Many of us reach for coffee in the morning to help us get going, and in the process access some of coffee’s impressive health benefits. But what if we could supercharge our mornings with even more health-supporting ingredients? Four Sigmatic’s coffees and superfood products aim to make that not only possible, but easy.
Incorporating what research has determined are some of the most nutrient-dense foods on the planet — such as chaga, reishi, and lion’s mane — into delicious blends of antioxidant-rich coffee, other hot drinks, and protein powders, Four Sigmatic products can help us get our daily dose of health-supporting superfoods.
What does “four sigmatic” mean?
Danielle Ryan Broida, a registered herbalist and Four Sigmatic’s National Educator, explains that Four Sigmatic takes its name from a “scientific, slightly nerdy way” of measuring nutrient density. If you picture a bell curve showing foods’ concentrations of nutrients, most common foods fall somewhere near the center. Foods with the highest concentration of health-supporting compounds are furthest from center on one side, or four sigmas from the mean. Only about one hundred of the most nutrient-dense foods earn the coveted four sigma label. Four Sigmatic’s most-used ingredients fall in that elite category.
Highly-processed and nutritionally-empty foods, on the other hand, fall on the opposite side of the curve, up to negative four sigmas from the mean.
Four Sigmatic’s mission, Broida explains, is to use the “most nutrient-dense ingredients in the world” to help people show up for their day as full of energy and focus as possible. “If our body’s a cup,” she says, “we’re full.”
Rather than simply overstimulating us with too much caffeine, these blends aim to help us feel and perform at our best, what the company calls experiencing “elevated wellness.” According to Broida, this means “we have all of our needs met nutritionally, a strong immune system, a sharp brain, a lot of physical energy, so that when we do our work in the world, it isn’t depleting us.”
What are some mushroom coffee benefits?
“Mushroom coffee” can sound a little strange at first, but know that what’s in a bag of Four Sigmatic’s rich and tasty coffees is primarily organic, fair trade coffee grounds. Imperceptibly combined with the coffee are carefully extracted medicinal mushrooms and adaptogenic herbs, like lion’s mane, chaga, ashwagandha, and eleuthero. What gets brewed into your cup tastes entirely like the highest-quality coffee, and not at all like mushrooms, pinky-promise!
Four Sigmatic began by focusing on incorporating these ingredients into coffee, Broida explains, because approximately 60% of Americans drink coffee every day. By adding these functional ingredients to something so many people already enjoyed regularly, they helped make an “existing routine a better for-you-experience,” thereby enabling more people to take advantage of four sigma foods.
Additionally, says Broida, the adaptogens included in Four Sigmatic coffee blends help to balance out the negative effects of caffeine. While “coffee is taxing to the body,” she notes that adaptogens help “our systems back into a state of equilibrium.” In essence, “When you mix these adaptogens with coffee or any caffeine, you don’t get a crash, you don’t get the jitters, there isn’t that state of depletion which leads to the jittery feeling and a crash in the afternoon.” Further, Broida points out, adaptogens “support our stress response, they give our body the tools to more efficiently deal with stressors when they come up.”
Many of the ingredients Four Sigmatic focuses on are considered tonics, meant to be consumed every day in order to work their magic. “They aren’t a pill for an ill,” Broida stresses. You can’t pop a lion’s mane supplement once and expect to see improvements in brain function, for example. But taken daily, tonics can help support numerous systems in our bodies, benefiting our immune and stress responses as well as our energy levels and cognitive performance.
Four Sigmatic products are broken into three categories indicating their best applications. Product labels with an orange band fall into the “perform” category and are meant to support energy for brain and body. Those with a green label are intended to “defend,” targeting immune support. “Restore” products have a blue label and support the body’s ability to deal with stressors. Many products in the restore category are marked “chill” and are recommended for helping to wind down at the end of the day.
Ingredients matter
Four Sigmatic carefully sources and processes their mushrooms and herbs to ensure that they’re as accessible to our bodies as possible. One thing that Four Sigmatic does differently from most functional food brands, Broida points out, is use mushrooms “grown on what they evolved to grow on,” not in a lab.
While mushrooms like chaga and reishi naturally grow on trees, most companies cultivate them on grains like rice or oats. Like humans, Broida says, mushrooms are what they eat, and the growing medium affects the compounds found in the mushroom. Further, she notes, Four Sigmatic uses only the fruiting body of the mushroom rather than the mycelium (mushrooms’ version of a root system) often used by other companies.
Because the cell walls of the mushrooms Four Sigmatic uses can’t be broken down by the human digestive system, they double-extract ingredients to make the medicinal compounds bioavailable.
Getting your daily superfoods
Broida emphasizes that these functional foods can’t help you if you don’t take them. She counsels working with your “existing routines,” like a daily coffee, tea, or smoothie, rather than trying to implement new habits. You might keep some instant coffees on hand for those days you don’t have time to brew your java.
For those who don’t drink coffee, Four Sigmatic makes nutrient-dense protein powders with a blend of adaptogenic herbs and functional mushrooms. Vegans in search of high-quality protein will appreciate the blend of organic chia, pumpkin seed, hemp, coconut, and pea proteins.
Another option for adding these four sigma foods to your daily diet are the line of blends of several mushroom extracts that can be added to tea, soup, and other foods. The neutral-tasting Mushroom Blend Mix adds a pleasant richness to coffee drinks and soups. The Focus Blend Mix, and the Adaptogen Blend Mix work well in smoothies or oatmeal.
Or for a super-healthy treat, try one of their tasty elixirs, with flavors like cacao or chai. They’re a delicious way to unwind at the end of a busy day.
You can also use the protein powders and mushroom blends in recipes. Add a scoop of protein powder to your pancakes, or include some in your favorite muffin or brownie recipe for additional nutritional punch. Broida recommends using two scoops per cup of flour, and cutting back on sweetener if you’re using a sweetened product.
Broida also uses mushroom blends in place of vegetable broth when she’s making soups, and recommends adding some to hummus as well.
In whatever ways work for you, adding some of these fantastic functional foods to your everyday routine can help you reap the benefits of “elevated wellness.”
†These statements have not been approved by the Food and Drug Administration. These products are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent disease.
