It's Amazing. People who consume 18 grams of mushrooms daily have a 45% lower risk of cancer compared to those who don't. This was the finding of a systematic review and meta-analysis of research performed on over 19,500 cancer patients.
How much is 18 grams? About an 1/8 of a cup. Hardly mouthful. Even if you don’t like mushrooms, this is a very easy amount to slip into your diet.
Mushrooms get one of their superpowers from an interesting amino acid known as ergothioneine. Ergothioneine is protective to our cells as well as to be a strong antioxidant. Additionally, mushrooms are rich in vitamins and minerals such as vitamin D, selenium, and potassium. However, it is ergothioneine that seems particularly interesting. Ergothioneine has shown the ability to kill colon cancer cells though a process called necroptosis. It is thought to be protective against chemotherapy induced neuropathy, and it can protect against heart toxicity induced by the chemotherapy drug doxorubicin.
There is emerging evidence that mushrooms and ergothioneine can help with many other health problems such as poor memory and cognitive decline, as well as possibly even in treating Alzheimer’s disease.
Mushrooms such as shiitake, oysters, maitake, and king oyster mushrooms have the highest levels of ergothioneine. However, the type of mushroom consumed didn’t seem to matter in the aforementioned cancer prevention study, as the benefit was seen with all types of culinary mushrooms.
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