Cancer
The Facts at glance
Lowering Risk
Mushrooms contain compounds linked to lowering the risk of a range of cancers.
Breast Cancer Studies
Studies show women eating one button mushroom a day have half the risk of breast cancer than women not eating mushrooms.
Unique Compounds
Unique proteins, glucans and other special carbohydrates in mushrooms, can potentially inhibit cancer formation and growth.
Mushrooms help fight cancer
Like many people, you probably eat for both enjoyment and to protect your health against future disease. Fruits and vegetables help reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke and some cancers. It is not surprising that mushrooms have also been found to play their part in lowering cancer risk, even though they are neither fruit nor vegetable.
Research shows that mushroom extracts reduced breast cancer growth (Chen 2006; Martin 2010). “Eating 100 grams, or even less, of mushrooms per day could have an effect on preventing new breast cancers,” said lead researcher Dr Shiuan Chen. Soon after the early finding there were three international studies linking women who eat mushrooms to a 50-60% lower risk of breast cancer compared to those who do not eat mushrooms (Shin 2010; Hong 2008).
One study from the University of Western Australia showed that women who ate an average of only 10g of mushrooms (about half a button mushroom) a day had a 65% lower risk of breast cancer (Zhang 2009).
That has been quite a remarkable finding, stimulating more research on how mushrooms might reduce cancer risk. As the CSIRO said:
The most promising data appear to be those indicating an inverse relationship between mushroom consumption and breast cancer risk.
2014 CSIRO Mushrooms and Health report
