Higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer
A study by Penn State College of Medicine researchers found that higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer.
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Higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer
Tracy Cox
April 21, 2021
HERSHEY, Pa. Next time you make a salad, you might want to consider adding mushrooms to it. That’s because higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer, according to a new Penn State study, published on March 16 in Advances in Nutrition.
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.
Higher mushroom consumption said to be associated with lower risk of cancer
Next time you make a salad, you might want to consider adding mushrooms to it. That’s because higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower risk of cancer, according to a new Penn State study, published on March 16 in
Advances in Nutrition.
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.
Mushrooms are rich in vitamins, nutrients and antioxidants. 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 ri
Are Mushrooms a Fountain of Youth?
Consistently including mushrooms in your dietary plan may offer unique health benefits, including helping to fight aging and prostate cancer.
1 Researchers from Penn State,
2 for instance, discovered that mushrooms are an abundant source of two excellent antioxidants, ergothioneine and glutathione.
Both antioxidants help inhibit oxidative stress and are considered important antiaging compounds. Researchers also recently identified one of the mechanisms the fungi use to interrupt and ultimately suppress the cell cycle of prostate cancer.
A mushroom is the umbrella-shaped fruiting body of a fungus that typically grows above ground. The seeds it produces are millions of microscopic spores that are carried by the wind or spread by animals. Once the spores have germinated in wood or soil, it sends out a network of rooting threads called mycelium that often persist for many years.
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Mushrooms have been consumed and used for medicinal purposes for thousands of years. The ancient Greeks believed mushrooms provided strength for warriors in battle, and the Romans perceived them as “food of the Gods.” For centuries, the Chinese culture has treasured mushrooms as a health food, labeling them as an “elixir of life.” Traditional Chinese medicine continues to highly value mushrooms, believing they offer numerous health benefits and play a role in preventing and treating various ailments.
Mushrooms are often placed in the vegetable category for dietary recommendations. However, they are actually neither a plant nor animal, but belong to the fungal kingdom. One key difference that distinguishes fungi from plants and animals is that fungi lack chlorophyll and exist on decaying material.