Mushrooms are a popular health supplement, and it's important to understand what you're buying. Some companies use mycelium grown on grain to create mushroom products, which are cheaper to produce than those made from the fruiting body, but lack many of the beneficial compounds found in traditional mushroom supplements.

While mycelium is often considered to be a functional part of the mushroom, it is not the same as the fruiting body, which naturally grows on wood. The mycelium used in many mushroom supplements is grown on grain, with up to 90% of the final product consisting of rice or oats. This means that many so-called mushroom products are actually mostly grain with a small amount of mycelium.

Using mycelium instead of fruiting body is not only misleading but also potentially harmful. The Food and Drug Administration prohibits calling mycelium a "mushroom" and it lacks many of the beneficial compounds found in the fruiting body.

Some companies use mycelium for financial reasons since it's much cheaper to produce than organic fruiting body extracts. However, reputable companies understand that using fruiting body extracts is worth the extra expense, even though it's more difficult to make them taste good. Fruiting body extracts can be very bitter and earthy, so companies have to work hard to find ways to make them palatable.

At Good Pharma, we use real mushroom fruiting bodies grown on wood. While it's more expensive and difficult to use fruiting body extracts, we believe it's worth the effort to offer real mushrooms that have the research and tradition behind them. We pair our fruiting body extracts with other good-for-you ingredients like organic coffee and premium Japanese green tea to create delicious drinks that provide the benefits of traditional mushroom supplements.