Right now, your neurons are fighting through brain fog, struggling to focus, forgetting names you knew yesterday. You’re reaching for another coffee, knowing it’ll give you jitters and a crash. You’re watching your memory slip a little more each year, telling yourself it’s “just aging.”
But here’s what’s actually happening: your brain needs specific compounds to build new connections, fight inflammation, and protect itself from the daily assault of stress and toxins.
And those compounds? They’re not in your coffee. They’re not in energy drinks. They’re not in the expensive nootropic pills promising focus in a bottle.
They’re in mushrooms and herbs that traditional healers have used for thousands of years—and science is finally catching up with studies proving they actually work.
I’m going to show you how to make a brain-boosting tincture that works in 15-30 minutes. Not hours. Not weeks. Minutes. You’ll feel the fog lift, your focus sharpen, your mental stamina return.
And the best part? You’re making it yourself with four simple ingredients.
The Four Brain-Fueling Ingredients That Science Validates
Reishi: The Calm Clarifier
Reishi is your stress-relief mushroom that keeps your mind sharp under pressure. Studies on Alzheimer’s-model mice showed reishi’s polysaccharides improved learning and memory—the treated mice learned mazes faster, proving better spatial memory.
In humans? A clinical trial gave 6g daily to women with fibromyalgia and saw trends toward less depression and more happiness. Reishi’s anti-fatigue effects and immune support indirectly sharpen your mind by keeping your body and mood balanced.
When you’re stressed and exhausted, your brain can’t perform. Reishi fixes that foundation.
Stress literally shrinks your hippocampus—your memory center. Reishi protects your brain from that damage while keeping you sharp.
Making your own reishi tincture is rewarding. You control quality, know exactly what’s in it, and honestly, there’s something powerful about making your own medicine.
But sourcing quality reishi, waiting 6 weeks to steep, getting extraction ratios right—not everyone has that bandwidth when their brain is already struggling.
If you need reishi working today, not in 6 weeks, there’s a properly extracted version ready to use.
This is your natural caffeine replacement—except it actually feeds your brain instead of just stimulating it. Cordyceps contains cordycepin, a compound with neuroprotective effects.
In one study, it reversed exercise-induced learning and memory deficits in over-exercised mice and boosted BDNF—brain-derived neurotrophic factor, the protein that grows new brain cells.
Human trials found 3 weeks of cordyceps supplements significantly raised VO₂max and endurance. Better oxygen use means better brain oxygenation. You feel mentally sharp and alert without jitters or crashes. This is sustained energy that actually helps you think.
Three coffees in and you still feel foggy? That’s because caffeine borrows energy you don’t have. Cordyceps actually generates it—feeding your brain real fuel.
Look, I love DIY. Making tinctures teaches you what actually works and what’s just marketing hype. But cordyceps isn’t cheap to source, and if you mess up the extraction, you’re out that money and still exhausted.
Plus, if you’re already running on fumes, do you really have the mental energy to research suppliers, measure ratios, and wait 6 weeks?
Sometimes the smarter move is letting someone who knows what they’re doing handle it while you focus on not burning out.
This is the star of the show. Lion’s mane contains hericenones and erinacines—compounds that cross your blood-brain barrier and stimulate nerve growth factor (NGF), literally supporting new brain cell growth.
Healthy adults taking 1.8g daily showed faster cognitive processing and reduced stress scores. A Japanese study gave 3g daily to older adults with mild memory problems and saw significant improvements on dementia screening scales compared to placebo.
If you’re noticing your memory slipping, if you can’t focus like you used to, if names and words escape you—this is the mushroom that might actually reverse that decline by encouraging neuron growth. Not masking symptoms. Actually rebuilding.
Every name you forget, every word that escapes you—that’s not inevitable. Lion’s mane grows new brain cells. Actual reversal, not just slowing decline.
Here’s my take: if you’re good with your hands and enjoy learning, make your own batch. It’s a skill worth having, and you’ll feel proud every time you use it.
But if the thought of one more project makes you tired, or if your memory is bad enough that you genuinely can’t afford another 6 weeks of decline, then don’t force it. Get lion’s mane working in your system now and make your own batch later if you want.
This aromatic herb reduces the anxiety and mental fog that sabotages focus. Studies confirm lemon balm shows “anxiolytic and antidepressant properties” while eliciting “cognitive enhancement.”
Translation? It calms your nervous system while sharpening your alertness. Students who smelled lemon balm oil during exams improved performance on attention tasks. It’s the perfect balance to the stimulating mushrooms—giving you calm, clear focus instead of wired anxiety.
Anxiety blocks everything. Your intelligence, your focus, your potential—all trapped behind mental static. Lemon balm clears it.
Honestly? Lemon balm is the easiest tincture to make. If you’re even remotely interested in herbal medicine, start here. It’s forgiving, it works, and you’ll actually use it.
But maybe you’ve already got 50 half-finished projects. Maybe the idea of one more thing on your to-do list is what’s making you anxious in the first place.
In that case, just get the tincture, use it, feel better. You can always make your own later when your brain isn’t drowning.
Turmeric (Curcumin): This anti-inflammatory antioxidant improves working memory and slows age-related cognitive decline. It looks promising even in Alzheimer’s models while supporting mood and overall brain health.
Bacopa (Brahmi): Ayurvedic medicine’s “calming cognitive enhancer.” Clinical trials show it improves memory retention, learning, and reduces anxiety over time. One review noted improved word recall and cognitive speed.
Ginkgo Biloba: Studies are mixed, but some trials found 240mg daily modestly slowed cognitive decline in dementia patients. Widely used for brain blood flow and alertness.
Here’s what most people don’t know: turmeric on its own has terrible absorption. But combine it with one specific kitchen ingredient, and your body absorbs up to 2000% more curcumin. Twenty times more effective.
Same with bacopa and ginkgo—they work exponentially better when paired correctly. This logic applies to any remedy you take. The right combinations multiply effectiveness. The wrong ones? You’re wasting money on herbs your body can’t even use.
The secret is knowing the ratios and what to pair with what. Without that, you’re just guessing.
These herbs amplify what you’re already doing—or should be doing. Middle-aged adults who practiced daily meditation saw significant improvements in memory and cognitive test scores over 3-6 months. Even Mayo Clinic confirms mindfulness “improves attention” and reduces anxiety.
A 40-minute walk in nature boosted mood and “executive attention” (focus) more than urban walking. Simple daily habits—meditation, nature time, yoga—tune up your brain as much as any supplement.
But let’s be honest: you’re not always going to meditate. You won’t always get outside. That’s why having this tincture ready means you have backup when life gets overwhelming and your brain needs immediate support.
If you want a complete day-by-day roadmap that goes beyond just supplements—covering foods, stress management, mental exercises, and lifestyle changes that actually rebuild brain function—there’s a protocol specifically for brain and nerve health that gives you the full picture.
Prepare: If you foraged mushrooms, be absolutely certain of identification. Clean, dry, and break into small pieces. Crush the lemon balm leaves.
Combine: Place all dried herbs in a clean glass jar. Pour vodka, then water over herbs. Liquid should cover herbs by 1-2cm.
Steep: Seal tightly. Store in cool, dark place. Shake daily. Let steep 4-6 weeks while alcohol extracts medicinal compounds.
Strain: After a month, strain through cheesecloth into a clean bowl, squeezing out all liquid. Discard spent herbs. Transfer to amber dropper bottles and label.
Dosage: Use 1-2ml (20-40 drops) once or twice daily as needed. Start with one dropperful to test tolerance.
Safety: Generally safe in moderate amounts, but children should not take alcohol tinctures. Start with a small dose. If pregnant, nursing, or on medications (especially blood thinners or blood pressure drugs), consult a doctor first. Keep out of reach of children. Don’t drive immediately after taking. Identify mushrooms with absolute certainty—misidentification can be dangerous.
Why This Works (And Why You’ll Feel It Fast)
This blend combines energizing mushrooms (cordyceps, lion’s mane) with calming herbs (reishi, lemon balm). The alcohol extraction pulls compounds water can’t touch—full-spectrum medicine.
Take it before demanding tasks. Users report alert calm within 15-30 minutes. Not jittery. Not foggy. Just clear.
This is real nourishment that builds brain cells and protects neurons—not synthetic stimulants borrowing tomorrow’s energy.
The Shortcut: Get All Four Brain-Boosters Ready to Use
Making this tincture yourself is powerful. But sourcing four different mushrooms from trustworthy suppliers, waiting weeks for delivery, then 6 more weeks to steep? That’s where people get stuck.
If you’d rather skip the sourcing headache, you can get each tincture individually—reishi, cordyceps, lion’s mane, lemon balm—already dual-extracted and ready to use.
Buying separately gives you flexibility. Maybe you only need lion’s mane for memory right now. You decide which herb you need each day.
But here’s where the Brain Bundle makes way more sense:
Your brain isn’t dealing with just one problem. It’s stressed AND foggy AND declining AND anxious—all at once.
The Brain Bundle gives you all four working together at a significantly lower price than buying separately. One order. One shipment. Complete coverage.
Reishi protects against stress damage
Cordyceps delivers clean energy
Lion’s Mane grows new brain cells
Lemon Balm clears anxiety fog
Morning energy from cordyceps. Afternoon focus from lion’s mane. Evening calm from reishi and lemon balm. Your brain covered from every angle, all day long, at a lower cost.
That’s a really thoughtful point, Lonie. And you’re not alone in that concern.
Thankfully, most tinctures are taken in small doses (usually around 1–2 ml), which means you’re typically consuming less alcohol than what’s in a ripe banana or a teaspoon of cough syrup.
That said, if you’re looking to reduce or avoid alcohol entirely, there are options like glycerites or tea infusions that can work well depending on the herb.
And for anyone in recovery or with medical restrictions, those routes can be a safer bet. Grateful you brought this up, it’s an important conversation.
Travelin On
4 months ago
My own personal experience is pretty different from what was described in the newsletter, but then I didn’t just have simple “brain fog”, struggling to focus and remembering names I knew yesterday or 2 minutes ago. I had a very large brain tumor 4″ x 1.25″ that affected multiple portions of the brain, and the removal of it caused a lot of trauma to the brain, killing off even more of the brain. I lost a lot of neurons in brain communication within the brain. Thanks to the help that was identified here in this post and other herbs and learning other long lost food secrets that will stop and reverse dementia, Parkinson’s and some other autoimmune diseases, I’ve far recovered from what the neurosurgeon Drs. ever believed I could or would. I was supposed to be someone else’s full time care responsibility, not someone who could take care of themselves. Perfect? 100% fully recovered after 10+ years since surgery? No! But improvement is continuing to be felt. I’ve only been using the herbs and making my own tinctures from Dr. Nicole Apelian’s course “The Lost Remedies Academy” in the last couple of years. It has never had a 15 – 30 minute wonderful brain clearing effect for me, but with steady use there has been a HUGE amount of increased neuron growth and much better communication within the brain, memories coming back from the past, better short term memory, name recall, clearer thinking, much faster troubleshooting/problem solving time frames, much better motor control, better balance and stability. I still can’t hand write/print, that skill still causes brain overload beyond addressing an envelope. Lots of things are still problems, I can’t handle too much of anything at one time, flocks of birds, bees buzzing around flowers, people, too much information at one time, etc. After the surgery it would often take me months to figure out that I had a problem and months more to figure out that the “normal/reasonable” thing to do is to find a solution to the problem, and it could take months to a couple of years to come up with a very simple solution. These days the solution time frame has greatly reduced, depending on the current “problem”. For most recognized “problems” now, the solution is almost automatic, as it once was, there are other times when it takes a while to come up with the solution, but I have no more doubts that the solution will come. I was taught in college that if someone could give two minutes of concentrated focused attention to a problem they can solve almost any problem that exists. Getting that focused time to solve a problem is now much easier thanks to the help of Dr. Apelian’s instruction.
I’ve had traditional medical neurosurgeon doctors tell me that there’s nothing they can do for me, I’m a total enigma to them and whatever it is I’m doing, go ahead and do it. To them I should still be a total invalid, no cognitive ability to make choices for myself, no speech capability, no motor control that would allow me to care for myself, and a bunch of other things they can’t fathom that are realities for me. Yet I still have RN’s and lay people telling me that I need to be consulting physicians for help with my situation and I need to be under a Drs. care. I have no problems telling them that I am under a Drs. care, I’m my own Dr. and I know how I feel better than anyone else on earth knows how I feel and with some expert guidance and training from a Dr. I’ve had the opportunity to become my own best Dr. The fact that Dr. Apelian gives dosages along with the how to’s of tinctures, infusions, etc., has been phenomenal helpful information for me, and I have much I owe her for her knowledge, skill and willingness to teach others the skills she has. To my knowledge I have all of her books, plus a few others, and they’re often in use.
All of this to help anyone with a few more severe problems than the problem stated at the beginning of this news letter to let you know that while the tinctures have wonderful help for those problems they have just as wonderful help for more severe situations, it just takes time and patience, don’t give up or get discouraged. I’ve still a long row to hoe in my own situation, but with every victory I’m more than delighted and encouraged to continue to forge ahead. Dr. Apelian, I’m sure, wasn’t healed within 15 to 30 minutes with her MS, and it’s still an ongoing situation for her, but the help available in God’s creation is 100% better than what traditional medicine has to offer.
What a great healing story. I’m a firm believer that God has supplied all our medicine. You may have been hearing about DMSO, which I wish I had known about when my husband had his first stroke. It seems to be a cure-all and could have prevented his second one which caused his death. I get a ton of info on midwesterndoctor.com about its many uses.
I thought she says that mushrooms should be dual extracted, which would cook them? Is it save to take raw mushrooms supplements? Read that lions mane should not be consumed raw, maybe others as well?
Great observation, Heiderose. You’re absolutely right that most medicinal mushrooms need to be cooked or extracted to release their full benefits.
Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and Cordyceps all contain beneficial compounds locked behind tough cell walls made of chitin, which our bodies can’t break down well raw.
That’s why dual extraction (hot water + alcohol) is key because it unlocks both water-soluble (like polysaccharides) and alcohol-soluble (like triterpenes) compounds.
Raw mushroom powders might be fine as a food sprinkle… but for deep benefits? Cooked or extracted is the way to go.
Yes, you can use vinegar to make a tincture-like herbal extract (called an acetum), especially if you’re avoiding alcohol.
Apple cider vinegar works best, and while it won’t extract all the compounds that alcohol does (especially from mushrooms), it can still pull out many beneficial ones.
It also adds gut-friendly benefits and has a nice tang! Just keep in mind: vinegar-based tinctures may have a shorter shelf life and slightly lower potency… but they’re still a great alternative.
If you’re working with mushrooms, try a decoction (long simmer in water) instead. That pulls out a lot of the good stuff.
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I have used several of Nicole’s tinctures. I am concerned about the use of many tinctures and the amount of alcohol I’m consuming.
That’s a really thoughtful point, Lonie. And you’re not alone in that concern.
Thankfully, most tinctures are taken in small doses (usually around 1–2 ml), which means you’re typically consuming less alcohol than what’s in a ripe banana or a teaspoon of cough syrup.
That said, if you’re looking to reduce or avoid alcohol entirely, there are options like glycerites or tea infusions that can work well depending on the herb.
And for anyone in recovery or with medical restrictions, those routes can be a safer bet. Grateful you brought this up, it’s an important conversation.
My own personal experience is pretty different from what was described in the newsletter, but then I didn’t just have simple “brain fog”, struggling to focus and remembering names I knew yesterday or 2 minutes ago. I had a very large brain tumor 4″ x 1.25″ that affected multiple portions of the brain, and the removal of it caused a lot of trauma to the brain, killing off even more of the brain. I lost a lot of neurons in brain communication within the brain. Thanks to the help that was identified here in this post and other herbs and learning other long lost food secrets that will stop and reverse dementia, Parkinson’s and some other autoimmune diseases, I’ve far recovered from what the neurosurgeon Drs. ever believed I could or would. I was supposed to be someone else’s full time care responsibility, not someone who could take care of themselves. Perfect? 100% fully recovered after 10+ years since surgery? No! But improvement is continuing to be felt. I’ve only been using the herbs and making my own tinctures from Dr. Nicole Apelian’s course “The Lost Remedies Academy” in the last couple of years. It has never had a 15 – 30 minute wonderful brain clearing effect for me, but with steady use there has been a HUGE amount of increased neuron growth and much better communication within the brain, memories coming back from the past, better short term memory, name recall, clearer thinking, much faster troubleshooting/problem solving time frames, much better motor control, better balance and stability. I still can’t hand write/print, that skill still causes brain overload beyond addressing an envelope. Lots of things are still problems, I can’t handle too much of anything at one time, flocks of birds, bees buzzing around flowers, people, too much information at one time, etc. After the surgery it would often take me months to figure out that I had a problem and months more to figure out that the “normal/reasonable” thing to do is to find a solution to the problem, and it could take months to a couple of years to come up with a very simple solution. These days the solution time frame has greatly reduced, depending on the current “problem”. For most recognized “problems” now, the solution is almost automatic, as it once was, there are other times when it takes a while to come up with the solution, but I have no more doubts that the solution will come. I was taught in college that if someone could give two minutes of concentrated focused attention to a problem they can solve almost any problem that exists. Getting that focused time to solve a problem is now much easier thanks to the help of Dr. Apelian’s instruction.
I’ve had traditional medical neurosurgeon doctors tell me that there’s nothing they can do for me, I’m a total enigma to them and whatever it is I’m doing, go ahead and do it. To them I should still be a total invalid, no cognitive ability to make choices for myself, no speech capability, no motor control that would allow me to care for myself, and a bunch of other things they can’t fathom that are realities for me. Yet I still have RN’s and lay people telling me that I need to be consulting physicians for help with my situation and I need to be under a Drs. care. I have no problems telling them that I am under a Drs. care, I’m my own Dr. and I know how I feel better than anyone else on earth knows how I feel and with some expert guidance and training from a Dr. I’ve had the opportunity to become my own best Dr. The fact that Dr. Apelian gives dosages along with the how to’s of tinctures, infusions, etc., has been phenomenal helpful information for me, and I have much I owe her for her knowledge, skill and willingness to teach others the skills she has. To my knowledge I have all of her books, plus a few others, and they’re often in use.
All of this to help anyone with a few more severe problems than the problem stated at the beginning of this news letter to let you know that while the tinctures have wonderful help for those problems they have just as wonderful help for more severe situations, it just takes time and patience, don’t give up or get discouraged. I’ve still a long row to hoe in my own situation, but with every victory I’m more than delighted and encouraged to continue to forge ahead. Dr. Apelian, I’m sure, wasn’t healed within 15 to 30 minutes with her MS, and it’s still an ongoing situation for her, but the help available in God’s creation is 100% better than what traditional medicine has to offer.
What a great healing story. I’m a firm believer that God has supplied all our medicine. You may have been hearing about DMSO, which I wish I had known about when my husband had his first stroke. It seems to be a cure-all and could have prevented his second one which caused his death. I get a ton of info on midwesterndoctor.com about its many uses.
Amazing! Thanks for the testimony!
I thought she says that mushrooms should be dual extracted, which would cook them? Is it save to take raw mushrooms supplements? Read that lions mane should not be consumed raw, maybe others as well?
Great observation, Heiderose. You’re absolutely right that most medicinal mushrooms need to be cooked or extracted to release their full benefits.
Lion’s Mane, Reishi, and Cordyceps all contain beneficial compounds locked behind tough cell walls made of chitin, which our bodies can’t break down well raw.
That’s why dual extraction (hot water + alcohol) is key because it unlocks both water-soluble (like polysaccharides) and alcohol-soluble (like triterpenes) compounds.
Raw mushroom powders might be fine as a food sprinkle… but for deep benefits? Cooked or extracted is the way to go.
Can you substitute vinegar for the alcohol?
Hey Deb!
Yes, you can use vinegar to make a tincture-like herbal extract (called an acetum), especially if you’re avoiding alcohol.
Apple cider vinegar works best, and while it won’t extract all the compounds that alcohol does (especially from mushrooms), it can still pull out many beneficial ones.
It also adds gut-friendly benefits and has a nice tang! Just keep in mind: vinegar-based tinctures may have a shorter shelf life and slightly lower potency… but they’re still a great alternative.
If you’re working with mushrooms, try a decoction (long simmer in water) instead. That pulls out a lot of the good stuff.