A Dirty Secret: Lifting the Lid on Mushroom Extracts
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Introduction:
Mushroom extracts are increasingly popular for their health benefits, but behind the claims of "100% pure" lies a dirty little secret. Many UK mushroom products are filled with maltodextrin, a filler that has zero nutritional value and can even be harmful to your health. We’re pulling back the curtain on what’s really in your mushroom extract, and why myco:soul refuses to follow these deceptive practices.---
The Hidden Filler Diluting Your Mushroom Extract
When you buy mushroom extract, you expect purity. However, many UK brands sneak in maltodextrin, a cheap filler that doesn’t have to be declared on the label. Maltodextrin is a highly processed carbohydrate, derived from starch, and used to prevent clumping during mushroom extract production. It’s also 100% soluble, making it easy for suppliers to mix in large quantities without leaving any visual trace in your product. It's offered by suppliers as the cheapest grade extract and it's what's inside virtually all of the mushroom extract products in the UK.
The Technical Lowdown:
Maltodextrin has a high glycemic index, causing rapid blood sugar spikes, and may promote inflammation and harm gut health by disrupting beneficial bacteria. Despite these harmful effects, it’s commonly used to bulk up mushroom extracts, all while allowing companies to claim their products are "pure".
Comparison for Clarity:
It’s like buying a jar of honey and discovering it’s diluted with syrup. You think you’re getting a natural, high-quality product, but most of what you’re consuming is filler.
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Polysaccharides vs. Beta-Glucans: The Fine Print
Polysaccharides are important compounds in mushrooms, but not all polysaccharides are created equal. Beta-glucans are the ones that deliver significant health benefits, including immune support and inflammation reduction. Unfortunately, many brands inflate their polysaccharide numbers by using maltodextrin, because maltodextrin is a polysaccharide, one that doesn’t provide any of these benefits.
The Technical Lowdown:
Beta-glucans are crucial for immune modulation. Studies have shown that mushrooms like Reishi and Shiitake are rich in beta-glucans, which can help your immune system function optimally. In contrast, products bulked out with maltodextrin have beta-glucan content as low as 5%.
Comparison for Clarity:
Polysaccharides are like categories of vehicles—beta-glucans are the high-performance sports cars, while maltodextrin is the bicycle. They’re both technically vehicles, but only one gets you where you need to go fast.
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How to Spot the Imposters: Testing for Maltodextrin
One way to test for maltodextrin in a product is with an iodine test, where maltodextrin reacts and shows its presence. But the simplest and most reliable way to verify the quality of mushroom extracts is by checking the beta-glucan content. High-quality extracts should list this, often boasting levels of 20-30%. (myco:soul products are standardised to achieve >45% Beta-glucans and >50% Polysaccharides). If the product doesn't display beta-glucans, it’s likely hiding maltodextrin.
List of Mushrooms with High Beta-Glucans:
- Reishi
- Shiitake
- Turkey Tail
- Lion’s Mane (important for cognitive health)
List of Mushrooms with Lower Beta-Glucans but Other Benefits:
- Cordyceps (high in cordycepins, great for energy and oxygen uptake)
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Section 4: Lion's Mane: A Cognitive Powerhouse
Among the most prized mushrooms, Lion’s Mane stands out for its brain-boosting abilities. Known for promoting cognitive function and neural growth, Lion’s Mane contains compounds like hericenones and erinacines, which help stimulate the production of Nerve Growth Factor (NGF), essential for maintaining healthy brain cells. Source If a Lion’s Mane product doesn’t list beta-glucans, you may not be getting the brain-boosting power you’re expecting.
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How We Know: myco:soul’s Commitment to Transparency
So how do we know about these industry practices? Through our correspondence with suppliers and our own testing, we’ve uncovered that maltodextrin is not only a common filler but one that’s easy to hide. It’s 100% soluble, so it mixes seamlessly into mushroom extracts, making it almost impossible to detect visually. However, we’ve validated the presence of maltodextrin in competitor products through tests, confirming that these so-called "pure" extracts are anything but.
At myco:soul, we chose a different path. We source only high-quality mushroom extracts, which are extracted via water or alcohol (like tea) and then dried out naturally, over time, making them slower, more expensive but free from maltodextrin and other fillers, ensuring that our products offer real, measurable health benefits. We're in this for the long haul!
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Mushroom Extracts vs. Cheap Multivitamins: Same Story, Different Supplement
Just like the multivitamin industry is notorious for packing products with bulking agents, the mushroom extract industry hides behind maltodextrin. The difference? Multivitamins at least list their fillers and contain the full RDA of each vitamin, the rest is bulking agent—mushroom extract companies exploit a current loophole, selling products that are sometimes 60% filler while claiming to be 100% pure. The product is more maltodextrin than mushroom. You're only getting 40% mushroom extract and only a tiny portion of that has beta glucan.
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The Full Range of Mushroom Benefits
High-quality mushroom extracts offer a wide array of beneficial compounds and we don't want 'cheap food' companies and selling mushroom extracts with so much maltodextrin there are no benefits, to destroy the industry. Mushrooms have been used for their health benefits in the Far East for centuries. We can do better than this. We deserve better than this:
In a nutshell:
- Polysaccharides: Including beta-glucans, help support a range of health function...but not the Polysaccharides found in maltodextrin.
- Beta-Glucans: Proven to boost the immune system and reduce inflammation.
- Cordycepins: Found in Cordyceps mushrooms, these enhance energy levels and oxygen utilization.
- Triterpenes: Found in Reishi, these have anti-inflammatory and antioxidant effects.
- Hericenones & Erinacines: Found in Lion’s Mane, these support brain health and cognitive function.
By choosing myco:soul's products, you’re getting these potent compounds in their purest form, free from the deceptive practices that have tainted much of the mushroom extract industry.
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