Mushrooms… Some like them, some hate them… The fact that they’re not always the most popular food in the world is understandable, seeing as plenty of them have strong flavors, odd textures, as well as fairly weird/foreboding appearances.
But, and this goes out to all my mushroom-haters out there… Not all mushrooms have to be disgusting to you, just hear me out. You see, it’s really in your best interest to like mushrooms and eat more of them, because of their many, many health benefits, they’re actually super good for you. So, like I said, just hear me out.
If you’re someone who doesn’t like mushrooms, but wants to because of their health benefits, then shiitake mushrooms are your new best friends. The reason why? They’re flavor is super easy to get into, plus their texture is easy to like as well.
Not only do they contain tons of different health benefits, but they also possess the ability to fight cancer, for just a little mushroom, that’s a lot.
Alright, enough talking, here is just some of the large mass of information that is why shiitake mushrooms can fight cancer, plus some of the other benefits that they bring to the table.
Enjoy!
Shiitake Mushrooms and Cancer Research… A Long Story.
Shiitake mushrooms are well-loved by many, both in their home region (East Asia) as well as here, in the United States. One of the many reasons for this is because of all of the undesirable, nasty side effects of most conventional cancer treatments. Treatments such as chemotherapy and radiation have side effects (according to Cancer.org) such as these:
Fatigue
Hair loss
Easy bruising and bleeding
Infection
Anemia (low red blood cell counts)
Nausea and vomiting
Appetite changes
Constipation
Diarrhea
Mouth, tongue, and throat problems such as sores and pain with swallowing
Nerve and muscle problems such as numbness, tingling, and pain
Skin and nail changes such as dry skin and color change
Urine and bladder changes and kidney problems
Weight changes
Chemo brain, which can affect concentration and focus
Mood changes
Changes in libido and sexual function
Fertility problems
Not only that, but there are plenty more, much longer-term side effects that aren’t mentioned here.
Shiitake mushrooms, while they’re most definitely not some magical cancer cure, they still provide some valuable support in the fight against cancer…
Whether or not you, or anyone you know has cancer, you probably, at some point, heard of the famous, industry-leading cancer center known as Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center… Not only is it considering a leading center in the industry, as we said, but it’s also one of the top centers in the entire world when it comes to incredible, cutting-edge cancer research.
Anyway, Sloan-Kettering has studied the shiitake mushroom in great detail and, at some point, actually managed to isolate one of it’s many active compounds… This particular substance goes by the name of lentinan. Which is a form of beta-glucan, which is a certain class of molecules that has proven time and time again that it has an entire package of anti-cancer benefits.
Shiitake mushrooms are really great, more people should be eating them, spread the word!
