(NaturalHealth365)  Medicinal mushrooms are considered an important part of traditional diets around the world, adding a subtle flavor to a variety of dishes.  However, more recently, scientists have uncovered their many healing aspects, such as being an excellent source of antioxidants and prebiotics, plus a wide variety of antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and immunomodulating agents.

Why does this matter?  Well, with cancer being one of the leading causes of death on a global scale, current anti-cancer drugs do a poor job (at best) of helping the body avoid disease.  This is exactly why more and more research is being done to discover the potential benefits of mushrooms, especially in terms of reducing the risk of cancer cell growth.

Medicinal mushrooms offer more than a “complementary” benefit

Previously, clinical trials have found that mushroom extracts help “complement” both conventional radiation treatments and chemotherapy by countering the common (negative) effects of cancer, such as lowered immune function, nausea, anemia, and bone marrow suppression.

A recent review discusses how resistance to cell death (apoptosis) hinders the effectiveness of anticancer drugs.  Researchers are exploring mushrooms as a natural source of potential drugs due to their safe nature and ability to target multiple aspects of cancer.

The review collected scientific data on various mushrooms, revealing that their bioactive components, such as polysaccharides and terpenoids, can be effective against 20 different types of cancers.  The study explores the therapeutic mechanisms of mushrooms through various investigations, showing their impact on cancer-related processes.  Overall, the research suggests that mushroom extracts and their compounds could have beneficial effects against various cancers by targeting specific signaling pathways.

And this isn’t the first study that’s discovered the cancer-fighting properties of medicinal mushrooms.

Another study that looked at over 36,000 men between the ages of 40 and 79 discovered that eating mushrooms three times weekly significantly reduced the risk of prostate cancer.  Just eating mushrooms once or twice a week resulted in a small reduction in risk, while eating them three times a week lowered the risk by 17%.

Researchers have found that Reishi mushrooms, in particular, help target and kill cancer cells. These mushrooms also help improve immune function, reducing the chance of secondary attacks on vulnerable cancer patients.

Scientists discovered that Reishi mushrooms also help fight inflammatory breast cancer by disrupting cell spheroids and inhibiting cell invasion in cancer cells.  These medicinal mushrooms also help regulate programmed cell death, ensuring cancer cells that are dividing endlessly finally die.

Which mushrooms offer the best health benefits?

If you’re interested in cancer prevention, both Reishi mushrooms and cordyceps have been studied for their ability to improve immune function and fight cancer.

Cordyceps naturally stimulate the immune system, help increase the body’s level of cancer-killing cells, and play a part in cancer prevention.  However, other types of mushrooms offer healing benefits as well.

Shitake mushrooms help lower cholesterol and boost immune function.  Portobello, crimini, maitake, and enoki mushrooms have all been linked to cancer prevention and boosting immune function.

With the ability to prevent cancer and many additional health benefits, it’s worth it to begin adding more medicinal mushrooms to your diet.  Let’s not forget: they’re delicious in many different dishes, and they’re an enjoyable way to eat a healthy diet.

By the way, medicinal mushroom extracts and blends are available for people who don’t enjoy eating mushrooms, offering another way to get the immune-boosting benefits of mushrooms.

Editor’s note: Discover the best ways to naturally stop cancer cell growth, own the Stop Cancer Docu-Class created by NaturalHealth365 Programs.

Sources for this article include:

NIH.gov
NIH.gov
NIH.gov