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Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

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Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#3
Just a few months back there was a bunch of stuff linked here that was stating the possibility of certain cancers being fungal in origin.

Perhaps eating more fungus allows the body the protect itself from the cancer causing fungal infections?

I certainly am not a specialist...just spitballing

Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#4
A month or two after I started drinking a Reishi mushroom powder tea every morning, a decades-old chickpea-sized lump on my calf I'd long accepted I'd take to the grave with me completely disappeared. There's now a divot left behind where it used to be, covered by the brown patch of skin that slowly developed throughout the years.

Totally unscientific anecdata. It's just the introduction of Reishi tea that was the obvious new variable I could correlate with the change trying to understand why this happened. When I searched "reishi tumor" on google there were piles of results... shrug

Here's a photo of the divot, still surprised this thing is gone, almost had it surgically removed when it first appeared in my 20s:

https://pengaru.com/~vc/tmp/reishi-turns-lump-to-divot.jpg

Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#6

I still wonder what Paul Stamets was alluding to about crimini mushrooms and cancer risk on his episode of the Joe Rogan podcast where he seemed unable to talk freely

As per reddit, so take it with a grain of redd salt:

"What he doesn't want to say out loud in plain English is that agaratine containing mushrooms LIKE PORTABELLOS when consumed RAW are highly CARCINOGENIC while some compounds in white button mushrooms can help prevent and treat breast cancers agaratines can cause cancer, they are heat unstable so if cooked it's not a big risk but raw like they are served often in salads really could be causing cancer. If someone like Stamets came out and said that point blank he could be sued for making radical claims..." [0] Its reddit though and far less hand wavy for the reddit poster to also note agaratine also degrades rapidly when stored and is only theorized to be carcinogenic, the proof of which remains to be shown.[1]

[0]https://www.reddit.com/r/mycology/comments/qm3dag/can_anybod...

[1]Schulzová, V.; Hajslová, J.; Peroutka, R.; Gry, J.; Andersson, H. C. (2002). "Influence of storage and household processing on the agaritine content of the cultivated Agaricus mushroom". Food Additives and Contaminants. 19 (9): 853–62. doi:10.1080/02652030210156340. PMID 12396396. S2CID 23953741. (https://sci-hub.se/10.1080/02652030210156340)

Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#7
post #5

I understand an observational study is the best you can get, but self-selection on mushroom consumption seems an impossible to correct variable. My stereotypes would expect elevated-mushroom eaters to consume more raw food, salads, etc.

I think I remember study that compared the population in mushroom growing regions of Japan with other regions that didn't grow or eat as many mushrooms. I think they showed a similar result in cancer risk reduction, especially for the farming families with the highest consumption.

There are also studies that show the possible mechanisms behind the effect. One is PSK (used in Japan and originally isolated from shiitake) and another is turkey tail. Both are used to treat cancer by improving immune response in conjunction with other treatments.

Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#8
post #5

I understand an observational study is the best you can get, but self-selection on mushroom consumption seems an impossible to correct variable. My stereotypes would expect elevated-mushroom eaters to consume more raw food, salads, etc.

I eat cooked mushrooms with nearly every dinner. Definitely don't have much in terms of raw foods and rarely eat salad.

Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#9
post #6

I still wonder what Paul Stamets was alluding to about crimini mushrooms and cancer risk on his episode of the Joe Rogan podcast where he seemed unable to talk freely

As per reddit, so take it with a grain of redd salt: "What he doesn't want to say out loud in plain English is that agaratine containing mushrooms LIKE PORTABELLOS when consumed RAW are highly CARCINOGENIC while some compounds in white button mushrooms can help prevent and treat breast cancers agaratines can cause cancer, they are heat unstable so if cooked it's not a big risk but raw like they are served often in sa…

In general, the rule of thumb is to never eat any mushrooms raw. But there are a few exceptions, including button mushrooms. I won't eat raw mushrooms, except maybe truffles (if you really cook truffles then what's the point?).

Re: Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

#10
post #8
post #5

I understand an observational study is the best you can get, but self-selection on mushroom consumption seems an impossible to correct variable. My stereotypes would expect elevated-mushroom eaters to consume more raw food, salads, etc.

I eat cooked mushrooms with nearly every dinner. Definitely don't have much in terms of raw foods and rarely eat salad.

Could still mean you eat less red meat and/or processed meats for dinner? Also talking about populations and trends
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