Using mushrooms and herbs in our formulas is nothing new, neither is shouting about their amazing benefits across our blog and social channels! What's new is, as part of some exciting product updates, we’re now including high-quality extracts from mushroom fruiting bodies and powerful herbal extracts where relevant in our bespoke formulations.  

We’ll go into a little more detail shortly, but before we do we thought we’d start off with some of the ways that we can all benefit from mushrooms and herbs everyday. Whether you need an energy boost, struggle to relax or need a little help managing your stressful top-do list, we want you to start believing in the powerful properties at the heart of eastern traditions.

We’ve always strongly believed in using mushrooms and herbs, they’ve always been ingrained in our ethos, and front of mind when we’ve been formulating our products, so nothing has changed there. But, what has changed, is the part of the mushrooms and herbs that we’re actually including. So let’s start with mushrooms!

 

MUSHROOMS: WHY FRUITING BODIES? 

The fruiting bodies of mushrooms are considered ‘full spectrum’ which means that they’ve got a more diverse range of nutritional benefits. It means they’re more effective, higher quality and they pack much more of a nutritional punch when compared to the mycelium which is the network of fungal thread growing below ground. By making this change for the different mushrooms that we use in all of our formulations, we hope you’ll be able to get even more brilliant benefits from all of our products and continue to enjoy taking them as much as we know you do! 

HERBS: WHAT ARE HERBAL EXTRACTS?

Herbal extracts are substances that are extracted from different parts of plants using varying extraction methods. Different methods work better on different plants, for different herbs. Here at Link Nutrition, we pride ourselves on the quality and careful sourcing of the ingredients that we use in our supplements. That’s why, making this change, using potent herbal extracts is so important to us. All the herbs that are included in our blends contain the powerful bioactive compounds from the correct part of the plant, using the most appropriate extraction method which means that the final product contains all of the benefits.

 

MUSHROOMS + HERBS FOR OUR FEEL GOOD FACTORS

 

ENERGY 

OUR MUSHROOMS 

Cordyceps is often the most popular mushroom when it comes to energy. Studies have shown that cordyceps help to increase a molecule called ATP. This molecule is really important for energy production, and getting energy to our muscles. It’s thought that this helps the body to improve the way that the body uses oxygen, pretty impressive right! This is thought to be the case particularly when we’re exercising, if you wanted to find out more than you can head to the study here. 

OUR HERBS 

Siberian ginseng is one of the most studied herbs. It is a well-known adaptogenic herb which means that it has the ability to adapt to the physical, environmental and emotional requirements of the body. Essentially, this means that it works by trying to harmonize and bring the body back into balance. Whilst it has the ability to do this, siberian ginseng has long been studied for its ability to fight fatigue, increase energy levels and have a positive impact on exercise performance. Head to this study if you want to read more about the wonders of siberian ginseng! 

RELAXATION

OUR MUSHROOMS 

Reishi mushroom has been shown to help promote relaxation, it’s an adaptogenic mushroom, so amazingly it has the ability to relieve stress by supporting the central nervous system. It’s understood that reishi mushroom helps to support the hypothalamic pituitary adrenal axis (otherwise known as the HPA) by helping to support and improve the function of adrenal glands which are important glands that respond to stress within our bodies. It’s for this reason that reshi has been used for centuries to promote calm and relaxation within the body - it’s always out go to help manage tricky stressful situations!

 

OUR HERBS 

One of our hero herbs for promoting calm, relaxation and helping to reduce anxiety is lemon balm. Part of the mint family, this hero herb is included in our best-selling Night Complex for good reason! Studies have shown that it can help the body to combat stress and reduce anxiety thanks to its ability to support the central nervous system and promote calm within the body. You can find out more about our Night Complex here. 

 

IMMUNITY

OUR MUSHROOMS

Mushrooms are fantastic immune boosters! They’re rich in B-vitamins, amino acids, antioxidants and important compounds called beta-D-glucans. These compounds are present in their cell walls, and play a key role in their ability to enhance our immunity! But how? Well, pretty amazingly these compounds help to both activate and enhance macrophages and natural killer cells which are both super important parts of our immune system!

All of the mushrooms in our formulations include these special beta-D-glucans, but let’s talk about one mushroom in particular that we love here at Link Nutrition. Chaga mushroom is included in our Vitamin C Complex which we all know is so important for our immune health, but how exactly can chaga mushroom enhance this complex? Well, it’s because chaga mushroom is a potent antioxidant. Antioxidants help our body to fight oxidative stress, which is key for keeping our immune system in check! You can find out more about our Vitamin C Complex and chaga mushrooms here. 

OUR HERBS 

Ashwagandha is also an adaptogenic herb, which means it has the ability to enhance and manage the body’s ability to fight stress. In addition to this, ashwagandha has also been shown to increase cell-mediated immunity because it has potent antioxidant properties which help to protect cellular damage. Not only that, but studies have shown that ashwagandha can increase lymphocyte production (essential immune cells) which are key for our immune defence - this is exactly why ashwagandha is one of our hero herbs! 

COGNITION

OUR MUSHROOMS

Lion's mane has been shown to enhance cognition and has also been shown to help prevent cognitive decline. It’s thought to have neuroprotective properties and ability to stimulate NGF production in the brain. You may be wondering what this actually means, so let’s make it as simple as possible! Nerve growth factor (NGF) is a small protein-like molecule from a group called neurotrophins. Neurotrophins play a role in the production of new neurons, and protect the existing mature neurons. Lion's mane has been shown to increase the amount of NGF in the brain therefore, it could really help to protect our cognition, WOW! 

OUR HERBS 

Bacopa monnieri has been shown to improve and enhance cognition, which is why it’s a key ingredient in our Brain Food Complex. The studies have shown that extracts of bacopa monnieri helped to improve memory recall and strengthen mental focus. Similarly, another one of our key herbal heroes, ginkgo biloba, can also help to boost our cognition. If you want to find out more about our Brain Food complex, you can find it here.

We’re huge fans of both mushrooms and herbs, and we’re so happy to be including fruiting body mushrooms and potent herbal extracts into our bespoke formulations. This is just the start of a very exciting learning journey on the wonders of both mushrooms and herbs, we’ve made it our mission to bring you everything you need to know about mushrooms and herbs as they sit right at the heart of our unique formulations. This means that there’s plenty of mushroom and herb related content coming your way over the coming weeks so make sure you get us a follow on instagram and facebook and sign up to our newsletter to be the first to hear from us!

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