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Wellness
LifestyleHealth & Wellness

Why mushrooms are magic: health benefits, nutritional properties and how they can even help depression

  • Recent studies have found that eating a variety of mushrooms can lower risk of prostate cancer, is good for your heart and reduces cholesterol
  • Mushroom snacks like chips and jerky are now also available for health-conscious consumers

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Mushroom snack brand Pan’s uses shiitake mushrooms in its jerky products. A variety of mushroom snacks are now available for health-conscious consumers.
Sasha Gonzales

Mushrooms have long been a staple of vegans and vegetarians, but in the past couple of years, the humble fungus has been winning fans even among meat-eaters as more evidence of their health benefits emerges.

One large-scale, long-term study by Japanese researchers, for instance, found that men who ate white button mushrooms one or two times a week had an 8 per cent lower relative risk of prostate cancer.

Those who ate mushrooms three or more times a week had a 17 per cent lower relative risk. These findings were published in September in the International Journal of Cancer.

Another study, which lasted six years and was carried out by researchers at the National University of Singapore, found that subjects who ate golden mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms, white button mushrooms, dried mushrooms and canned button mushrooms experienced a 50 per cent lower risk of mild cognitive decline.

A recent study found that eating oyster mushrooms could lower the risk of mild cognitive decline.
A recent study found that eating oyster mushrooms could lower the risk of mild cognitive decline.

The subjects were aged 60 and older and had at least two 150g (5.3oz) portions of cooked mushrooms a week.

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