How To Get an Energy Boost with Mushroom Extract

February 1, 2025 | by Silvana Jakupovic, ND

Functional mushrooms contain a wide range of bioactive compounds with nutritional and beneficial value. While there are health benefits to including them in your diet, concentrated mushroom extracts have more robust therapeutic applications and are simpler to add to your daily routine. To keep it simple, in a simple mushroom extract definition, there are bioactive compounds present in mushrooms that our bodies cannot access due to the lack of necessary enzymes. Thus, specific mushroom extraction techniques allow us to take full advantage of the beneficial properties of functional mushrooms.

There are different types of mushroom extracts. Extractions can be done using hot water, alcohol, or both (a dual extraction), leaving us with isolated and concentrated bioactive compounds that we can consume in powdered or capsular form. Mushroom capsules and powders are all created differently depending on the company that makes them. There are also many uses of mushroom extracts. 

Eversio Wellness creates and distributes premium, therapeutic-grade mushroom supplements containing ONLY the fruiting body of mushrooms for maximum potency and concentration of beneficial compounds. This means no grain, growing substrate or other fillers are included as they do not contain the same high percentages of vital bioactive compounds as fruiting bodies. Meaning their mushroom extract benefits are far more potent.

Which Is Better: Mushroom Extract vs. Mushroom Powder?

What are the differences between extract and powder? Most often, a mushroom powder is created from functional mushrooms that have been dried and then ground or milled into powder form. This means the mushrooms have not been extracted, and the bioactive compounds have not been isolated or concentrated. 

As a result, we risk not being able to access the full therapeutic benefit because we need the appropriate enzymes to digest certain compounds, and we would have to consume much higher amounts to receive a therapeutic benefit. Thus, while extract and powder have pros and cons, the most crucial difference between the two is the level of purity and potency. 

As mentioned, extracts contain mushrooms that have undergone a sophisticated extraction process, resulting in higher percentages of beneficial compounds. At Eversio Wellness, you can enjoy the ease of a mushroom powder with the same benefits as capsular mushroom extracts. Eversio Wellness creates “extract blends” containing the powdered forms of multiple mushrooms that work synergistically to improve overall health and wellness. Unlike other mushroom powders often filled with grains, primordium, mycelium, and other fillers, Eversio Wellness prides itself on creating 100% fruiting body extract blends. 

How Is Mushroom Extract Made?

The extraction process isolates and concentrates beneficial compounds to produce more potent products, meaning less product is needed to deliver an efficacious and therapeutic dose. Certain fungi require hot water and alcohol extraction to isolate even more therapeutic constituents, as some mushrooms contain beneficial compounds that are either water—or alcohol-soluble but not both. 

Let’s take a look into the mushroom extraction process of our popular product DEFEND Now, which contains Turkey Tail in 12:1 extract capsules:

We begin with 12 kg of dried fruiting body mushrooms

The fruiting body is micronized (ground super fine), then hot water extracted (cooked for many hours to release beneficial compounds from chitin walls), and spray dried back into dry powdered extract form (fiber removed and moisture evaporated)

We are left with 1 kg of superfine extract powder containing isolated, concentrated, and bioavailable beneficial compounds.

This explanation further informs us of each product's quantity of crude equivalent (QCE), which is 12:1 in this case, as 12 kg of the fruiting body resulted in 1 kg of the extract. 

What Are the Health Benefits of Mushroom Extracts?

Functional mushrooms have been attributed to approximately 130 functional activities [1]. Although many types of healthy mushrooms have beneficial compounds, functional mushrooms contain the highest levels of antioxidants, b-glucans, terpenoids, and other constituents that may allow us to achieve optimal health and vitality. 

Functional mushrooms are biological response modifiers, known as immunomodulators, targeting disease-causing mechanisms [2]. When used for prolonged periods as preventative medicine, they boost immune health and prevent the onset of various medical conditions. This action is one of the reasons why functional mushrooms have become a traditional remedy in cancer therapy in conjunction with conventional care [3]. 

Although there are many mushroom types, and almost every functional mushroom has the potential to give you an energy boost, Cordyceps takes the cake! Known as mother nature’s all-natural performance enhancer, mushroom extract advantages of Cordyceps are commonly used by athletes to boost energy, improve stamina, and increase endurance without caffeine or addictive chemical stimulants. 

Clinical trials have shown that Cordyceps provides many of these benefits because it upregulates energy-producing pathways in the body and increases ATP, an energy-carrying molecule found in our cells [4]. One study found that using Cordyceps as part of a pre-workout blend showed significant improvements in the oxygen consumption, time-to-exhaustion, and ventilatory threshold of subjects performing high-intensity exercises [4].

How Do You Use Mushroom Extract?

There are many ways to use mushroom extracts. Try incorporating mushroom extract into your routine with any of the following mushroom extract recipes:

Add Mushroom Extract to Your Morning Coffee or Tea

Adding ½ tsp of your mushroom extract blend or the contents of your mushroom capsules to a hot cup of coffee or tea makes for an easy addition to your daily morning routine! Mushroom coffee and mushroom tea are all the rage right now, and for good reason, especially when they prevent you from grabbing that second or third cup of coffee. 

Bake Desserts with Mushroom Extract

If you’re not fond of coffee or tea, baking with mushroom extracts couldn’t be easier. Adding a couple of tablespoons to your muffins, energy balls, or even your favourite cake recipe brings another level of depth to your desserts. And you can feel better indulging knowing you’re getting all the benefits functional mushrooms offer!

Add Mushroom Extract to Your Favourite Dishes

As if baking with mushrooms isn’t enough, their earthy and warm quality can amp up your dinners, too! If you haven’t tried the vegan mushroom gravy posted on Eversio Wellness’ recipe page, I’d suggest you do so ASAP! Your taste buds will thank you. Check out the gravy recipe here.

Boost Your Smoothies with Mushroom Extract

Lastly, adding mushrooms to your smoothies is one of my favourite ways to use them! If you’re like me, you like to put as much nutritious goodness into your smoothie as your blender can handle. Adding ½ tsp into your usual recipe gives your smoothies the extra oomph they probably need. 

Look at all the mushroom recipes Eversio Wellness offers here, and let us know how you liked them!

Where to Buy the Best Mushroom Extract?

Although the market for medicinal mushrooms is broad, it is essential to be mindful of what is inside the products when buying high-quality mushroom extract. Suppose you find the words “full spectrum,” “mycelial biomass,” or “extracellular compounds” on the label. In that case, the product is made from the grain substrate the mushrooms are grown on, and potentially the primordia and fruiting body, all combined and often not in extract form. 

Some companies advertise the full spectrum as a beneficial aspect of the product. Still, you’d need to consume much more of it to achieve the same benefits as you would from a product containing 100% fruiting body. 

Eversio Wellness carries 100% fruiting body-only mushroom extracts, and they consistently practice transparency to their consumers by sharing the COAs (Certificate of Analysis) of each product. The COAs reassure consumers that the percentage of compounds claimed to be in the products is scientifically confirmed through lab testing. Not only does the COA guarantee the percentage of beneficial constituents, but it also tests the heavy metal and microbial contents so you can be sure that your mushroom product is safe. 

We hope you have found this article informative. If you have any questions or comments, please leave them in the comment section below!