Uncovering
Mushroom's Magic
 In
3000 BC the Egyptians believed mushrooms were a sacred food that
prolonged life.
A mummified
5,000-year-old "Ice Man" found in the mountains of Europe
carried a medicine kit of dried mushrooms.
Well,
guess what...
Mushrooms
help fight breast cancer
Recent scientific studies in Japan, the UK and the US have found
that some chemicals found only in raw, cooked and dried mushrooms
may strengthen immunity, help fight infections and prevent cancer.
These
friendly fungi may also may help with reducing high blood sugar,
high cholesterol, high blood pressure and the risk of blood clots.
Breast
Cancer Counter Measure
- Mushrooms
reduce estrogen production to lower breast cancer risk.
- Extracts
of large white mushrooms slashed estrogen production up to 50%.
- Small
white, portobello and crimini mushrooms had similar actions, but
were not as effective.
Shiitake
- Enoki - Lentinan
Lentinan is a chemical found in mushrooms.
So
many studies in Japan have shown that mushrooms have anti-cancer
properties, that lentinan is approved in cancer treatment there.
In
one study, Japanese farmers who regularly ate enoki mushrooms had
a 40 percent lower death rate from cancer than those whose diet
did not include mushrooms.
Cancer
Research UK
Scientists at the University of Liverpool have discovered a protein
in the lectin family that is found in edible mushrooms which targets
cancer cells and stops them from multiplying.
A
review of mushroom international studies by Cancer Research UK reports
that many mushrooms can stimulate immune functions.
"Maitake
Magic"
Harry Preuss, M.D., a physiology professor at Georgetown University
School of Medicine is fascinated by this mushroom. In his book,
"Maitake Magic (Freedom Press; $15.95)," he explains why.
"Maitake
is one of nature's richest sources of beta-glucans ... which are
among, or even may be, the most potent natural immune forces ever
discovered," he writes.
The
maitake may help combat cancer by stimulating immune responses.
A compound called maitake D-fraction is being tested for treating
advanced breast and prostate cancers.
Maitake
Magic (Freedom Press; $15.95)
Elsewhere
on the Web:
Exotic
mushrooms could provide cancer medicines
Medicinal
mushrooms
Mushroom
magic fights cancer
February
15 , 2003
Last
Updated August 1, 2006
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