Scientists Pour Scorn on Mushroom Coffee, the Latest ‘Healthy’ Food Trend
Mushroom mania is gaining popularity in the UK, with medicinal mushrooms being used in hot drinks, supplements, and even beer. Health food store Holland & Barrett reports that searches for “functional mushrooms” have increased 50% on its website in the past year. However, a recent investigation by Which? put these products in the category of “health products you don’t need.”
Mushroom-based hot drinks appeal to people who want to reduce their caffeine intake but also to the 35% of consumers, and half of 16- to 34-year-olds, who expressed interest in food and drink with “healthy ingredients based on ‘ancient wisdom’ such as Ayurveda and Chinese medicine. Demand for these products is growing due to an advertising blitz on social media, word of mouth, and the fact they are stocked more widely.
While consumers often buy direct from brands such as Dirtea, Spacegoods, and Reformed, they are increasingly common sight in pharmacies and health stores, including Boots and Holland & Barrett. Holland & Barrett has added 13 new products to its range, and all products are carefully selected by their team of experts and comply with food labelling legislation and permitted claims.
Neil Marrakchi, cofounder of Reformed, says people often get confused and think of magic mushrooms, asking questions such as “Will I have weird dreams?” The answer is: “No.” Reformed’s heavily fortified blend includes mushrooms (lion’s mane, chaga, maitake, and shiitake), collagen, and MCT oil, and costs £40 a packet.
Spacegoods, a more established rival, is growing fast and expects to turn over £10m this year as customers gravitate to its chocolate-flavoured Rainbow Dust, which comes in technicolour packaging and promises “zero jitters/crashing.” Spacegoods has not done its own clinical studies but would like to in the future, adding there is a lot of evidence around the specific ingredients it uses.
While many brands share testimonials of “happy” customers and promote positive reviews on their websites, the science community is scathing of the evidence base for the latest in a long line of wellness trends. Some experts point out that many people feel better when they switch to a mushroom blend because they generally contain less caffeine, with a large section of the population very sensitive to the stimulant.
Prof Nicholas Money, a mycologist at Miami University in Ohio, published a review on medicinal mushrooms in 2016 and whose book Molds, Mushrooms, and Medicines came out this year. He wants to see the science behind these products and believes that the placebo effect is powerful and that these products are not harming any consumers.
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