Can Mushrooms Prevent Breast Cancer?
Find out if mushrooms are an effective form of prevention for breast cancer
Few women want to undergo the trauma of finding a lump in their breast, particularly
if it’s malignant. The reality is that up to one in eight women will be diagnosed
with breast cancer at some point in their lives. Fortunately, with the good screening
techniques available today, many breast cancers are detected early and can be cured.
There’s also evidence that diet and lifestyle habits play a role in preventing this
disease. Comparisons are often made between the dietary habits of Asians living
in China and Japan where the breast cancer risk is as much as five times lower than
in the U.S.A. An interesting new study suggests that one food commonly eaten food,
the mushroom, may account for some of this difference. Are mushroom effective for
breast cancer prevention?
Mushrooms for Prevention of Breast Cancer: The Study
This study which was published in the International Journal of Cancer looked at
a group of 1,009 Chinese women diagnosed with breast cancer and an equal number
of healthy controls using food questionnaires. After analyzing the results, they
found that women who consumed fresh or dried mushrooms had a lower risk of breast
cancer than those who didn’t and that the effect was dose dependent, meaning the
more mushrooms eaten, the lower the breast cancer risk. It was also shown that drinking
green tea along with the mushrooms had an additional breast cancer lowering effect.
This association was seen in both pre-menopausal and post-menopausal Chinese women.
A previous study also showed that mushroom extract when given to mice inhibited
growth of breast cancer cells.
Why Are Mushrooms Effective for Prevention of Breast Cancer?
It appears that linoelic acid, found in mushrooms, inhibits the activity of the
aromatase enzyme involved in estrogen synthesis, thus lowering estrogen levels.
Estrogen is one of the primary fuels for the growth of breast cancer cells and interventions
that lower estrogen levels are often effective for breast cancer prevention.
How Many Mushrooms Do You Need to Eat?
It’s unclear how many mushrooms you’d have to consume on a daily basis for breast
cancer prevention. In this study, the effect was dose dependent with reductions
in risk seen with as little as five grams of mushrooms per day. Although the type
of mushrooms weren’t specified in this study, previous studies have shown the common
button mushroom appeared to have more aromatase blocking activity than fancier varieties
such as the shiitake and portabella.
Mushrooms for Prevention of Breast Cancer: The Bottom Line?
This is encouraging news for mushroom lovers, but keep in mind that larger scale
human trials are needed to confirm this association. In the meantime, mushrooms
still make a healthy, low calorie snack or side dish.
Written by: Dr. Kristie
Posted: July 31, 2009