Eating Mushrooms Lowers Cancer Risk

Highlights:

Higher mushroom consumption lowers risk of cancer
Mushrooms are the highest dietary source of an amino acid called ergothioneine
Ergothioneine is a unique and potent antioxidant and cellular protector
So, incorporate mushrooms into your daily diet to fight cancer

Edible mushrooms are good for health. Now, a new study revealed that consuming mushrooms on a daily basis can lower your risk of developing cancer.//

Next time you make a salad, you might want to consider adding mushrooms to it. The new Penn State study was published in Advances in Nutrition.

Mushrooms can Lower Risk of Prostate Cancer
Habitual mushroom intake can help prevent prostate cancer among middle-aged and elderly Japanese men. Prostate cancer ranks as the second‐most frequent cancer and the fifth leading cause of cancer death in men.

‘People who regularly ate mushrooms had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer. So, incorporate any variety of mushrooms into your daily diet to lower cancer risk.’

The systematic review and meta-analysis examined 17 cancer studies published from 1966 to 2020. Analyzing data from more than 19,500 cancer patients, researchers explored the relationship between mushroom consumption and cancer risk.

Benefits of Mushrooms

Mushrooms are rich in vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants.

Mushrooms can Aid in Diabetes Treatment
Daily consumption of white button mushrooms can help improve microbial community in the gut and aid in the regulation of glucose in the liver.

The team's findings show that these super foods may also help guard against cancer.

Even though shiitake, oyster, maitake and king oyster mushrooms have higher amounts of the amino acid ergothioneine than white button, cremini and portabello mushrooms, the researchers found that people who incorporated any variety of mushrooms into their daily diets had a lower risk of cancer.

Sun-Exposed Oyster Mushrooms Aid in Tuberculosis Treatment
Consuming sun-exposed oyster mushrooms, a rich source of vitamin D, helps tuberculosis (TB) patients fight the infection and respond better to drug treatment by boosting their immunity.

According to the findings, individuals who ate 18 grams of mushrooms daily had a 45% lower risk of cancer compared to those who did not eat mushrooms.

"Mushrooms are the highest dietary source of ergothioneine, which is a unique and potent antioxidant and cellular protector," said Djibril M. Ba, a graduate student in epidemiology at Penn State College of Medicine.

Mushrooms may be the Best Food to Help Fight Aging
Mushrooms contain antioxidants like glutathione and ergothioneine. Mushrooms could play a protective role against oxidative stress which is linked to aging.

"Replenishing antioxidants in the body may help protect against oxidative stress and lower the risk of cancer."

Fight Cancer with Mushrooms

When specific cancers were examined, the researchers noted the strongest associations for breast cancer as individuals who regularly ate mushrooms had a significantly lower risk of breast cancer.

Ba explained that this could be because most of the studies did not include other forms of cancer. Moving forward, this research could be helpful in further exploring the protective effects that mushrooms have and helping to establish healthier diets that prevent cancer.

"Overall, these findings provide important evidence for the protective effects of mushrooms against cancer," said coauthor John Richie, a Penn State Cancer Institute researcher and professor of public health sciences and pharmacology.

"Future studies are needed to better pinpoint the mechanisms involved and specific cancers that may be impacted."

Source-Eurekalert