The Vitamin Clerk explains how he leverages the functional properties of cordyceps for mental energy.
Lots of us are seeking natural ways to boost our brain’s health from mental exhaustion.
Prolonged stress interrupts our performance. It feels like memory loss as we experience more forgetfulness. Sometimes we call it “brain fog”.
Some disorders and aging may hinder your brain’s metabolism and energy production. As a result, you may not have a chance to recover fully from a stressful situation.
The amount of energy our brains need is relatively huge considering its light weight. An adult brain is only 2% of total body weight. At a Resting Metabolic Rate (or RMR) an adult may consume between 1300 to 1500 Calories per day—depending on gender and age. The brain consumes 20% to 25% of those Calories. Children’s brain may consume 50% to 60% of its caloric intake at RMR.
Most of this energy comes from metabolizing glucose and fats. But eating a sugary snack doesn't mean you’ll instantly increase your mental abilities.
We could exercise more. You’ve heard that exercise is good for your brain. Even a brisk walk is believed to boost your mood and allow you to de-stress. But there may be more going on physiologically than just taking time to chill.
By taking Cordyceps mushrooms routinely, I’m suggesting that there may be a way to get the mental benefits of exercise without breaking a sweat. I don’t suggest it would work for your situation. But, this is only my hypothesis and what I do.
For many decades we’ve known about a unique bioactive compound in Cordyceps mushrooms called Cordycepins.
They are analogs or like a class of compounds called nucleosides, more specifically Adenosine. Adenosine is a component of DNA. More importantly for our focus here, it also makes ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate). ATP is the universal molecule that powers all of our cells—neurons and muscles—with energy.
Our cells are very sensitive to the ratio of ATP versus AMP (Adenosine Monophosphate). When we exercise, we consume ATP and the ratio falls. But our cells have an elegant mechanism to maintain this ratio balanced (or at homeostasis).
A specific protein exists that becomes more active when the AMP concentration rises. Called AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), it slows down anabolic processes that consume ATP, like the synthesis of fatty acids, cholesterol and proteins. It also speeds up catabolic processes that make ATP, like glycolysis and fatty acid oxidation, by releasing glucose and fats for metabolism. In this way your body keeps ATP production going when exercising.
Cordycepins can mimic AMP. It also turns on the AMPK mechanism that increases metabolism of sugars and fats to make ATP. In fact, cordyceps became popular as a performance enhancer for athletes.
For these reasons Cordycepins may mimic exercise and intermittent dieting without breaking a sweat.
Another interesting outcome of the AMPK mechanism is that it also turns on a process whereby cells consume its own damaged proteins, DNA and mitochondria that are not functioning.
We see this process, which is called autophagy (or “self consumption”), turn on during dieting and fasting. That is why it is considered a self preservation mechanism whereby the cell disposes of damaged parts.
Many believe this is the mechanism whereby intermittent dieting slows down aging.
Keep in mind that functional supplements have their limitations in studies on their potential health effects. The ability of Cordycepins to regulate the AMPK signaling path is characterized very well. However, this knowledge comes from controlled lab conditions using cell cultures and mice models. There aren’t many clinical studies characterizing what happens to cordycepins in our bodies (a.k.a the pharmacokinetics). Also, we can’t study cordycepins above certain concentrations in cell cultures. This is because cells can substitute cordycepins for adenosine in DNA, which eventually causes disruption in DNA translation.
I suggest always aligning your health goals and expectations. I’m not trying to run a marathon. Rather, my goal is to have natural support for daily mental energy due to my long workday schedule. I generally use multiple supplements that target my desired health benefit. Cordyceps is one strategy that I use to help me resist mental fatigue.
Our CORDYCEPS is the powdered mycelia from a specific species called Cordyceps sinensis. It is the more popular species of Cordyceps, but traditionally C. sinensis is hard to source and expensive. Now, supplement manufacturers source a natural cordyceps that has been grown into a vegetarian or vegan substrate--often grain-based to make it commercially accessible. (https://patents.google.com/patent/CN102550300A/en)
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A lot of scientific literature is available on Cordycepins as the medical community explores their therapeutic value. Check out some of these references here
- Hawley, S. A., et al. (2020). Mechanism of Activation of AMPK by Cordycepin. Cell chemical biology, 27(2), 214–222.e4. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chembiol.2020.01.004
- Wyss-Coray T. (2016). Ageing, neurodegeneration and brain rejuvenation. Nature, 539(7628), 180–186. https://doi.org/10.1038/nature20411
- Tianzhu, Z., et al. (2014). …-like effects of cordycepin in a mice model of chronic unpredictable mild stress. Evidence-based complementary and alternative medicine : eCAM, 2014, 438506. https://doi.org/10.1155/2014/438506
- Li, B., et al. (2016). 3'-Deoxyadenosine (Cordycepin) Produces a Rapid and Robust … Effect via Enhancing Prefrontal AMPA Receptor Signaling Pathway. The international journal of neuropsychopharmacology, 19(4), pyv112. https://doi.org/10.1093/ijnp/pyv112
- Hirsch, K. R., et al. (2017). Cordyceps militaris Improves Tolerance to High-Intensity Exercise After Acute and Chronic Supplementation. Journal of dietary supplements, 14(1), 42–53. https://doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2016.1203386
- Ashraf, S. A., et al. 2020. Cordycepin for Health and Wellbeing: A Potent Bioactive Metabolite of an Entomopathogenic Cordyceps Medicinal Fungus and Its Nutraceutical and Therapeutic Potential. Molecules (Basel, Switzerland) 25(12), 2735. https://doi.org/10.3390/molecules25122735
- Das, G., et al. (2021). Cordyceps spp.: A Review on Its Immune-Stimulatory and Other Biological Potentials. Frontiers in pharmacology, 11, 602364. https://doi.org/10.3389/fphar.2020.602364