Are mushrooms the anti-Alzheimer’s super food?

Mushrooms could be the food that protects you from Alzheimer’s disease, a new study claims according to Daily mail.

Scientists have found that mushrooms contain bioactive compounds that could play a role in reducing or delaying the development of neurodegeneration.

Despite the advancement of medication, the management of these diseases has remained largely ineffective.

But new research shows that properties in certain edible and medicinal mushrooms could enhance nerve  growth in the brain and protect against causes of age-related diseases.

 Previous evidence has proven that mushrooms exhibit antioxidant, antitumor, antivirus, anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, and anti-diabetic activities.

Mushrooms with anti-inflammatory properties may be used as functional foods to combating high blood pressure which contributes to many age-related chronic diseases including neurodegenerative diseases, according to researchers.

The study looked at the scientific information available on mushrooms with regards to their anti-dementia active compounds and/or pharmacological test results.

Scientists selected 11 different types of edible and medicinal mushrooms and studied their effects on mice and rat brains.

They found that each mushroom increased production of the nerve growth factor (NGF) – a molecule primarily involved in regulating growth, maintenance, proliferation and survival of certain nerve cells in the brains.

Specific mushrooms were also found to have particular brain health benefits.

Nevertheless, scientists say the effects of mushrooms on brain and cognition health are in their early stages of research compared with plant and herbal medicine, which is already widely explored and relatively more advanced.

Such past research has focused on two herbs, periwinkle and ginseng, both of which have been proven to boost cognitive function.

‘The current study might stimulate the identification of more food materials that are neuroprotective.’

The researchers concluded that, because of the rising number of those with dementia and other related diseases, it is ‘vital’ to keep exploring foods that contain health-giving additives and that have medicinal benefit.

N.H.Kh