Noomadic is not a well-known supplement brand so we were excited to investigate their formulation of a new mushroom complex product. The company is based in Canada and pride themselves on providing what they claim are the highest quality extracts on the market. That’s quite some claim – but is it even close to the truth? The company sells other products that focus on mushrooms too, but this is the only one that comprises a complex of mushroom ingredients rather than just one variety. Lions Mane, Cordyceps Militaris, Reishi and Chaga are the 5 medicinal species that have been used to formulate this product, which Noomadic claims will support longevity, immunity, focus and cognition, energy and endurance.
It’s important to remember that not all mushroom supplements will provide the same benefits. Just because the label includes the word ‘mushroom’, it doesn’t mean that you will necessarily get the amazing benefits of the fungi if the supplement is not sourced and formulated correctly. Noomadic state their belief that taking a mushroom supplement trumps taking a multivitamin, contrary to conventional wisdom. They claim that very few of the actual vitamins are absorbed, whereas if you take vitamins from real food sources, such as mushrooms, then the customer will reap greater benefits for overall health.
Super Mushroom is available to buy from Noomadic’s own website as well as other online retailers, with a price that’s below average compared to what we found for a mushroom complex supplement. According to the manufacturer’s label, the serving size is 1 capsule and there are 60 capsules per container. However, upon closer inspection, we see that the suggested use is actually 1-2 capsules, twice a day. If you take the maximum serving size, then one bottle provides closer to a 15-day supply rather than one month’s worth, demonstrating clearly how paying less is not always an economically-friendly decision.
Mushroom Total has a 90-day satisfaction guarantee which is excellent. A money-back promise like this is more than most companies supply and is something that we look for when endorsing a product because it helps to promote customer confidence. However, while reviewing this product, we found a few things that just didn’t meet our standards.
So does this product have what it takes? Read on to find out why this product made it to #2 on our list, but missed the top spot.
Is Noomadic Mushroom Total Effective?
In order to discern whether or not this supplement is effective, we first looked at the amount of mushrooms found in each serving. In the case of Noomadic Mushroom Total, a daily serving of 1 capsule provides 500mg mushroom ingredients. The quantity of the ingredients is greater than that in some of the products we reviewed, but it is only half of others. The dosage of 500mg is actually closer to only one-third of the recommended amount that was used in multiple clinical studies, and less than half of that contained in our #1 product. While this quantity is disappointing, it goes some way to explaining why the suggested use for the maximum nutritional benefit is substantially higher, at 2-4 capsules daily.
It was also important to look at the concentration of beneficial ingredients found here. Noomadic has helpfully included the Beta-D-Glucan content for each of the 5 mushrooms as 30%. This is a high concentration and one of the reasons why we liked this product, ensuring that it has the best chance of effectively combating the symptoms it claims to help. But as was the case with our #3 product recommendation, this supplement let us down by only including 5 species of mushrooms. Lions Mane, Cordyceps Militaris, Reishi and Chaga are all powerful species, but we feel that a product that contains more types of mushroom gives a wider variety of benefits, therefore making the supplement more effective.
One of the reasons that Mushroom Total originally caught our eye was because it claims to use the fruiting bodies of the mushroom only rather than mycelium. With regards to this, on further investigation, we were confused to see the inclusion of Cordyceps as one of the 5 mushroom species in this product. Why? Let us explain. Helpfully, by including the Latin name of the mushroom in the ingredients list, we can see that the type of cordyceps this company uses is Cordyceps Militaris, one that is artificially grown in a laboratory. It consists of mycelium only and has a different chemical make-up to the wild variety, called Cordyceps Sinensis, which has both fruiting spores and mycelium. Scarcity and sky-high prices prompt companies such as Noomadic to favor the former type, where the levels of beneficial compounds could have been amplified, but in a way that could compromise efficacy. If a company claims to use fruiting bodies only, we would advocate either using the Sinensis variety or eliminating this mushroom from the chosen varieties altogether.
There are no other ingredients in Mushroom Total other than the cellulose for the capsules themselves. Thankfully, like our other top products, this company hasn’t added any unnecessary ingredients from animal sources, ensuring that it is suitable for vegetarians and vegans. In order to elevate this product from good to excellent, though, we would have expected to find some sort of absorbing facilitator (such as BioPerine®) to ensure that the body gets the maximum benefit from the mushroom. Unfortunately with this product, we didn’t find any such addition.
In order to judge whether this mushroom complex is effective or not we also researched customer testimonials, which we were able to find on the company’s own website as well as various external ones. We found that the majority of these were very positive, claiming that Mushroom Total does what it says it will do. While there were a few reviews with complaints, either that the product didn’t have any effect at all, or in one case that the product made the user feel “jittery”, this is to be expected – not every product will work for every person. We felt that there were enough positive reviews for us to feel confident that this is a product that translates into general customer satisfaction.
Is Noomadic Mushroom Total Safe?
In general, this product is marketed as natural and safe. There are no mentioned side effects and our research did not reveal any harmful ingredients. As with any new supplement or diet change, we always advise talking to your doctor first, especially if you are pregnant, nursing, have any pre-existing health conditions or are taking other medications. Supplements work differently for everyone and the effects vary between individuals so it is always a good idea to run any health changes with a professional.
Noomadic claims that their products are twice tested for heavy metals and chemicals; that they thoroughly research the proper consumption method for their supplements and reverse engineer them accordingly. We would have liked more information than this. If the mushroom supplement you are taking isn’t 100% certified by well-established, third-party organizations, you probably won’t be getting the incredible benefits it claims to provide.
In this case, there are certifications which we usually look for, such as cGMP and non-GMO, which are not mentioned in association with this product, neither on the label itself nor on the company website. Interestingly, they seem to have more information about their product on the Amazon website than they do on their own website, which is slightly puzzling. There it does mention that the product is manufactured at an inspected facility which practices cGMP, and confirms that the mushrooms are organically grown and that there are no fillers, preservatives, chemicals or additives.
Summary
Noomadic Mushroom Total has the right idea by formulating their product with optimal amounts of each mushroom to help support the immune system, provide antioxidants and boost overall health and cognitive function. We were happy to see that Noomadic put an emphasis on the purity and concentration of their ingredients, and their awareness of using fruiting bodies only – even if there’s an exception with the Cordyceps. Additionally, the product can be purchased at a decent price and comes with an exceptional return policy. Especially considering that this is a relatively new company, we were impressed with this product, enough to promote it to our #2 position.
But we would have made improvements. While Mushroom Total boasts 100% purity, there are no certifications on the product itself and, naturally, we would have liked to see some. If a company makes claims about the status of their ingredients, and whether they were third-party tested or made in an FDA compliant facility, they should be proud enough to promote those positive attributes on both their product and their website. We would have also improved this product’s efficacy by adding a bioavailability enhancer and more than just five mushroom varieties.
