Which mushrooms help with hormonal balance? No mushroom "balances hormones" in a general sense, despite what many labels suggest. A few have small human trials on specific hormone-related problems: maitake for ovulation in polycystic ovary syndrome (PCOS), reishi for urinary symptoms in older men, and lion's mane for mood during menopause. Ashwagandha, a root rather than a mushroom, has the most hormone data of any supplement in this group. This guide goes through what each trial measured and found, and where the claims run ahead of the evidence.
The evidence is narrow and specific. In an open trial of 80 women with PCOS, a maitake extract induced ovulation in 77% of evaluated patients, compared with 94% for the fertility drug clomiphene (Chen 2010). A reishi extract modestly improved urinary symptom scores in men over 49 but didn't change testosterone or prostate size (Noguchi 2008). Lion's mane cookies lowered depression scores and some anxiety-related complaints in 30 women, but the reported benefits were on mood rather than hot flushes (Nagano 2010). Ashwagandha raised testosterone and DHEA-S in older men (Lopresti 2019), eased perimenopausal symptoms (Gopal 2021) and raised thyroid hormones (Sharma 2018), which is a benefit for some people and a risk for others. Cordyceps is widely sold for hormones, but there's no good human evidence for that. Talk to your doctor before using any of these for a hormone condition.
This article is for adults. Hormone symptoms can have serious causes, including thyroid disease, PCOS and tumours, so get a diagnosis before trying supplements.
What Does "Hormonal Balance" Actually Mean?
"Hormonal balance" isn't a medical diagnosis. It's a marketing phrase that can mean anything from irregular periods to low energy. Hormones are controlled by feedback loops between the brain, the glands and the organs they act on. Real hormone problems are specific: too much or too little thyroid hormone, insulin resistance driving PCOS, falling oestrogen at menopause, or falling testosterone with age.
That's why it's more useful to ask "does this mushroom help with this specific problem?" than "does it balance hormones?". The answer is different for each mushroom and each problem.
Maitake: PCOS and Ovulation
PCOS is one of the most common hormone conditions in women. Insulin resistance plays a large part, and insulin-sensitising drugs are sometimes used to help ovulation. Maitake had been reported to improve insulin resistance, which is why Japanese researchers tested it.
In an open trial at three Japanese clinics, 72 new patients with PCOS were randomly assigned to a maitake extract called SX-fraction or to clomiphene, a standard first-line ovulation drug, for up to 12 weeks (Chen 2010). The ovulation rate per patient was 76.9% with maitake and 93.5% with clomiphene, a difference that wasn't statistically significant. Patients who didn't respond to one treatment were then given both together, and most of them ovulated.
This is interesting but limited. The trial was open, so everyone knew what they were taking. It was small, it used a specific standardised extract rather than maitake powder, and it measured ovulation, not pregnancy. Our articles on maitake and blood sugar and maitake side effects cover the related evidence and safety. If you're trying to conceive, use maitake only with your fertility doctor's knowledge.
Reishi: Men's Urinary Symptoms
Reishi has been studied for an enzyme called 5-alpha-reductase, which converts testosterone into a more potent form that drives prostate growth. Drugs that block this enzyme are used for enlarged prostate.
Japanese researchers tested extracts of 19 mushrooms and found reishi had the strongest effect on this enzyme in the lab. They then ran a double-blind, placebo-controlled trial in 88 men over 49 with mild to moderate lower urinary tract symptoms (Noguchi 2008). Over 12 weeks, a daily reishi extract improved the International Prostate Symptom Score by about 1.2 points more than placebo. It didn't change urine flow, prostate size, PSA or testosterone levels.
So reishi produced a small improvement in symptoms without measurably changing hormones. That's useful context for anyone who sees reishi marketed as a hormone balancer. Our reishi dosage guide and reishi side effects article cover practical use. Our reishi capsules contain a dual extract, not the specific ethanol extract tested in this trial.
Lion's Mane: Mood Around Menopause
In a small Japanese study, 30 women were randomly assigned to cookies containing lion's mane or placebo cookies for four weeks (Nagano 2010). The researchers measured menopause symptoms, depression, sleep and a general complaints index. In the lion's mane group, depression and general complaint scores fell significantly from the start of the study. Compared with placebo, two items on the complaints index, one of them palpitations, were significantly lower, and concentration, irritability and anxiety tended to be lower. The reported benefits were on mood and related complaints, not on hot flushes.
This suggests lion's mane might help mood during menopause rather than the hormone changes themselves. The study was very small and short. Our article on lion's mane for menopause brain fog looks at this more closely.
Ashwagandha: The Most Hormone Data, and the Most Caution
Ashwagandha is a root used in Ayurvedic medicine, not a mushroom, but it's often stacked with mushrooms and it has the strongest hormone data of anything here.
Men. In a 16-week crossover trial in 57 overweight men aged 40 to 70, eight weeks of ashwagandha raised testosterone by 14.7% and DHEA-S by 18% more than placebo (Lopresti 2019). Fatigue, vigour and sexual well-being didn't differ between the groups, so the hormone changes didn't translate into how the men felt.
Women around menopause. In a trial of 100 perimenopausal women, 300 mg of ashwagandha root extract twice a day for eight weeks reduced menopause symptom scores and hot flushes compared with placebo (Gopal 2021). Oestradiol rose, follicle-stimulating hormone and luteinising hormone fell, and testosterone didn't change.
Thyroid. In 50 adults aged 18 to 50 with subclinical hypothyroidism, ashwagandha raised T3 and T4 and lowered TSH over eight weeks (Sharma 2018). That's welcome for an underactive thyroid but risky for anyone with an overactive thyroid or taking thyroid hormone. Our article on ashwagandha and thyroid explains who should be careful, and our article on ashwagandha side effects and liver safety covers the rare liver injury reports.
Our ashwagandha capsules contain 0.5 g of root extract each. Our ashwagandha for women article goes into more detail.
What About Cordyceps?
Cordyceps is one of the most heavily marketed mushrooms for hormones, especially for men. The research behind those claims comes almost entirely from rodents and cell studies. There's no good human evidence that cordyceps changes sex hormones or "balances" anything. Our article on cordyceps and libido explains what the animal studies found and why they don't transfer to people.
Which Mushroom Fits Which Goal?
- Irregular ovulation with PCOS: maitake extract has one small open trial. Use it only alongside medical care.
- Urinary symptoms in older men: reishi extract has one placebo-controlled trial showing a small symptom benefit.
- Low mood around menopause: lion's mane has one very small trial on mood.
- Perimenopausal symptoms: ashwagandha has the strongest trial, though it isn't a mushroom.
- General "hormone balance": no mushroom has evidence for this.
Our guides to the best mushrooms for women and best mushrooms for men cover other goals.
Who Should Be Careful?
- Pregnant or breastfeeding women: there's no safety data for any of these. Avoid them unless your doctor says otherwise.
- People with hormone-sensitive cancers (breast, prostate, ovarian, endometrial): ask your oncologist first. Ashwagandha raised oestradiol in one trial and testosterone in another.
- People with thyroid disease: ashwagandha changes thyroid hormone levels.
- People taking diabetes medicines: maitake may lower blood sugar further.
- People taking blood thinners or facing surgery: reishi may affect platelets.
- People on hormone therapy or fertility drugs: combining them with supplements makes results harder to interpret.
How to Try Them Sensibly
Get a diagnosis first, so you know which hormone problem you're dealing with. Choose the mushroom with evidence for that specific problem. Try one supplement at a time for at least eight to twelve weeks, the length of the trials above, and keep a simple symptom diary. If you're having blood tests for a hormone condition, tell your doctor what you're taking so the results can be read correctly.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can mushrooms balance hormones?
Not in a general sense. A few mushrooms have small trials on specific problems, such as maitake for ovulation in PCOS and reishi for urinary symptoms in older men, but none has evidence for overall hormone balance.
Which mushroom is best for PCOS?
Maitake has the only human trial, an open study in which a standardised extract induced ovulation in many women with PCOS. It's promising but small, and it should only be used alongside medical care.
Does reishi lower testosterone?
In the one placebo-controlled trial in men, a reishi extract didn't change testosterone levels, even though it slightly improved urinary symptoms.
Is cordyceps good for hormones?
There's no good human evidence that it is. The hormone claims come from animal and lab studies.
Is ashwagandha a mushroom?
No. It's a root from the nightshade family used in Ayurvedic medicine. It's included here because it's often combined with mushrooms and has more hormone research than any of them.
Related Articles
- Ashwagandha and Thyroid
- Reishi for Menopause and Hormones
- Lion's Mane for Menopause Brain Fog
- Cordyceps and Libido
- Best Mushrooms for Women
Sources
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- Noguchi M, Kakuma T, Tomiyasu K, et al. Randomized clinical trial of an ethanol extract of Ganoderma lucidum in men with lower urinary tract symptoms. Asian J Androl. 2008;10(5):777-785. PubMed 18097505
- Nagano M, Shimizu K, Kondo R, et al. Reduction of depression and anxiety by 4 weeks Hericium erinaceus intake. Biomed Res. 2010;31(4):231-237. PubMed 20834180
- Lopresti AL, Drummond PD, Smith SJ. A randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled, crossover study examining the hormonal and vitality effects of ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in aging, overweight males. Am J Mens Health. 2019;13(2):1557988319835985. PubMed 30854916
- Gopal S, Ajgaonkar A, Kanchi P, et al. Effect of an ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) root extract on climacteric symptoms in women during perimenopause: a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled study. J Obstet Gynaecol Res. 2021;47(12):4414-4425. PubMed 34553463
- Sharma AK, Basu I, Singh S. Efficacy and safety of ashwagandha root extract in subclinical hypothyroid patients: a double-blind, randomized placebo-controlled trial. J Altern Complement Med. 2018;24(3):243-248. PubMed 28829155