• Frequently Asked Questions •
The EU has a regulation restricting the sale within the EU membership states of food items that were not commonly consumed before 1997. This includes all supplements based on mycelium (except Cordyceps CS-4) and Cordyceps militaris / Turkey Tail fruiting bodies. You can check the 'novel food' catalog here.
However, we will be able to ship all products (including the 'novel food' items) again -worldwide!- in the second half of October 2024, taking advantage of our new logistic hub in Hong Kong. And... shipping will be free for all consumers, worldwide!
A great source of objective and easy to follow information is this website.. Our main portal has more links to educational content and research and background.
But don't be deceived by online marketing and anekdotes - mushroom extracts are not magic cures.
We supply a detailed downloadable instruction leaflet with every purchase. You will receive an email with a download link together with your order confirmation.
In general the daily dosage is ± 1 gram (2 - 3 capsules). We recommend to take the capsules on an empty stomach, at least 30 minutes before or 2 hours after a meal.
Please avoid combining the supplements with dairy or -in case of Cordyceps / CCCE- caffeïne-containing products. See "Why not combine mushroom extracts with dairy products", below.
We recommend to either choose lactose-free dairy products or to take dairy products at a different time (at least an hour away) than the supplement. Just to minimize the chances of negative effects.
Also see "How much should I take?" further down.
This recommendation is not applicable to alcohol extracted Lion 's Mane, because that extract is optimized for the alcohol-solubles and is best taken with food.
The main active ingredient of most medicinal mushroom extracts are water-soluble beta-glucans, though. These are very large macro-molecules with a high molecular weight; in fact a type of dietary fiber.
When taken orally, intestinal absorptive cells (enterocytes) facilitate the transportation of beta-glucans and similar compounds across the intestinal cell wall into the lymph, where they begin to interact with receptors of the immune system, activating a wide spectrum of immunological effects.
Due to their huge size beta-glucans do not pass the intestinal wall easily. To increase the chances of beta-glucan entering the blood-stream it's common sense to have as little 'competition' as possible present. So no solid foods or fiber-rich smoothies !
Research found that the absorption / therapeutic effect of beta-glucans is improved when combined with vitamin C (ascorbic acid). The type or amount is not important: 20 - 50mg of the cheapest type will do. See e.g. this article - a Google search for 'beta-glucan vitamin C' will return many more results. Combining the intake with fresh juice containing vitamin C is also okay!
Vitamin C will also improve the absorption of iron.
In general mushroom extracts do not have side effects themselves - they are nutraceuticals, meaning 'food with therapeutic potential'. People in general have no side effects when consuming their food, but as usual, there are always some exceptions due to genetic programming. Everybody is different!
This question is rooted in fear. Products from China cannot be trusted or are even dangerous is the underlying message. The facts are this.
First of all, all mushroom extracts are from China. The Chinese have been the undisputed masters of mushroom cultivation for over 1000 years. On top of that, there are no extraction facilities outside of SE-Asia.
The lack of contamination such as heavy metals defines the safety of a product. And specific marker compounds define the potency of the product; compounds such as beta-glucan, cordycepin and polyphenols. These two aspects together define the objective quality, not the geographical location.
Marketing planted the idea that it matters where the mushrooms have been sourced. Like, Siberian Chaga is always best, Japanese Reishi is always preferable, Chinese mushrooms are always best avoided, etc...
But this is misleading, steering people away from the actual objective quality markers. It is just marketing.
Check our test reports if you want to validate our quality and safety claims - you can find them here. The finished products are tested in US-laboratories for potency and safety.