anxiety, and depression.
Oyster mushrooms are carnivorous functional fungi with antioxidant and anti-inflammatory properties. They are said to enhance vitamin D levels, bone density, blood pressure, and cholesterol levels, immune and brain function and health, and combat osteoporosis, anemia, and arthritis.
Admittedly, most of the functional mushrooms in Nutriflair Premium Mushroom Complex are present in doses far lower than is optimal, while other functional fungi included need more research to prove just how much of an effect they will indeed have on your health or anxiety and depression levels.
That said, Nutriflair Premium Mushroom Complex does boast a potent dose of reishi mushrooms and is one of the only supplements to include oyster mushrooms, so it can still be a good choice for people who are looking to use these particular functional fungi to combat anxiety and depression.
Pros
- It boasts oyster and lion’s mane mushrooms and one of the larger doses of reishi mushrooms you will find in any supplement.
- One of the cheaper mushroom supplements on the market
Cons
- Most of its ingredients are present in dosages far lower than is optimal
- Not all of the functional mushrooms used have been proven to benefit your health or well-being
Final Thoughts on The 7 Best Mushroom Supplements For Anxiety
Some mushrooms’ anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties make them ideal to help enhance mental clarity and reduce anxiety and stress levels. While there are several good options out there to try, research suggests that the best mushrooms for anxiety for most people are Nootrum Mushrooms.
Packed with potent doses of 10 different mushrooms, all proven to work in clinical trials, Nootrum Mushrooms can help ease anxiety, mood disorders, and the body’s stress response while boosting and supporting your cognitive function, cardiovascular health, and central nervous system.
If, for any reason, they do not sound like the best mushrooms for anxiety to you, then one of the other medicinal mushroom supplements on our list surely will. For everyone else, though, we strongly suggest you try Nootrum Mushrooms and see why they are indeed “magic” mushrooms for you.