Supplements: Functional Mushrooms, Vitamins and Plant Extracts

Common mix-up first: the milligrams on the front of a mushroom supplement are not milligrams of mushroom. "Lion's Mane 10:1, 400 mg" means 400 mg of a concentrated extract, ten parts raw material boiled down to one part extract. Our own Lion's Mane Mushroom Capsules print 8:1, the Lion's Mane Gummies print 10:1 and Ashwagandha prints 4:1, so the ratio and the milligram figure only make sense read together. Same story right across this shelf and the rest of the smartshop: learn one label and you can read all 71.

Foodsporen and Zamnesia: The Mushroom Line-up

Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus), Reishi, Cordyceps, Chaga, Agaricus blazei and the Power 5 blend all turn up here, most of them in more than one format. Foodsporen bottle their own Lion's Mane capsules next to ours, and their copy is explicit that the extract comes from the fruiting body rather than processed mycelium. Hericenone and erinacine are the compounds named on that label.

Swallow It: Capsules and Tinctures

A capsule is a measured amount of extract inside a shell you swallow with water. Our Lion's Mane Mushroom Capsules hold 400 mg of 8:1 extract each, and the label says one to two capsules daily with water, preferably before a meal, and not with carbonated drinks. A tincture is extract in liquid form, measured out with a pipette instead of counted out as pills, and Power 5, Cordyceps, Reishi, Chaga and Agaricus blazei each come both ways.

Chew It or Spray It: Gummies and StressLess

Our Lion's Mane Gummies are raspberry-flavoured, vegan and chewy, and the label tells you to chew thoroughly before swallowing. Two gummies make the 400 mg daily serving, 60 gummies per tub, so 30 servings, taken before or during a meal. Mushroom Gummies Forest Berries put four extracts in a single chew: Cordyceps 44 mg, Chaga 39 mg, Lion's Mane 35 mg and Reishi 24 mg, 60 per pack. StressLess is an oral spray, extract you pump into the mouth rather than swallow as a pill, with 200 mg reishi and 50 mg ashwagandha on its label.

Vitamins, Minerals and Why Some Come as Softgels

The vitamin and mineral end of the shelf runs to Vitamin C, B12, B Complex, Vitamin E softgels, Vega D3, Calcium Magnesium and Zinc, Magnesium Citrate, Omega 3 and Vega Omega. A softgel is a soft shell round an oil rather than a hard shell round a powder, which is why the E and the omega items come that way. The two Vega products are the ones labelled vegan.

Ashwagandha and withanolides, Maca and the Rest of the Plant Aisle

Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) is the one people reach for most often here: 300 mg of 4:1 root extract per capsule, one capsule a day with a glass of water, preferably before a meal, and suitable for vegetarians, with withanolides named on the label. Alongside it sit Maca, Turmeric and Orthosiphon, Chlorella and Spirulina, Quercetin Extract, Berberine, MSM, L-Arginine, L-tyrosine, L-Tryptophan with B6 and 5-HTP from Griffonia simplicifolia at 75 mg. Adaptogens and nootropics are trade category labels for a few of these plants and aminos, nothing more. Booze Recovery is a sachet you stir into 250 ml of water and drink within a day of mixing, and Recoup-E does its own thing in capsule form.

Oblates, Pill Boxes and Dosing Gear

Easy Dose oblate pouches are edible wrappers for loose powder, and the pill box keeps capsules sorted so you are not rattling four tubs around in a bag.

Food supplement labelling and recommended daily intake

The label wording we carry on this whole shelf, once and plainly: food supplements are not a substitute for a varied diet and a healthy lifestyle, do not exceed the stated dose, keep out of reach of children, not for pregnancy or breastfeeding or under-18s, and consult a doctor if you take medication. A food supplement is not a medicine, and we make no health claims about any product on this page. Recommended daily intake and ingredient amounts come from the tub in front of you, so read the label line by line. If you want a starting point for comparing, put our 8:1 Lion's Mane capsules next to the Foodsporen bottle.