Coach, I’ve seen you mention the use of cordyceps with good results, I was curious what the recommended dosages are for it? I’ve used Lions mane for some time now and wanted to give cordyceps a try.
Until just before you feel an overwhelming desire to climb to the highest point around you?
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This depends on some factors. Dosage is usually about 900 mg/day of extract powder. Are you looking at CS-4 or cordyceps militaris? I would recommend doing research and not getting ripped off buying “mycelium on grain” which will have little-to-now bioactives. Typically for cordyceps, you want the compound “cordycepin”. Do not buy a company that does not have third party testing.
All that said, you will pay “more” for high quality cordyceps per pill, but it actually is a better deal because you are paying for bioactive compounds. Don’t just buy from Amazon or your local “health food” store if you want good stuff. If I can name a brand on here, the highest quality is Oriveda. It has way more bioactive compounds and a mix of CS-4 and cordyceps militaris, both of which have shown to be effective in peer-reviewed studies. Oriveda sells pharmaceutical-grade extracts and you can expect results consistent with high quality studies.
Now I’m curious.
What are the intended effects of this, the cordyceps militaris?
Regarding cordyceps, there’s cordyceps militaris and cordyceps sinensis (CS-4 is the strain). The militaris has much higher levels of cordycepin, which has anti-tumor and anti-inflammatory effects.
Cordyceps sinensis (and really both) are associated with cardiovascular effects, testosterone, vitality, an aphrodisiac, and liver detoxification. You can read studies to see if you find them compelling enough to use. Many are on rodents but there are also studies on athletes especially regarding endurance. Here’s just a review, but there are plenty of scientific articles.
Cordyceps is not actually a mushroom but a parasitic fungi. It invades certain types of caterpillars or ants and literally turns them into mycellium (stem) and the fruiting body breaks out of their head.
High quality cordyceps should list amounts of cordycepin, adenosine, and polyphenols. It should NOT list things like polysaccharides or even have high levels of beta-glucans (which are great but not specifically what you want cordyceps for). It should be both water and alcohol extracted. Avoid tinctures (which are weak alcohol solutions of extracts) and watch for “mycellium on grain”, which means you’re paying for a lot of rice or other biomass substrate.
(I have done a deep dive into medicinal mushrooms as part of healing my nerve injury and addressing gut health I developed when traveling earlier this year.)
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Yeah. I’ve been following along with that.
I’m a bit of an amateur mycologist myself.
Typically I’m a bit skeptical, but occasionally some of these things will pique my interest.
Not much chance I’ll run into the C. sinensis, but I’ve been walking right past the militaris among others for years! 
I too am very skeptical of supplements, and typically believe that formulas made of isolated concoctions sold as “brain enhancers” or other claims are bogus, or, at best, just completely overpriced. I was looking for a more natural, yet scientifically validated, boost to help my healing. I had been taking Lion’s Mane (both fruiting body water extract and mycelium alcohol extract), Cordyceps (militaris and CS-4) and Reishi. The supplements aren’t cheap if you buy pharmaceutical grade stuff (about $40/month for each one). I did, however, experience pretty dramatic healing in my gut and overall well being after a couple of weeks (and I’m very aware of placebo effects), but then effects seemed to taper off.
However, Lion’s Mane can really affect your libido, and that happened to me. After stopping all the supplements it returned after about a week. Cordyceps is supposed to improve it and off-set the libido-dampening effects of Lion’s Mane, but not enough for me at least.
As for your mushroom picture: looks awesome but I don’t know a thing about mycology and mushroom hunting. I can recognize Lion’s Mane of the medicinal mushrooms but that’s about it. It does seem pretty cool, though, and I’d be interested in getting into that aspect of it.
It’s just a little sulphur shelf. I don’t know about medicinal, but man, they’re good! I run into a fair bit of lions mane too, but it’s not usually the target of my forays.
Since there can be tremendous regional variability and significant consequences for mistaken identification, I generally recommend people join up with a regional mycology club or take classes if available.
I’m glad to hear of your improvements, and appreciate your direction on this.
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So much awesome information! I really appreciate the insight into all this, I’m definitely looking into the brand you suggested. You’re right, definitely steep price wise, but you get what you pay for and I appreciate the heads up!
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