It seems like everywhere you look, there’s another “adaptogen/mushroom-based coffee or tea” blend being offered up as “a new ritual” with promises to give you all-day focus and energy without the jitters or crash.
Well…do your medicinal mushrooms contain any medicine or actual mushrooms at all?
It’d be a lot cooler if they did….
Unfortunately, many popular mushroom products and functional coffees being sold today are not only void of the most important medicinal constituents that mushrooms are consumed for, but most of them also aren’t even using any actual mushrooms! Even worse, those same products typically contain a lot of starch and ground-up grain - which is kind of a problem for those who have trouble with grains or are on a grain-free diet.
“But it says ‘mushrooms’ right on their package! What do you mean it doesn’t contain mushrooms?”
Well…take a look at the label of your favorite mushroom product. Does it say “mycelium”, “myceliated grain”, “mycelial biomass”, or mention any type of grain (oats, rice, barley, etc)? Yes? Then not only is that product lacking mushrooms…but you’re also lacking the potent medicine that medicinal mushrooms are known for.
Why?
Take a look at the picture on the right. What we call a “mushroom” is really just one stage of a fungal organism that’s classified as a basidiomycete. The mushroom (aka: fruiting body) is made of the pileus (cap), lamellae (gills), and stipe (stem). The other two stages of a basidiomycete are the mycelium (which are kind of like roots) and spores (which are released from the fruiting body and develop into a network of mycelium)…and the cycle continues.
Note that the mycelium is not a “mushroom”. And despite FDA labeling rules that clearly state mycelium products cannot be labeled as a “mushroom”, many companies are flagrantly breaking that rule.
Kind of makes one wonder what other rules they’re breaking, huh?
The mycelium is not a mushroom.
What to look for in a mushroom product…
(1-3),(1-6)beta-D-glucans
Also known as beta-glucans, for short. By far, the most important, most abundant, and most researched active compound in medicinal mushrooms, and they’re responsible for the mushroom’s powerful inflammatory and immune-modulating properties. Over half the mass of the fungal cell wall is made up of beta-glucans.
Triterpenoids
Triterpenoids are typically water-soluble compounds found all throughout nature: fungi, plants, animals, and marine organisms. Medical studies have shown many of these compounds to act as an anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-bacterial, anti-viral, and anti-carcinogenic, while for thousands of years they’ve been used as a folk remedy throughout Asia for enhancing human vitality and promoting longevity.
Ergosterol
Ergosterol is a plant sterol found in all mushrooms that convert into Vitamin D once exposed to UVB sunlight, making it one of the only non-animal, unfortified food sources of Vitamin D that can provide a substantial amount of vitamin D2 in a single serving. Ergosterol has shown anti-inflammatory, anticancer, and antiviral activity, as well as reducing the incidence of cardiovascular disease.
INGREDIENTS: Ethically-sourced, Organic, and Fair Trade Certified Ground Arabica Coffee*, Grass-fed/pasture-raised/Wild-caught Collagen (Types I,II,III,V,+X)***, Micronized Creatine Monohydrate, Organic Peruvian Gelatinized (heated) Maca Root*, Fruiting body extracts of Chaga (Inonotus obliquus), Lion’s Mane (Hericium erinaceus), Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris), Maitake (Grifola frondosa), Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor), + Reishi (Ganoderma lingzhi) Mushrooms*, L-theanine
*organic
***our multi-collagen complex is sourced from Grass-Fed Bovine Collagen Peptides (BSE-free), Organic Chicken Bone Broth, Organic Beef Bone Broth (BSE-free), Wild-caught Fish Collagen Peptides (Cod, Snapper) + Eggshell Membrane Collagen. People with egg allergies should use caution.
Dark roast Arabica beans are sourced from small organic family farms throughout Central + South America
Tasting Notes: Cacao nibs, malt, toasted leather, smoked pecans
Reishi and Chaga mushrooms are dual extractions (alcohol and water), all others are water extracted
Mushroom extracts vary in ratios between 1:1, 8:1, or 16:1, meaning it takes 1, 8, or 16 kg of fresh mushrooms to make 1 kg of dried extract. This makes for a very potent extract blend, allowing us to use less powder by weight while still maintaining an extremely powerful dose of beneficial compounds like beta-glucans and triterpenoids
beta-(1,3)(1,6)-glucans: Turkey Tail 35.1%, Reishi 15.7%, Maitake 20.9%, Lion’s Mane 39%, Cordyceps 10%, Chaga 7.66%
3000 mg equivalent mushrooms per serving
2800 mg Grass-fed/Pasture-raised/Wild-caught collagen per serving
2500 mg creatine monohydrate per serving
1000 mg organic Peruvian maca root per serving
150 mg L-theanine per serving
No sugar, gluten, grains, dairy, fillers, mycelium, or added starch
Available in 2 sizes: 18 oz/510 g bag (30 Servings) and a 1.2 oz/34 g Sample Bag (2 Servings)
Universal/coarse grind
Choose your Big Bird Energy: Regular, Swiss Water Decaf, and Half-Caf
Serving size 17 grams (2 TBS)