Mushrooms for Athletes: Performance Claims and Doping Rules

Mushrooms are marketed to athletes and gym-goers, most often cordyceps for "energy". The human trials are few, small and mixed, and they tested specific products, not mushrooms in general. For athletes who are drug tested, a second question matters just as much: whether a supplement is safe for their sport eligibility. This page covers both. It is information only and does not tell anyone what to take.

Which mushroom, which species?

"Cordyceps" is used for more than one fungus. Ophiocordyceps sinensis (Berk.) G.H.Sung, J.M.Sung, Hywel-Jones & Spatafora (older papers write Cordyceps sinensis) and Cordyceps militaris (L.) Fr. are both accepted names in GBIF, and they are separate species. [1] Ganoderma lucidum (reishi) is also sold to active people. [1] A result for one species, extract or product cannot be carried over to another; see the cordyceps species question.

Traditional use: a 2026 review describes C. militaris as traditionally used in Asian ethnomedicine. [2] That is tradition. It is not evidence of better sports performance.

What the human trials found

What reviews say

A 2026 narrative review of C. militaris found five intervention studies in 321 participants aged 16-35. Some reported better performance or recovery measures, but the findings were inconsistent, and the authors listed small samples, mixed products and unstandardized preparations as limits. [2] A 2026 review of adaptogens in sport said evidence for Cordyceps species "remains limited and should be considered preliminary", and that the evidence overall is insufficient for firm recommendations on effectiveness, dose or long-term safety. [7]

Proper evidence not found: we looked for human trials of lion's mane, chaga, turkey tail and maitake on athletic performance in the sources we read and found none that we could verify. Their sports use is marketing claim or traditional use only, not a research result.

Anti-doping rules: what we read

• The World Anti-Doping Agency (WADA) says the "strict liability" rule makes athletes responsible for all substances that enter their body. [8] In practice that means a tested athlete carries the risk for whatever is in a product.
• The Prohibited List page and questions we read from WADA did not mention cordyceps, reishi or other medicinal mushrooms. That is not the same as saying a mushroom product is safe for sport: the question is what else a product contains. [8]
• The US Anti-Doping Agency (USADA) states that no dietary supplement can be guaranteed to be 100 percent risk-free. [9] It also notes that the FDA does not evaluate the contents or effects of supplements before they are sold, and that a harmful or illegal supplement can stay on shelves for a long time. [9]
• USADA recommends that athletes who use supplements despite the risks choose ones checked by a third-party program that tests for substances prohibited in sport. [9] See sports certification and banned-substance contamination and quality testing and certifications.
• Mushroom products can also be blends, mislabeled or filled with grain; see substitution and grain filler.

Athletes should check the rules of their own sport and governing body, and ask a sports dietitian or team doctor. We do not describe national-level rules beyond what is above.