Six Ways Mushrooms Benefit Your Health

Dr. Amber Passini prescribed a mushroom supplement for me during my cancer journey. Some people love to eat mushrooms, and some detest the taste and slivery feel. Never fear. There are many ways to add mushrooms to your diet without tasting them. You can take them as a supplement, buy them as a powder to be mixed into smoothies, or you can choose to eat mushrooms daily by adding them to soups, salads, and casseroles.

Dr. Robert Elliott, the medical researcher and oncologist who wrote valuable commentary in my book, “Unleash Your God-Given Healing,” recommended mushroom supplements to his cancer patients. But mushrooms are powerful in more than just fighting cancer. They can also help to modulate the immune system, provide antioxidants, reduce inflammation, and lower blood glucose, blood pressure, cholesterol, and triglyceride levels without side effects to the liver or kidneys. This is huge.

Let’s look at the six ways mushrooms benefit your health.

Mushrooms reduce cancer risk

Mushrooms are well known especially in Asia for their anticancer properties. In a 2018 meta-analysis of 23 studies, they concluded that reishi mushrooms might have potential benefits on the overall survival and quality of life in cancer patients.

In an in vitro study, it was found that a peptide from the shiitake mushroom actually arrested cancer cell growth, and induced both autophagy and apoptosis or cancer cell death in breast cancer patients.

But the list goes on. Therapy with white button mushrooms impacted both PSA levels and inhibited prostate cancer by modulating the biology of biochemically recurrent prostate cancer and decreasing immunosuppressive factors.

There is also research on mushroom polysaccharides inhibiting the growth of cervical cancer cells as well as benefits for both lung and liver cancer patients.

No wonder my integrative doctor recommended a mushroom supplement for me.

Mushrooms boost the immune system

The anti-inflammatory properties of mushrooms have been shown to improve the immune system. Mushrooms are one of the few food sources for vitamin D and also contain high amounts of selenium and vitamin B6. Maitake mushrooms have been shown in research to enhance T cells and natural killer cells. These mushrooms may also have benefits for those undergoing chemotherapy in positively affecting neutrophils which are closely watched during treatment. So again, more benefits for cancer patients. These nutrients as found in mushrooms support a healthy immune system.

Mushrooms protect brain health.

One study showed that participants 60 and older who ate more than two cups of mushrooms each week had a lower risk of developing mild cognitive impairment.

Mushrooms prevent heart disease.

The nutrients and bioactive compounds in mushrooms can help prevent plaque buildup in blood vessels. These compounds can also lower cholesterol. According to Joyce Prescott, a nutritionist at the Cleveland Clinic, “The benefits of substituting mushrooms for beef can’t be beat. You get the nutrients and low calories, sodium, and cholesterol without sacrificing the flavor.”

Mushrooms are high in antioxidants and lower inflammation.

Chronic inflammation is behind most if not all diseases, but the polysaccharides in mushrooms especially beta glucan are high in antioxidants that help to lower inflammation and oxidative stress. Especially powerful in antioxidants are reishi and cordyceps mushrooms. For example, a study on children with Crohn’s disease found that triterpene, a compound in reishi mushrooms was shown to lower inflammatory cytokines. Due to the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant benefits of the bioactive compounds in mushrooms, benefits have been seen for asthma patients, heart patients, and patients with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.

Mushrooms lower risk for type 2 diabetes.

Mushrooms are low in calories with a low glycemic index. This index measures how quickly blood sugar rises after consuming food. Research studies reveal that the bioactive compounds in mushrooms help reduce blood sugar levels by inhibiting glucose absorption from your gut into the bloodstream. They also may improve pancreatic function and slow the release of insulin.

As a significant source of vitamin D, this also prevents type 2 diabetes as there is a link between low levels of vitamin D and insulin resistance.

There is one caution with mushrooms. Some species of mushrooms are toxic to humans. These species of mushrooms are usually found in the wild, but not all wild mushrooms are toxic. So If you are hiking or camping, you must know your mushrooms before you partake of them.

After realizing the powerful antitumor, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antidiabetic, and antioxidant power in these gifts of nature, I now use a mushroom/cocoa powder in my smoothie each day. And when I’m cooking with mushrooms in soups and salads, I double the amount. I also love to put mushrooms in my omelets, too. Fortunately, mushrooms made it to the Environmental Working Group’s (EWG) Clean Fifteen List at #11. This means they don’t have a high pesticide residue. Mushrooms are technically a fungi, but the U.S. Department of Agriculture classifies them as a vegetable due to the nutritional benefits they provide.

What are some ways you use mushrooms to enhance your health?

View this message on YouTube:

Six Ways Mushrooms Benefit Your Health

For Your Health,

Ginny

Ginny Dent Brant is a speaker and writer who grew up in the halls of power in Washington, DC. She has battled cancer, ministered around the world, and served on the front lines of American culture as a counselor, educator, wellness advocate, and adjunct professor. Brant’s award-winning book, Finding True Freedom: From the White House to the World, was endorsed by Chuck Colson and featured in many TV and media interviews. Unleash Your God-Given Healing: Eight Steps to Prevent and Survive Cancer was released in May 2020 after her journey with cancer and was recently awarded the First Place Golden Scrolls Award for Memoirs, a finalist in Serious Writers Book of the Decade, and Second Place in both Selah Awards for Memoirs and Director’s Choice Award for Nonfiction at the Blue Ridge Mountain Christian Writer’s Conference. It recently received the Christian Authors Network’s (CAN) Gold Award for Excellence in Marketing for reaching 62.5 million people with a message of cancer prevention and survival. It was written with commentary from an oncologist and was featured on CBN’s Healthy Living Show, Atlanta Live, and CTN’s Homekeepers along with over 75 media outlets. Learn more and cancer and wellness prevention blog and book information at www.ginnybrant.com. Ginny is on YouTube