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Mushrooms lower risk of prostate cancer?

If you go down to the woods today you're sure of a big surprise.  Mushrooms.

A new study published in the International Journal of Cancer has found an inverse relationship between mushroom consumption and the development of prostate cancer among middle-aged and elderly Japanese men, suggesting that regular mushroom intake might help to prevent prostate cancer.

A total of 36,499 men, aged 40 to 79 years who participated in the Miyagi Cohort Study in 1990 and in the Ohsaki Cohort Study in 1994 were followed for a median of 13.2 years. During follow-up, 3.3% of participants developed prostate cancer.

Compared with mushroom consumption of less than once per week, consumption once or twice a week was associated with an 8% lower risk of prostate cancer and consumption three or more times per week was associated with a 17% lower risk.

So what to look out for? Is there any particular type of mushroom that produces a better outcome?

“Since information on mushroom species was not collected, it is difficult to know
which specific mushroom(s) contributed to our findings. Also, the mechanism of the beneficial effects of mushrooms on prostate cancer remains uncertain,” says lead author Shu Zhang, PhD, of the Tohoku University School of Public Health, in Japan.




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