mushrooms
MUSHROOM POWER WITH PEAK02®: UNEARTH THE FULL POTENTIAL OF THIS POTENT, FULL-SPECTRUM ADAPTOGEN BLEND
Take a deep dive into the world of adaptogenic mushrooms with PeakO2® - one of the stars of the show in our latest innovative concoction, Breakthrough. But hold on, at NOVA, we're not just riding the mushroom wave because it's the latest trend. Oh no, we're about evidence-based, clinically tested, and certified ingredients - and PeakO2® checks all those boxes and then some.
Shrooms are all the rage. In our universe, our scientists don’t just throw in an ingredient – or 6 – because they sound cool. We require that all of our innovative ingredient compounds come with appropriate certifications and published clinical testing, and PeakO2 goes well beyond just a mushroom mix. But we’ll let you decide; NOVA strives to give you all of the information you need to determine if Breakthrough (or any of our products) is right for you!
In this comprehensive guide, we'll peel back the layers on PeakO2®, a certified-organic, unextracted, full-spectrum mix of six potent, U.S-grown mushrooms, each with their unique set of benefits. PeakO2® may allow users to ‘adapt’ to and overcome physical and mental stress-induced concerns and increase power and endurance, balance gut microbiomes and support immune health.* We'll dissect how each adaptogen – Cordyceps militaris, reishi, lion’s mane, shiitake, kings trumpet, and turkey tail – contributes to this synergistic blend. Brace yourself for an enlightening journey into this world of these mycelium and fruiting bodies, as we leave no stone unturned in our quest for transparency and your ultimate well-being. We didn’t skimp or hold back on finding the best proprietary mushroom formulation for you. Time to break down the power of PeakO2® so you can break through!
What Is
PeakO2® is a certified-organic, unextracted, full-spectrum combination of six adaptogenic mushrooms grown in the U.S. PeakO2® may allow users to “adapt” to and overcome physical and mental stress and increase power and endurance, balance gut microbiomes and support immune health.* The mushrooms that comprise this powerhouse mix are Cordyceps militaris, reishi, lion’s mane, shiitake, kings trumpet and turkey tail. It utilizes both mycelium and fruiting bodies. Basically, we didn’t skimp or hold back on finding the best proprietary mushroom formulation for you.
lion’s mane
- Supports the body’s inflammatory response
- Antioxidant properties
- Immune-supporting abilities
turkey tail
- Muscular strength
- Supports occasional fatigue
reishi
- Supports mood and occasional fatigue
- Supports immune system
shiitake
- Rich in polysaccharides like lentinans and other beta-glucans
- Supports cellular health
- Aids immune health
king trumpet
- Source of antioxidants
- Immune-supportive benefits
- Body-soothing effects
Cordyceps
- May boost exercise performance
- Anti-aging properties to support graceful aging
- Supports an optimal inflammatory response
This ingredient compound has use applications in both the athletic performance world (PeakO2 is like beta-alanine and creatine combined, just potentially faster-acting without the tingles) and the ‘real’ world.* While PeakO2®’s clinical trials were based on testing physical performance, these mushrooms – individually – have countless other studies testing hypotheses related to mental, gut and overall well-being. We’re going to slide into PeakO2®’s specific studies and what those results mean for you. Please remember that these studies were done over a 21-day (UNC Chapel Hill) and 28-day (College of Charleston) period. As with any dietary supplement, it is recommended that you use it consistently for this amount of time to receive the most benefits.*
Just a little side note: You may, or may not, be aware that we cannot make any claims about our products. That’s the nature of the industry we’re in. While we fully believe in our products to help you achieve your most joyous season in life, we can’t fully claim what they can and can’t do. We hope that with more progress in industry regulation, we’ll be able to, but for now, we’ll let you come to your own conclusions and let the science speak for itself.
Clinical Trials
In transparency: The UNC Chapel Hill study used competitive athletes as test subjects while the College of Charleston study used recreationally active adults. So, PeakO2® covered the bases when testing. Whether you go hard, just go or want to go, there’s a nugget of science for you below!
unc chapel hill
Peak Power and Competition
- QUICK SUMMARY:
PeakO₂® may help your body to:
i. Elevate maximum power output and peak strength*
ii. Improve “anaerobic peak power” by optimizing oxygen utilization*
iii. Maximize exercise duration by extending time-to-exhaustion*
iv. Enhance workout effectiveness by increasing exercise capacity*
PEAK POWER: In the first seven days of a 21-day clinical study at the University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, competitive athletes supplementing with four grams per day of PeakO₂® improved their peak power output 17.6% over baseline. The placebo group decreased 11.8% compared to baseline.[2]
PERFORMANCE: The UNC athletes underwent six minutes of high-intensity cycling and a three-minute bicycle sprint. The PeakO₂® group improved time to exhaustion by 70 seconds, compared to a 5-second improvement in the placebo group.[2]
college of charleston
Power and Endurance
- QUICK SUMMARY:
PeakO₂® may help your body to:
i. Improve/increase time to physical fatigue*
ii. Improve oxygen utilization (possibly leading to better endurance)*
iii. Lower its heartbeats per minute (the heart does more work with less effort, possibly leading to an increase in “work capacity”)*
iv. Decrease lactate production*
v. Increase its peak power* - OVERALL RESULTS:
Plain and simple, according to the study, “These data suggest that longer duration, lower dose, supplementation of PeakO2 appears to improve endurance performance in apparently healthy young adults.”[3] - METHODS:
i. 43 total participants, of which 22 were women, categorized as, “recreationally active adults” who were 19-34 years old
ii. 1-2g of PeakO₂®per day for 28 days (Breakthrough contains 2g of PeakO₂®)
iii. Placebo-controlled, randomized, single-blind study
TIME TO FATIGUE/ENDURANCE: Following 28 days of supplementation, the mushroom group showed a significant pre-post improvement in time to fatigue during the test for VO2peak, whereas the control group demonstrated no change.[3]
BLOOD LACTATE: Blood lactate significantly decreased in the mushroom group whereas the control group demonstrated no change. Blood lactate is partly made by muscle tissue and carries oxygen from your lungs through your body. Testing offers scientists and doctors a way to indirectly measure biochemical events like fatigue during exercise. So, according to the study, a lower blood lactate level indicated less fatigue in the participants.[3]
Analyzing The Studies: Everyday Application
DAILY STRESS: With Breakthrough, you may be better equipped to bounce back from multiple forms of occasional stress.* Your body cannot distinguish between stress caused by physical or mental performance; it releases cortisol (a stress hormone) regardless of the type of stress it endures. If you believe the clinical results, it could be safe for you to assume that some potential negative effects that are often associated with occasional mental stress and continued physical stress would be better managed and reduced by PeakO2.*
ENERGY: If college athletes gained a significant increase in their exercise power output [2], we ‘regular folk’ might take that as a sign that PeakO2 could help us have a little bump in energy, right? Even the “recreationally active adults” studied at the College of Charleston saw a significant increase in the amount of time before their bodies tired.[3] Using Breakthrough to replace an afternoon (or morning) coffee could just as easily be a win for energy as using it before a workout. (Plus, don’t forget the added D-ribose in Breakthrough.)
GUT HEALTH: Some of the most significant beneficial effects of unextracted, full-spectrum mushroom products – like Breakthrough – can be related to their prebiotic dietary fiber content, which fosters balance and diversity of the healthful microorganisms that comprise our microbiome. Therefore, the collection of six different species in PeakO₂® may further enhance the quality of the gut microbiome more than any one species alone.*
IMMUNE SYSTEM: Breakthrough’s multi-species blend provides a wider diversity of beta-glucan-containing compounds and phenolics than just Cordyceps alone. This has the potential to support a stronger and more diversified immune system.* Although it may not appear in a short-term testing methodology, minimizing the depression of immune function that often occurs after strenuous exercise, physical exertion or general stress, is very important for long-term performance and health.* It is also an assumption that blends of mushrooms provide a broader array of antioxidant compounds to counteract free radicals and oxidative stress.*
FOCUS: Check out the individual mushroom benefits above. And, we aren’t claiming this, and aren’t saying this will ~happen~ for you… but… we’re going to leave this here: We believe that (for us) when we’re not stressed, have some ‘crunk’ in our systems, a regulated gut metabolism and know our bodies are ready to fight off icks, we’re a smidge more focused.
STUDY LINKS
If you really like science and geek out on quantitative research, you can find the full studies here:
UNC-Chapel Hill: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/19390211.2016.1203386 and https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5236007/
College of Charleston: https://www.sciencepublishinggroup.com/journal/paperinfo?journalid=155&doi=10.11648/j.ajss.20180601.11
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. We make no claim of efficacy.
CITATIONS:
[2] Katie R. Hirsch MA, Abbie E. Smith-Ryan Ph.D., Erica J. Roelofs MA, Eric T. Trexler MA & Meredith G. Mock BA (2016): Cordyceps militaris Improves Tolerance to High- Intensity Exercise After Acute and Chronic Supplementation, Journal of Dietary Supplements, DOI: 10.1080/19390211.2016.1203386
[3] Wesley David Dudgeon, Dennison David Thomas, William Dauch, Timothy Paul Scheett, Michael John Webster. The Effects of High and Low-Dose Cordyceps Militaris-Containing Mushroom Blend Supplementation After Seven and Twenty-Eight Days. American Journal of Sports Science. Vol. 6, No. 1, 2018, pp. 1-7. doi: 10.11648/j.ajss.20180601.11