Eat mushrooms to prevent breast cancer

Including mushrooms in the daily diet might have a preventive effect against breast cancer. Researchers from the Beckman Research Institute, California, USA found that eating mushrooms every day could prevent new breast cancers. It has been shown that extracts of the fungi interfere with the action of aromatase, an enzyme that helps the body to make oestrogen and most breast tumours require oestrogen to grow. The researchers tested seven vegetable extracts for their aromatase-blocking activity, and found that white button mushroom had the strongest effect. The researchers evaluated 10 other types of mushrooms, and found stuffing mushrooms, portobello, crimini, shiitake and baby button mushrooms also inhibited aromatase activity. White button mushrooms are the most commonly eaten type, and the researchers tested extracts of the mushrooms in a series of laboratory and animal experiments. The extract reduced the proliferation of breast cancer cells in a lab dish, while feeding the extract to mice implanted with breast cancer cells suppressed the tumour growth. Further experiments showed that linoleic acid, a fatty acid usually found in meat and dairy products, was probably responsible for the extract's anti-cancer effects. Based on the amount of extract used in the experiments in mice, it was found that eating 100 grams of mushrooms daily would be enough to prevent breast cancer growth. The findings support the hypothesis that white button mushrooms in the diet are an important part of reducing breast cancer in women. Since mushrooms are readily available, affordable, and acceptable to the general public, they could be effective in preventing breast cancer.