Cordyceps and alcohol: can you drink while taking it?

Can you drink alcohol while taking cordyceps?

There’s no human research on taking cordyceps and drinking alcohol together. WebMD’s cordyceps page puts it plainly: it is unknown whether drinking alcohol affects cordyceps.

So the honest answer has two parts:

• If you’re healthy and take no medicines, there’s no known reason you can’t have a drink on a day you take cordyceps. Keep within the low-risk limits below.
• If you take medicines, the question isn’t really cordyceps and alcohol. It’s cordyceps, alcohol and your medicine, and that’s one for your GP or pharmacist.

Which medicines can cordyceps interact with?

These are the types of medicine WebMD lists as possible interactions with cordyceps:

• blood thinners, used to treat or prevent clots
• antiplatelet medicines such as clopidogrel or ticagrelor
• medicines that suppress the immune system
• diabetes medicines
• chemotherapy

Alcohol interacts with many medicines too, including some on that list. If you take any of them, check before you add cordyceps, and check again before you drink.

Is there alcohol in cordyceps drops?

Yes, in most of them. Cordyceps tinctures, ours included, are made by soaking the dried mushroom in water and food-grade alcohol. Ours is up to 22% alcohol. But the amount you take is tiny, so the amount of alcohol is tiny too:

Still, if you avoid alcohol completely, for religious reasons, in recovery, or because you’re tested at work, a tincture isn’t the right form for you. Cordyceps also comes as powder and capsules, which have no alcohol.

If you’d like less of it, stir the drops into a hot drink: some of the alcohol evaporates.

What is cordyceps wine?

In China, cordyceps has long been steeped in rice wine or spirits, the same way other herbs are. That’s a drink, not a supplement: you’d be taking a full serving of alcohol with it. It’s the reason “cordyceps wine” shows up in searches, and it’s a different thing from a few drops of tincture.

Should I take cordyceps and drink at different times?

There’s no research saying spacing them out changes anything. Most people take cordyceps in the morning, which in practice puts plenty of hours between it and an evening drink.

How much is a low-risk amount to drink in Ireland?

The HSE’s weekly low-risk guidelines, whether or not you take supplements:

• Women: less than 11 standard drinks a week (110 g of alcohol)
• Men: less than 17 standard drinks a week (170 g of alcohol)
• Spread them out, with at least two alcohol-free days a week.

An Irish standard drink is 10 g of pure alcohol: roughly half a pint of beer, a small glass of wine, or a pub measure of spirits.

Questions people ask

Does cordyceps help with a hangover?

No study has tested it on hangovers in people. Water, food and time are what work.

Can I take cordyceps the morning after drinking?

There’s nothing known against it if you take no medicines. If you’re unwell after drinking, skip it and rest.

Will cordyceps show up on a drug or alcohol test?

We’ve covered drug tests in detail here: does cordyceps show up on a drug test? On breath tests: alcohol left in your mouth can affect a reading for a short while after taking drops, so if you’re breath-tested at work, take your drops after the test, not just before.

Is cordyceps or ashwagandha better to take if I drink?

Neither has been tested with alcohol. If you’re choosing between them, our cordyceps vs ashwagandha comparison covers how they differ.

Want to see what’s in a bottle? Our cordyceps drops list the ingredients and the full lab report.

Sources

1. WebMD. Cordyceps: uses, side effects, interactions. webmd.com
2. Drinkaware Ireland / HSE. Low-risk weekly alcohol guidelines. drinkaware.ie
3. Alcohol per dose calculated from the product’s alcohol content (up to 22% by volume) and the density of ethanol (0.789 g/ml).

This article is general information, not medical advice. If you take any medication, talk to your GP or pharmacist before taking any supplement.