Including Mushrooms in diet can cut chances of dementia by half

New data from the NUS Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine has said that eating mushrooms can slash the risk of brain decline in your senior citizen years by 50 percent. So next time if you are ordering a pizza, make sure that you ask for some extra toppings of mushrooms. The study was conducted by the Department of Psychological Medicine and Department of Biochemistry at the Singapore school.

The researchers have said that two cooked standard portions of about 300 grams of the fungi every week, which brings down the chances of developing mild cognitive impairment by half. The MCI sufferers are known to have low levels of amino acid that are called as ergothioneine. One of the senior research fellow in biochemistry from the National University of Singapore said, “ET is a unique antioxidant and anti-inflammatory which humans are unable to synthesize on their own. But it can be obtained from dietary sources, one of the main ones being mushrooms.”

The researchers have also said that the results of the six year old study can prove to be beneficial for the people of age of 60 years and above. One of the assistant professors at the NUS Psychological Medicine, Feng Li,said, “This correlation is surprising and encouraging”. Lei added that a commonly available single ingredient can have a dramatic effect on the cognitive decline.

Talking about the nutritive value of mushrooms they are low in calories and are great source of fibre and protein. They are excellent for those who are on a plant based diets. Mushrooms provide Vitamin B, potassium, copper, selenium and Vitamin D particularly when they are exposed to the sun. They are known as super foods and are the most health promoting foods on the planet. Apart from this particular study, there are a number of studies that reveal a variety of ways they can be useful in preventing serious health conditions.

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