Menopause Symptoms - Could Lion’s Mane Mushroom Help?

Menopause can cause mood changes, brain fog, frequent chills and weight gain, to name just a few of its delightful symptoms. Women deal with menopause as a natural part of the ageing process, but that doesn’t mean you have to like it!

functional mushrooms have been shown to help reduce the symptoms of menopause as well as support your well-being on the whole. In particular, the mushroom, Lion’s Mane, has a lot to offer when it comes to battling the annoying and unpleasant effects of menopause.

Consider this your fun guide to useful fungi and how they can help if you’re struggling with mood swings, gut problems or sleep issues because of menopause.

 

What Is Menopause?

If you’ve been told by your medical professional that you have menopause (or that it’s on its way), then you already have a fairly good idea of this normal physical change.

In a nutshell, menopause is a shift in the balance of hormones in your body. As your ovaries age and produce fewer reproductive hormones, menopause occurs.

For some women, it comes as a bit of a relief - an end to mother nature’s endless gifts. For others, it can be a traumatic time in their lives and can seriously affect their health.

At this time, your body starts undergoing some changes because of the lower levels of oestrogen, progesterone, testosterone and other hormones.

Generally, women experiencing menopause find they have a generally lower mood, have more memory issues and feel reduced energy.

Around 1 in 10 women live with these symptoms for over 12 years, with others starting to feel them more than a decade before menopause actually starts.

So, we can see why researchers have turned to dietary supplements like mushrooms as a way to combat these prevalent but unpleasant symptoms.

 

What Are The Symptoms Of Menopause?

There’s no glazing over the truth with menopause - it can be rough. Women globally go through this hormonal change, and for the most part, they experience most of the same symptoms.

Luckily, they’re pretty easy to spot, so you should be able to figure out what’s going on with your body once you notice the cornerstone attributes of menopause.

The biggest thing to remember with menopause is that a huge dip causes the majority of symptoms in some of the regular reproductive hormones.

These have been important hormones for your body up to this point, so now that they’ve suddenly dropped, it’s easy to see why your body is freaking out a little.

Because these hormones have decided to put in their notice, women start to experience some fairly obvious menopausal symptoms, such as:

• Hot flushes (suddenly feeling overheated)
• Chills
• Mood swings
• Poor memory
• Sleep issues
• Reduced energy levels
• Weight gain
• Thinning hair
• Night sweats
• Headaches and migraines

Understandably, all of this can be incredibly difficult to live with. But that’s where the benefits of Lion’s Mane mushrooms might start to grow on you…

 

Lion’s Mane, Menopause & Your Brain Health

Functional mushrooms have been used across the world for thousands of years, and in that time, we’ve had the chance to figure out which mushrooms are most effective at combating different problems.

Lion’s Mane mushroom is a non-psychedelic shroom that stands out from the crowd because of the huge range of ways it can help.

Heaps of research has been done more recently on Lion’s Mane extract supplements, including how this friendly fungus can tackle the individual symptoms of menopause.

The biggest thing Lion’s Mane has going for it is just how easy it is to get across the blood-brain barrier (the thing that stops many supplements from ever making it to your brain).

This lets the active parts of Lion’s Mane do impressive things to your brain, like promote healthier cognition, improve mood balance and help your memory. But Lion’s Mane extract is proven to take things a bit further than just temporarily ‘helping a bit’.

 

Fungi That Protects Your Brain

The chemicals that make their way into your brain have been shown to create growth factors that help your brain create new, stronger neural pathways. That means better memory and better thinking power overall.

Other studies show good ol’ Hericium Erinaceus (the fancy name for Lion’s Mane mushrooms) can get pretty protective about your brain, helping with the production of myelin sheaths, the stuff that protects your brain from neurological diseases and damage.

 

Why Is This So Important?

Well, people with menopause symptoms struggle a lot with brain fog, short and long-term memory loss, as well as mood swings and learning problems. So a functional supplement that starts its work in your brain is invaluable.

 

The Mood-Lifting Mushroom

As well as causing memory and cognition problems, the menopausal hormonal changes can be a big mood-killer.

Menopausal women report feeling a general sense of nervousness and worsened mood compared to their pre-menopausal selves. This can be difficult to deal with if you’d typically be the life of the party and Porto-bell-o of the ball!

But Lion’s Mane mushrooms are here to show up outside your window holding an 80s speaker, playing your favourite feel-good tune.

That’s because Lion’s Mane extract is a powerful nervous system regulator and has been shown to balance mood, decrease irritability and anxiety, and even help with the recovery from depressive-like behavior as a result of menopause.

It does this by…

• Having anti inflammatory properties which is usually associated with an anxiety increase
• Improving blood flow to the brain cells, which can elevate your overall mood
• Regulating neurotransmitters and the nervous system to make it easier for you to manage your emotions

 

Your Immune Function During Menopause

As if memory problems and mood swings weren’t enough to deal with, it’s been found that as a woman ages, she’s more likely to experience a general decline in immune function and a weakening of her natural defences.

Tonnes of research has been done on the connection between sex hormones and immune function. Menopausal women - and all women with reduced immune function - can be at risk of more immunodeficiencies and diseases, which makes Lion’s Mane’s role even more critical.

Research shows that Lion’s Mane mushrooms can boost immunity by increasing the activity of your intestinal immune system. You can imagine this as Lion’s Mane going into the barracks of your immune system, rallying the soldiers and getting them all out on regular patrols instead of sleeping on the job.

This could be partly because Lion’s Mane mushroom extract can support your gut bacteria, therefore stimulating your immune system as a whole.

It might be hard to think a tasty mushroom could do so much just by entering your gut, but it’s gained so much attention from researchers for a reason. Lion’s Mane is your friendly neighbourhood immune system helper!

 

Better Sleep Quality For Menopausal Women…

We can all agree that sleeping is pretty great but also fairly essential for you to be able to go about your daily life. For menopausal women, sleep becomes a big problem.

As well as dealing with brain fog in general, they can struggle to get to sleep when it comes to bedtime and stay awake during the day because of fatigue.

Lion’s Mane can help here too. Because of its effects on the central nervous system, Lion’s Mane is also used in traditional Chinese medicine for insomnia and muscle weakness.

This makes this particular shroom especially useful for menopausal women who just need a good night’s sleep.

In fact, Lion’s Mane has been shown to help menopausal women with their sleep quality, letting them rest easier and feel more like themselves day-to-day.

 

Lion’s Mane Mushrooms Are Here To Help

Menopause can be hard to live with, and the symptoms can be even harder to treat. Luckily, scientific evidence proves that Lion’s Mane can improve symptoms relating to menopause, including sleep issues, night sweats, memory problems and mood swings.

Lion’s Mane doesn’t leave mush-room for error when it comes to helping your body's ability to regulate, have more energy and protect itself, making it a smart little shroom. Check out our 100% hot water extract Lion’s Mane mushroom capsules to find out more about their benefits.