I've Personally Grown Thousands of Pounds of Lion's Mane. Here's What Most Companies Won't Tell You.

Luke Voigt

Mushroom Grower & Founder, LionsManeExtracts.com · June 2025

If you've tried lion's mane supplements and felt nothing... you're not alone. And it's probably not your fault.

The lion's mane mushroom market has exploded. Everyone from Amazon sellers to big-box supplement brands is jumping in. But here are two things that should concern you:

See, some of the biggest brands on Amazon have been exposed for having little to no mushroom content in their supplements.

Worse yet, a few of the top names in the mushroom industry have failed their bacteria/mold contamination tests...

I've personally grown THOUSANDS of pounds of lion's mane mushrooms in Portland. I've seen what goes on behind the scenes in this industry.

As someone who has personally grown thousands of pounds of lion's mane mushrooms, spent years mastering the extraction process, and has tested more products than I can count — I want to share the 3 biggest problems I see.

Because if you've tried lion's mane and felt nothing, chances are you were sold one of these:

Red Flag #1: You're Eating Rice Powder, Not Mushrooms

This is the dirty secret. The word to watch for on labels is "mycelium" or "myceliated grain" — that's code for "mostly rice flour."

Think about it: if you grow mold on a piece of bread, then grind up the bread, you don't have a mold supplement. You have bread dust with some mold mixed in. That's essentially what mycelium-on-grain products are.

Independent lab testing has shown some of these products contain as little as 5-10% actual mushroom content. The rest? Starch from the grain substrate.

Real lion's mane supplements use the fruiting body — the actual mushroom. That's where the highest concentrations of the beneficial compounds (hericenones and erinacines) live.

Red Flag #2: The Brain-Boosting Compounds Are Locked Inside

Lion's mane contains compounds in two categories that your brain needs:

Hericenones — found in the fruiting body. These are fat-soluble.
Erinacines — also in the fruiting body. These stimulate Nerve Growth Factor (NGF).

Here's the problem: the mushroom cell wall is made of chitin — the same stuff in crab shells. Your body can't break it down on its own.

The real benefit comes from dual extraction — using both hot water AND alcohol extraction to pull out the full spectrum of compounds.

It's more expensive to produce. It takes longer. But it's the only way to get everything the mushroom has to offer.

And once you have a proper dual extract, the delivery matters too. A liquid tincture absorbs faster and more completely than a capsule or powder — you can feel the difference within 15-30 minutes:

A couple droppers in water or directly under the tongue. That's it. You feel it working within minutes.

Red Flag #3: No Transparency on Sourcing or Testing

90% of mushroom supplements sold in the US are grown in China. That's not automatically bad — China has centuries of mushroom cultivation expertise.

But here's what matters: testing and traceability.

A lot of overseas-grown products arrive in the US with minimal quality control. Some have failed third-party tests for heavy metals, pesticide residues, and bacterial contamination.

And most brands won't show you their lab results even if you ask.

So before you spend another dollar on a lion's mane supplement, check it against this list:

If your current lion's mane supplement doesn't hit all five, it's probably why you haven't felt anything.

I know because I spent years trying to find one that checked every box. And when I couldn't, I built it myself.

Why I Built What I Couldn't Find

My name is Luke. I didn't start growing lion's mane to build a company — I started because I was desperate.

At 21, a gut parasite left me with severe brain fog and memory loss. Over 3 months I went through colonoscopies, endoscopies, and $40,000 in medical testing. When the infection cleared, my gut healed — but my brain didn't.

What the parasite did to me. I lost 40 pounds of muscle and my brain wasn't working right.

A brain scan showed reduced blood flow in multiple areas. I was 21 years old, forgetting where I parked my car and losing track of conversations mid-sentence.

A biohacker friend recommended lion's mane mushroom extract. Not a capsule from Amazon — a real, dual-extracted liquid tincture. Within a few weeks, the fog started to lift. Within a month, I felt like myself again.

But when I tried to buy more, I discovered everything on the market was either mycelium-on-grain garbage or over-processed capsules from overseas with no transparency.

So I did something that probably sounds crazy: I started growing lion's mane mushrooms myself.

I built a mushroom fruiting room in my mom's house. Later, I partnered with extraction facilities in Portland, OR to create a proper dual-extracted liquid. And I obsessed over quality control because my own brain health depended on it.

That's how Lion's Mane Extracts was born.

Over 80,000 customers. 3,000+ reviews. 4.7 out of 5 stars.

I don't say that to brag — I say it because most of those 80,000 people tried other supplements first, felt nothing, and then tried ours.

"I've tried 4 different lion's mane brands from Amazon. None of them did anything noticeable. This was the first one where I actually felt a difference within the first week. The focus and clarity are real — not placebo, not subtle. Real." — Jack M., Verified Buyer ★★★★★

"I'm amazed by the difference it's making. I accidentally ran out a few weeks ago, and it was a couple of weeks before I got a new bottle. I felt my cognition declining — fog came back, focus dropped. That's when I knew for certain this stuff really works." — Verified Customer ★★★★★

"I always bring it with me to meetings so I can feel 100% confident the words I need will be on my tongue when I need them. It's become non-negotiable in my morning routine." — Natalie F., Verified Buyer ★★★★★

Mush Love,

Luke "The Lion" Voigt
Founder & CEO, LionsManeExtracts.com