Fitness, Mushroom Education

4 Powerful Ways Cordyceps Mushroom Enhances Athletic Performance

Whether you're a pro athlete or a weekend warrior, nutrition is key to your success. Maybe you've gone keto, or you count macros. Perhaps conscious eating is more your style. Whatever you're doing, the Cordyceps mushroom powerhouse perfectly complements any kind of training and nutrition program.

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Whether you’re a pro athlete or a weekend warrior, nutrition is key to your success. Maybe you’ve gone keto, or you count macros. Perhaps conscious eating is more your style. Whatever you’re doing, the Cordyceps mushroom powerhouse perfectly complements any kind of training and nutrition program.

Cordyceps is a deep golden beauty that grows in spindly bunches. But don’t let its delicate appearance fool you. It’s one of the best natural anti-inflammation, respiratory, antioxidant, and cardiovascular support nature has to offer.

1. Increases Endurance and Stamina

For endurance athletes, especially those competing at high altitudes, thinner air plus a greater need for oxygen can quickly cause exhaustion. Cordyceps helps combat exhaustion by helping the body consume more oxygen.

In a study published in the Journal of Dietary Supplements, volunteers took Cordyceps mushroom extract as a pre-workout during three weeks of high-intensity interval training (H.I.I.T.). At the end of the study, they could exert higher levels of energy during exercise because their VO₂max increased, and their bodies consumed more oxygen.¹

So if you need to increase your maximum oxygen consumption while training or just while taking a hike, Cordyceps is an excellent addition to your pre-exercise routine.

2. Fights Muscle Fatigue

If you’ve ever run a marathon, you know you hit a physical wall around mile 20 when your body has burned the last of its glycogen stores (high-energy sugars stored in your liver and muscles). Or maybe you’ve mastered the wall already. In which case, email us if mushrooms were part of your success! (Seriously).

If you still hit your wall, Cordyceps shows promising results in fighting fatigue. Findings from a study at the College of Life Sciences at Jilin University suggest that Cordyceps extract might help in delaying lactic acid build-up, increasing glycogen storage, and regulating testosterone.²

Lactic acid accumulates in the blood when working muscles need energy faster than our bodies can deliver oxygen. This happens during anaerobic exercise that requires bursts of energy—weight lifting, sprints, tire flips, etc. Muscles break down glucose for again and again for more power. Without plenty of oxygen, the metabolized glucose forms lactic acid.

From there, the muscle cells turn acidic and metabolic functions get disrupted. The lactic acid build-up is a vital survival adaptation, preventing us from causing lasting muscle damage after we’ve escaped our ancient danger. But for an athlete that needs to perform in today’s world, it can literally be a pain in the butt.

The beta-glucans in Cordyceps can help inhibit the build-up of lactic acid by boosting the Lactate dehydrogenase (LDH) enzyme activity. LDH is found in every cell and helps produce enough cellular energy for anaerobic exercise and speeds up the removal of lactic acid from the blood. The less lactic acid build-up, the more energy your muscles can produce.

Additionally, Cordyceps is capable of stabilizing the blood glucose level so your body can store more fuel and access this energy when needed. Your muscles have more to work with, so it takes more time for metabolic by-products like lactic acid to form.

The polysaccharides of Cordyceps can also stimulate testosterone levels, boosting overall energy levels.

3. Fights Oxidative Stress

Cordyceps’ complex nutritional profile of vitamins, minerals, antioxidants, and enzymes delivers a wide range of benefits. One benefit we often underestimate in our diets and supplements is antioxidants. “Antioxidant” is not a trendy buzzword anymore — at least not with medicinal mushrooms. In addition to the antifatigue benefits, the Jilin University study found that Cordyceps stimulates the activities of antioxidant enzymes. These antioxidant enzymes help remove free radicals that damage cells and reduce cell turnover.

Free radicals are a natural metabolic by-product. Without enough antioxidant support, free radicals go on to damage cells and tissues, laying the groundwork for degenerative diseases.³ Athletic training can have positive or negative effects on oxidative stress, but why take chances? Adding a high-quality Cordyceps mushroom extract to your regular nutrition regimen will ensure you get extra antioxidant support.

4. Supports Cardiovascular Function

A unique medicinal compound in Cordyceps called cordycepin can enhance blood circulation. Cordycepin is similar in structure to adenosine, one of the four nucleoside building blocks of ribonucleic acid (RNA).⁴ Like adenosine, cordycepin helps protect damaged tissue from inflammation and promotes vasodilation. When a blood vessel dilates, tissues receive the oxygen and nutrients they need to stay alive and function properly.

Since Cordyceps helps increase blood flow to essential organs and muscles, athletes can experience less fatigue and more fuel during their workouts.