Mushroom Benefits | Health Benefits of Mushrooms

Mushrooms have been used medicinally for centuries. Studies show some varieties offer protection against cancer, can lower blood pressure and have antioxidant properties.

There are many varieties and types of Mushroom but Shiitake, Maitake, and Reishi Mushroom Fight Cancer and Other Diseases.

Prized in the East for their medicinal and preventive health benefits, shiitake mushrooms contain a good range of phytochemicals which are thought to strengthen the immune system by stimulating white blood cells. They may also offer protection against cancer by preventing normal cells from developing into tumors. 

benefits of mushrooms

Benefits OF Mushroom

Shiitake mushrooms Help Cancer-fighters – Benefits of Shiitake Mushroom 

Unusually for a ‘vegetable’, shiitake mushrooms contain all eight essential amino acids and one of the essential fatty acids, linoleic acid. The tops contain more nutrients than the stems. They also contain the polysaccharide lentinan, also known as beta-1,3 glucan, which boosts white blood cell activity and is approved in Japan as a drug for cancer therapy. It works by limiting some of the damage caused by chemotherapy drugs.

Beta-glucans stimulate the immune system and are classed as an HDP, or host defenses potentiator. They are widely used in many Asian countries for cancer treatment.

Japanese researchers have also found that consuming shiitake mushrooms can lower blood cholesterol by as much as 45 percent, due to an active compound called eritadenine.

Although not technically a vegetable, three to four tablespoons will count towards the recommended five daily portions. Like other mushrooms, they contain good amounts of B vitamins. 

Maitake -  (benefits of dancing mushroom) 

The name maitake comes from the Japanese word for dancing mushrooms. According to folklore, mushroom pickers danced with joy when they found them. Apart from containing a good amount of vitamins, maitake mushrooms contain another polysaccharide called beta-1,6 glucan, similar to the beta-1,3 glucan in shiitake mushrooms.

This works in much the same way and maitake is also approved by the Japanese government as a cancer treatment. Research published in the book Immunotics by Dr. Robert Rountree has shown maitake extract shrinks tumours in mice while other studies have shown maitake can boost the effects of chemotherapy treatment. 

Reishi ( benefits of reishi mushroom) 

In traditional Chinese medicine, reishi mushrooms are used as a tonic to promote long and healthy life. They contain ganodermic acids along with a number of polysaccharides, which have been found to help lower blood pressure, aid adrenal function and help detoxify the liver. Ganodermic acids have well-known antioxidant properties.

The Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center has reishi mushrooms listed on its website and states: “Reishi mushrooms stimulate the immune system through their positive effects on macrophages and other immune compounds”. There are also references to clinical studies showing reishi mushrooms increase antioxidant capability and enhance the immune systems of advance-stage cancer patients.

References: Rountree, R., Coleman, C. Immunotics: A Revolutionary Way to Fight Infection, Beat Chronic Illness and Stay Well. New York: G.P. Putnam’s Sons.