Description
Benefits:
Cancer Prevention
Shiitake mushrooms commonly found in grocery stores and salad bars, help remove excess oestrogen from circulation, making them helpful for preventing breast cancer. A tissue culture study published in the November 2010 issue of the journal “Experimental Biology and Medicine” found that white button mushrooms, along with four other varieties of common and speciality mushrooms, significantly suppressed breast cancer cell growth and reproduction. However, further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results.
Fibre:
Mushrooms are a good source of chitin and beta-glucagon, fibres that lower cholesterol and improve cardiovascular health. A laboratory animal study published in the 2012 issue of the “International Journal of Medicinal Mushrooms” found that pink oyster mushrooms reduced total cholesterol, triglycerides and low-density lipoprotein, or LDL, cholesterol and prevented arterial plaque formation. Further studies are needed to confirm these preliminary results. A compound in shiitake mushrooms, called critadenine, helps the liver process cholesterol.
Immune Boost:
Beta-glucan in mushrooms provides protection against colds, flu and other viruses. The reishi mushroom was found to improve recovery time in herpes patients in a study published in the November 2007 issue of the “Journal of Alternative and Complementary Medicine.” Reishi may exert its antiviral effects by interfering with attachment of viruses to host cells, according to researchers of a study published in the January 2005 issue of the “Journal of Biochemistry and Molecular Biology.” Shiitake, portobello, oyster and reishi mushrooms contain a polysaccharide molecule called lentinan that stimulates production of interferon, which stimulates the immune system .
Vitamins and Minerals
Crimini mushrooms are among the only natural food sources of vitamin D, and mushrooms are one of the few foods that contain germanium, a trace mineral that helps your body use oxygen efficiently and prevents against damaging effects of free radicals. Many mushrooms are also good sources of selenium, an antioxidant mineral, as well as copper, niacin, potassium and phosphorous. Additionally, mushrooms provide protein, vitamin C and iron. Because their cells walls are indigestible unless exposed to heat, you must cook mushrooms to get their nutritional benefits.
Shiitake Uses:
Reduce cholesterol
Strengthen the immune system
Lower blood pressure
Fight viral infections
Improve liver function
Treat cancer
Fight free radicals as an antioxidant
Prevent Thrombosis
Help cure liver diseases
Fight off colds and flu
Combat viral infections
Reduce tumors
Induce weight loss
Cure respiratory diseases
Treat poor blood circulation
Cure weakness and prevent exhaustion
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