Can Functional Mushrooms Help Manage Alzheimer’s Disease?

If you’ve ever walked into a room and forgotten why you’re there, or watched a loved one struggle to recall your name, you know how frightening memory loss can be.

Alzheimer’s disease slowly robs people of their memories, independence and dignity.

While there’s still no cure, research into natural approaches like functional mushrooms are offering hope.

TL;DR: Alzheimer’s disease affects memory, thinking and independence. Conventional drugs can help but often have side effects and limited effectiveness. Evidence shows Lion’s Mane and Reishi mushrooms may support brain-cell growth, fight inflammation and protect against age-related cognitive decline when used as part of a holistic plan.

Table of Contents

1. What Is Alzheimer’s Disease?
2. Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease
3. Common Alzheimer’s Medications & Challenges
4. Mushroom for Alzheimer’s
5. Choosing the Right Mushroom Supplement
6. Dosage Recommendation & Safety
7. FAQs

What is Alzheimer’s Disease?

Alzheimer’s Disease is described as a neurological disorder that impacts on a person’s ability to remember, think, and eventually their ability to be an independent adult. While most patients show signs of Alzheimer’s when they enter their late 60s, early-onset Alzheimer’s can start as early as 40 years. 

Symptoms of Alzheimer’s Disease

According to the NHK, Alzheimer’s disease symptoms progress slowly over several years, and the rate of progress with each symptom varies for each person.

Alzheimer’s symptoms can be classified into three major groups:

Common Alzheimer’s Disease Medication

Sadly there is no cure for Alzheimer’s disease yet, but there are many ways to reduce symptoms through medication. The goal of Alzheimer’s treatment is to provide patients with comfort, dignity, independence, and to make it easier for caregivers to assist them.

Some of the common medications used for Alzheimer’s are rivastigmine, galantamine, and donepezil. These drugs work as cholinesterase inhibitors that reduce the breakdown of acetylcholine, a brain chemical responsible for memory and cognition. 

We typically have lower concentrations of acetylcholine as we age, but Alzheimer’s breaks them down faster.

There is another drug that specifically targets the underlying cause of Alzheimer’s called aducanumab. 

Aducanumab is a human antibody that reduces amyloid plaques or brain lesions associated with Alzheimer’s disease. If treatment is successful, this would slow down the progress of the neurological disorder. This drug is still new and only intended for early and mid-stages.

Late-stage patients are also sometimes prescribed antipsychotics or other drugs to relieve distress or calm down aggression.

Conventional Alzheimer’s Treatments

As with conventional treatment for most diseases, prescription drugs can pose a high risk for side effects. Depending on what you’re prescribed, these are some of the symptoms to watch out for:

• Sleep disruption
• Bleeding
• Slow heart rate, which can cause fainting
• Confusion
• Agitation
• Constipation

Patients with conditions that pre-dispose them to having those side effects are barred from taking Alzheimer’s medications.

Other than side effects, prescription drugs also don’t always work or don’t have the expected impact on Alzheimer’s disease symptoms. 

The Best Mushrooms for Alzheimer’s Disease

Due to the uncertainty and severity of side effects associated with traditional Alzheimer’s treatment, experts are turning their heads to alternative approaches that meet safety and efficacy.

One of them is through the healing powers of mushrooms, especially Lion’s Mane Mushroom and Reishi Mushroom.

1. Lion’s Mane Mushroom for Alzheimer’s Support
2. Reishi Mushroom for Alzheimer’s Support

Lion’s Mane mushroom

Possesses compounds that stimulate brain-cell growth: Hericenones and erinacines. These compounds were found to specifically fight against Alzheimer’s disease as well as other neurological conditions that cause memory loss in animal studies. [1] 

Lion's Mane’s hericenones and erinacine content can also support neuron outgrowth. Increasing neuron production potentially slows or reverses age-related cell degeneration in conditions like Alzheimer's. [6]

The mushroom is also known to be anti-inflammatory, and Alzheimer’s can also be categorized as an inflammatory condition. 

Studies suggest Lion’s Mane’s possesses natural anti-inflammatory properties that fight markers of Alzheimer’s like amyloid plaques. Amyloid plaques accumulate in the brain during Alzheimer’s disease. [5]

The mushroom’s extracts have also been cited to reduce symptoms of memory loss and prevent neuronal damage caused by amyloid plaques in animal studies. [5]

Reishi mushroom

Reishi is a source of powerful antioxidants and has been cited to reduce cell ageing. 

In fact, reishi is credited to have the most anti-ageing effects of all medicinal mushrooms. Reishi extracts are also known to protect cellular DNA from oxidant damage, which can lead to early signs of aging and cancer. [2]

What about Alzheimer’s? Because Alzheimer’s is largely a cell-aging disease, experts suggest taking reishi can slow down its progress primarily by promoting neurogenesis. 

Neurogenesis is a process necessary for maintaining brain functions like mood and cognition. Moreover, enhancing neurogenesis can help counteract neurodegeneration, which leads to Alzheimer’s disease. [7]

The contents found in Reishi can also limit the damage done by AGEs or advanced glycation end products. AGEs are proteins whose malfunction promotes aging and inflammation and contribute to Alzheimer’s risk. [8]