Feinsinger column: Include mushrooms in your diet for optimal health
Last week’s column was the 12th in a series on Dr. Michael Greger’s Daily Dozen. This is the 13th and final column
In his book “How Not to Die,” Greger includes mushrooms under “other vegetables.” However, mushrooms are fungi, not vegetables, so they get a separate column in this series
Dr. Joel Fuhrman, author of several books on nutrition, writes in “Eat to Live” that “mushrooms contain a variety of powerful phytochemicals that have been linked to decreased risk of chronic diseases, especially cancer.”
With fruits and vegetables, people are told to “eat the rainbow” because varieties with intense colors have the most antioxidants and other beneficial micronutrients. Mushrooms are not intensely colored, but this rule does not apply to fungi
The following are examples of how mushrooms may help prevent cancer:
• Ergothioneine is an amino acid with potent antioxidant activity that protects cells against harmful, cancer-causing free radicals. Mushrooms have a higher level of ergothioneine than any other food
• Angiogenesis refers to the formation of new blood vessels. Cancer cells make angiogenesis promoters that enable them to multiply and metastasize. Compounds in mushrooms block this process, causing cancer cells to die
• Some of the trillions of cells in our bodies are always mutating. Mushrooms help optimize immunity, killing off mutant cells before they propagate and cause cancer
• Mushrooms contain a natural aromatase inhibitor. Aromatase is an enzyme involved in estrogen production, high levels of which increase the risk of breast cancer. Aromatase inhibitors are used as chemotherapy for breast cancer. Asian women have a much lower incidence of breast cancer than women who eat a Western diet. Part of the reason is thought to be the prevalence of mushrooms in Asian diets
Inflammation contributes to many diseases, including asthma, and mushrooms have anti-inflammatory properties. Furthermore, mushrooms are one of the few food
Greger points out that “mushrooms make a great, chewy replacement for meat.” His favorite way to eat them is to drizzle balsamic vinegar over them and grill them over low heat, turning them frequently. Recipes for tasty mushroom stroganoff can be found online and in vegan cookbooks
There are two caveats about eating mushrooms, in addition to being very cautious when gathering your own in the wild:
• Avoid raw mushrooms because they contain a mild toxin that is destroyed by cooking. Morel mushrooms have a higher level of this toxin. Even when cooked, morels can release this toxin when combined with alcohol
• Arsenic is often present in chicken feed. Some commercial mushrooms are grown with fertilizer containing chicken manure that may contain arsenic. However, the amount of arsenic people receive from eating the quantity of mushrooms most people consume is not enough to be problematic
Bottom line: Mushrooms are good for you, so eat them two or three times a week. However, do not eat huge quantities, and avoid eating them raw
Dr. Greg Feinsinger is a retired family physician with a special interest in prevention, treatment, and reversal of chronic disease through nutrition. He is available for free nutritional counseling and shop-with-a-doc grocery store tours. He can be contacted at 970-379-5718 or gfmd41@gmail.com
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