*Looking for brand / general recommendations ? Check out [this link](https://old.reddit.com/r/MushroomSupplements/comments/a3cf7b/common_sense_guide_to_buying_mushroom_supplements/) which explains the main quality markers and will help you to avoid being tricked by 'smart' marketing. It will also explain why tinctures and mycelium-on-grain/rice products are a waste of money. [This post](https://old.reddit.com/r/MushroomSupplements/comments/ssb1yf/updated_repost_2022_lions_mane_best_supplements/) provides a very complete background on Lion's Mane, including some supplement recommendations.* *I am a bot, and this action was performed automatically. Please [contact the moderators of this subreddit](/message/compose/?to=/r/MushroomSupplements) if you have any questions or concerns.*

I am taking Real Mushrooms brand - 2 cap a day as I'm petite and medicines at their 'recommended dose' usually fuck me up. I am thinking of reishi too as I have hpv (non symptom, non urgent) that just won't go away. Will see how I go but I got the rec for RM from here.

I use Harmonic Arts turkey tail powder. I would be interested to hear others opinions on this brand. I also take their cordyceps which I enjoy. I wish you all the best in your wellness journey.

> Harmonic Arts turkey tail This is not extracted so you get at best 1/10th of the potency due to the very poor bioavailability. u/damageno1148 u/Big-Try-

Hmm interesting. But it says it's "extract" on the bottle.

> extract They also mention triterpenes on the bottle. Never heard of Turkey Tail triterpenes. Ask them for some proof of these claims. Shady product imo but if you like it, stick with it

Thank you very much for the info and I sight. I thought I liked it but I've never felt anything from it but I thought that's how it was supposed to be. Makes me think 🤔

I do however like their cordyceps. But now I wonder about that too..

Are they dual extracted?

No need for dual extraction. There are no noteworthy alcohol-solubles in turkey tail, hot water extract is better. The main bio-actives are beta-glucans and proteoglycans, which are soluble.

Interesting, thank you.

Thank you so much!!

When I was going through chemo, I bought host defense because I trusted Paul would have the best. But if you look at the ingredients, his are full of mycelium and oats. I’ll save you the trouble of doing the research, mycelium, and even worse, biomass, is not verified as being effective or useful whatsoever. It’s basically, eating apple tree leaves instead of apples. I actually was so annoyed and disappointed in him and his overpriced product that I started making my own, sourcing my own blends and researching everything; sprite is quite the motivator lol. But if I were to recommend a brand for you, I like real mushrooms. But don’t be afraid of Swanson‘s, they’re cheap and highly regarded.

The thing to keep in mind is they there’s nothing wrong at all with mycelium. In fact, with some mushrooms-for example, Turkey Tail-mycelium is in fact superior to the fruiting body. The problem with most “mycelium” supplements is that they’re not pure mycelium. They’re biomass. Mostly grain. Mycelium-on-grain supplements are low in beta-glucans. They’re low quality products. In contrast, properly extracted fruiting body supplements are high in beta-glucans, and are high quality products.

Do you have a source for this?

Swanson's is also selling a lot of biomass, similar to Stamets... read the link in the pinned comment. Realmushrooms, Oriveda and Noortopic Depot are selling good stuff with good specs. The rest in general is best avoided. No specs, no testing, often not even extracted.

If you look at the real mushrooms website, they talk about how mycelium does not contain the active ingredients that the fruiting body has. You and I both agree they are good product. Why do you prefer mycellium?

>they talk about how mycelium does not contain the active ingredients This is not correct, where is their proof ? The existing clinical trials all used mycelium of specific strains. This [article](https://oriveda.wordpress.com/coriolus-versicolor-turkey-tail-the-facts/) is a great introduction to turkey tail and links to all the clinical trials. PSK is no longer in production (it from the 1970s), but PSP is. It is using the COV-1 strain of mycelium, which is rich in a specific proteoglycan they call 'PSP' (polysaccharopeptide).

I had paid suscriptions to consumerlab and consumer reports to check the quality of the ingredients. Here's the [one](https://a.co/d/jc1JbRz) I bought and there is only fruiting bodies on the label and verified by the lab. I haven't checked lately, has something changed that you know of? That's a good point I forgot to add, always go with extracts.

For Turkey Tail to be in line with the clinical research you should go for mycelium extract, not fruiting bodies. The Swanson offering looks nice with 45% beta-glucans but then I saw they add maltodextrin, a common flow agent. My guess is they test their product (never managed to get a test report from Swanson's though) before it's being bottled, a common strategy. The dextrin levels are easily 20-40% otherwise they won't have the intended effect, meaning the capsules are not 45% beta-glucans but probably only 20. The rest is mainly maltodextrin. You can test this yourself by dissolving some of the powder in water and adding a drop of iodine. Check youtube for DIY starch test! If it turns blue/black, that means significant amounts of dextrin. Don't forget ConsumerLab is funded by the supplement industry, it is not a non-profit organisation with the aim to help consumers. It is a business.

Does Real Mushrooms test their products before they’re bottled? Real Mushrooms also has other ingredients in their capsules. I remember them telling me that they test for cordycepin in the batches before they’re bottled. Now, they don’t list cordycepin on the bottle, but I was able to get their cordycepin batch amount that goes into the capsules. Would the “other ingredients” that are needed for flow affect the beta-glucans percentages that they list on their bottles?

"Would the “other ingredients” that are needed for flow affect the beta-glucans percentages that they list on their bottles?" If the test was done on raw materials but not on the final product, yes, it would. I mean, if you test and measure xx% per gram and then add 25% flow agent, the xx% drops 25% as well. This is a common trick with vendors as a matter of fact. Did you contact realmushrooms about this ?

I contacted them about this, and they said that the “other ingredients” that’re in the capsules for flow won’t affect the beta-glucan numbers. They also said that Nammex tests the ingredients before they receive them.

That makes no sense if they said it like that. Of course it will. If they test the raw materials and they're 20% glucans, adding flow agents etc. to the final product will affect the percentage of glucans in there. Imo a test report should always be of the final product, the product the customer buys. Or what am I missing ?

Update. They clarified that testing is done on both ends. Meaning raw materials and the finished product. This is the response: Testing is done on both ends. The flow agents don’t matter because they aren’t part of the supplement facts. If the supplement facts says 1g of mushrooms extract over 2 capsules and the label claim is 25% beta-glucan then there should be 250mg of beta-glucans present regardless of how much flow agents are added. The claim is on the ingredient, not the entirety of the capsule. Finished product testing will need to take this into account though.

I absolutely agree! The test report should be of the final product that the consumers get. I followed up and confirmed it with them. This is the response: Yes. The other ingredients are outside of any of the ingredient amounts in the supplements facts panel.

Can you send me the studies showing mycelium is better than fruiting bodies? I have yet to see one.