

It’s a bit like taking a shot of espresso: you know when it kicks in, but it’s never overwhelming or jitter-inducing. Energy and Performance don’t feel all that different, but both offer a discernible boost after taking them. However, the other three pills – Energy, Focus, Chill – all made a noticeable difference in my day-to-day interactions with the world.

Are you getting sick less because your immune system has improved from the mushrooms, or just because this is a two-month stretch where you haven’t gotten sick? Do you generally feel better because of the multivitamin-esque claims of Mike’s Mushroom Mix, or are there other factors involved (eating better, sleeping better, drinking less, etc.)? It’s a bit difficult to parse where placebo effect ends and legitimate benefits begin. The main question, though, is do they work? The effects of offerings like Mike’s Mushroom Mix or Protect + Defend are tricky to suss out over the course of a month or two. The purpose of this is twofold: it delivers, in Zavet’s opinion, the best and most functional product for consumers, and it also opens up the products to a larger market by telling consumers what the product does rather than what it is. Every product features a complex mix that was refined over many trials to get the perfect combination of functional mushrooms and other natural ingredients (green tea, chamomile, etc.). One noticeable difference between Spore and most other available mushroom pills and powders is that they don’t offer products from individual strains of mushrooms (e.g., Lion’s Mane capsules or Chaga powder).
SPORE FOCUS PERFORMANCE SUPERFOOD MUSHROOM BLEND REVIEWS SERIAL
We really wanted to focus on the power of the ‘functional’ mushroom, and given that mushrooms have a diverse nutritional profile, each offers a range of benefits in complement with the others.” says Spore co-Founder Mike Zavet.Ī serial entrepreneur involved in both the crypto and cannabis space in his native Canada, Zavet turned to mushrooms after being diagnosed with multiple sclerosis. “The market is currently pretty cluttered with generic supplements and brands with one main ingredient. None of this is particularly groundbreaking if you search mushroom supplements on Amazon, you’ll be hit with an unending array of generic brands selling powders and pills derived from all the popular varieties: Lion’s Mane, Chaga, Ashwaganda, Cordyceps. Another recently launched startup, Spore, is looking to do the same thing, but in capsule form. You may be familiar with Four Sigmatic, a startup that makes mushroom-based coffee to work the values of fungus into your daily routine.

And they are all on to something - a track record thousands of years long can’t be all pseudoscience and hype. In 2019, The Guardian took a look at the industry. But in the contemporary Western world, its therapeutic use is relatively new beyond the hippies and alternative-medicine crowds you would assume to be taking mushroom supplements. Indigenous peoples from North America to East Asia have been harnessing the medicinal power of the mushroom for thousands of years. When most people think of mushrooms, their mind goes one of two ways: a delicious and varied food source that adds flavor and umami to any dish, or a psychedelic drug that adds flavor and umami to any experience.īut there’s a different use case that’s drawing more and more consumers toward the shroom: that of the health supplement.
