Which is the Best Red Reishi Mushroom Extract For You?
The Differences Between Our 1:1 and 8:1 Red Reishi Mushroom Extract
Noo-tropics.eu offers both a 1:1 and 8:1 extract of Red Reishi mushroom. We are often asked which Red Reishi extract is best. Our previous blog discussed our 1:1 and 10:1 Cordyceps extract, and our Reishi is similar, but not the same. Let’s take a look at the differences between these two high quality mushroom extracts, and help you decide which Red Reishi is right for you.
A Note About Our Certified Organic Mushroom Extracts
Before we discuss the differences between the extracts, we would like to discuss sourcing. Our Red Reishi extracts start their journey deep in the Mountains of China. The mushrooms are grown according to certified organic practices and in environments with very little pollution. This leads to mushroom extracts that are very low in heavy metals and very high in the bio-active compounds, since we use the whole fruiting bodies. As you may have read elsewhere, some competitors have actively lobbied against using mushroom products from China, with the claim that Chinese air pollution causes very high levels of heavy metals to accumulate in the mushroom fruiting bodies. Similarly, there have also been concerns over Chinese quality control when it comes to mushroom extracts; which, as some allege, is allowing many heavy metal-laden products to enter the United States.
We find that these statements are being made not from a place of concern or scientific merit, but to try and discredit whole fruiting body mushroom extracts, and dissuade people from trusting them. Why would someone do this? Well, if you are a vendor in the United States selling low-quality mycelium on grain products, and word starts getting out about how these products don’t contain the proper active ingredients they should, and are full of a bunch of rice/starch filler to pad the polysaccharide numbers, what is your only real defense? To obfuscate and try to seed doubt in the alternatives.
Testing Vital for Quality
That being said, there is some truth hidden in the propaganda. There are low quality suppliers for pretty much anything. However, it reinforces the point that we at Noo-tropics.eu have stressed from the very beginning; which is that all mushroom extract vendors have a responsibility to test their products when they are imported into the United States. More importantly, they must reject batches that contain dangerous levels of contaminants, or too low of active ingredients. Proper testing and quality control is a must, whether a product comes from China, India, the US, or Europe. Noo-tropics.eu adheres to the most stringent of testing protocols. We even have a high tech lab where we do the majority of our testing, and employ new methods to improve how testing is performed in the supplement industry.
We check and double check our products, and we are not afraid to reject a batch if something doesn’t seem perfectly correct. You may even notice us go out of stock on certain things for a few weeks. This recently happened with our cordyceps. The cordycepin content did not meet our spec, so we rejected the batch till we could get one that met our standards. We would rather go out of stock than sell a product that does not meet our standards. This is what is needed in the supplement space, but is sadly lacking. GMP guidelines say you can do skip-lot testing, and only test some of the batches coming in. We say that’s not good enough. Every batch gets tested, period.
Quality Assurance: Noo-tropics.eu Assurance
So, can products from China contain heavy metals or too low of active ingredients? Sure, just as they can from anywhere. However, when you use a company that cares about quality, and are going above and beyond GMP testing practices, you don’t have to worry. Testing and quality control are what protects you as consumers. Taking that into consideration, the argument some of our competitors have made only solidifies our position; and it certainly doesn’t make myceliated rice a good alternative. You can always rest assured that mushrooms you buy from Noo-tropics.eu will be safe and have the appropriate level of active ingredients.
Working closely together with our mushroom suppliers, and even directly interacting with some of the farmers, we can follow along with the production process from spores to finished product. The Red Reishi mushroom, also known as Ganoderma lucidum, is grown on wood substrate logs which is necessary for the formation of the highly beneficial triterpenoids present in our Red Reishi extracts. Any Red Reishi product that is not grown on a wood-based substrate will not contain appreciable levels of triterpenoids. After harvesting the Red Reishi fruiting bodies, they go through a rigorous quality control process and are then further processed at a nearby facility.
How our 1:1 and 8:1 Red Reishi Extracts are Made
For the 1:1 extract, the Red Reishi is mixed with hot water. This helps break down the Chitin in the fruiting bodies which leads to better bioavailability and digestibility of the mushroom. The 1:1 Red Reishi extract retains all starting material, offering a full spectrum of beneficial compounds present in Ganoderma lucidum. Think of all of our 1:1 “extracts” as whole powdered mushroom, just with the chitin broken down to be more bioavailable. Since you don’t lose any material, the beta-glucan content is very high.
In comparison, this facility produces another extract: a highly potent ethanol-extracted 16:1 Red Reishi mushroom extract. To produce 16:1 Red Reishi extract, it takes 16 pounds of raw Red Reishi for just one pound of extract! The triterpenoids in Red Reishi are readily soluble in ethanol, whereas the beta-glucans are not. By using ethanol as the extraction solvent, we end up with a highly-potent triterpenoid extract. The 16:1 Reishi extract has some of the highest triterpenoid levels we’ve ever seen. However, since beta-glucans are not as soluble in ethanol, you see a lot lower levels. So how do we get the best of both worlds? Combining 16:1 with 1:1 Reishi extract reintroduces Beta-Glucans, yielding our 8:1 extract. This gives you not only high levels of beta-glucans, but high levels of triterpenoids.
Triple Tested Reishi Extracts
Once ready for shipment to North America, the extract undergoes testing at the manufacturing facility in China. Independent labs in the US confirm the analytical testing before shipping the extract to us. Once it reaches us, Noo-tropcis.eu tests it yet again for heavy metals and efficacy. Noo-tropics.eu produces two highly effective Red Reishi extracts, rigorously tested for low heavy metal content. You may have noticed that this new 8:1 extract replaced our old 4:1 extract. However, we were able to keep the price the same. So you are now getting a much more potent extract for the same price!
Comparing the Benefits of our 1:1 and 8:1 Red Reishi Extracts
With clarity on Noo-tropics.eu’s Red Reishi sourcing, extraction, and testing, let’s compare their effects and benefits, aiding your choice. Main differences: 1:1 lacks potent calming effects; 8:1 likely due to triterpenoids with immune-modulating and brain health-promoting effects. This means that the 8:1 extract will have more prominent effects in this area. Anecdotally, the 8:1 extract appears slightly calming, unlike the 1:1 which lacks potent calming effects.
For general inflammation reduction and immune support, consider the 1:1 extract, highly effective for these purposes. For enhanced cognitive function and overall health benefits, the 8:1 extract of Ganoderma lucidum is likely your best choice.
Noo-tropics.eu offers 1:1 and 8:1 Red Reishi extracts in capsules, powder, and powder form, respectively.
