Mushrooms and Cancer Treatment:
A Natural Ally?
Then settle in for this week’s edition of Weekly Mind Watering!
Three Key Takeaways from the Study
Certain mushrooms are believed to stimulate the body’s natural process of apoptosis, or cell death.
This might sound scary, but it’s actually essential for eradicating abnormal cells likely to become cancerous or precancerous.
Some mushrooms, like Turkey Tail and Maitake, have shown promise in modulating the immune system.
What does that mean, exactly?
It means these mushrooms may be useful for both:
Sometimes our bodies don’t respond as quickly or aggressively to internal threats as we’d like.
This study found promising evidence that certain mushrooms can enhance the immune system’s ability to detect and eliminate harmful and abnormal cells.
On the other hand, sometimes our immune systems are overactive, or target the wrong areas in our bodies.
Fighting against excessive or unnecessary immune responses can be beneficial for not only fighting cancer, but also improving autoimmune diseases.
Interestingly, researchers discovered the effects of mushrooms work synergistically with conventional chemotherapy medications.
That means mushrooms aren’t just effective alone – they could actually supercharge top chemo treatments to make them even more effective at fighting cancer.
Researchers are excited to explore this natural alliance further and are urging other oncologists to do the same.
A Deeper Dive:
From Cell Growth to Tumor Reduction
Many participants in these studies reported not just a halt in tumor growth but also a noticeable reduction in tumor size.
The compounds in mushrooms like Maitake and Reishi appear to interact with cancer cells in ways that science is just beginning to understand.
The compounds within these fungi seem to awaken a spectrum of cellular responses, leading to what many researchers describe as a “potential paradigm shift in how we approach cancer treatment.”
Final Thoughts 🧠
The science behind medicinal mushrooms is growing by the day.
With continued research and growing understanding, mushrooms might soon find their rightful place in the pantheon of cancer treatment.
Until then, be sure to consult your doctor before adding new ‘shrooms to your supplement stack.
And if you’re still curious about fungi’s cancer-fighting power…
Check out:
Immune Modulation From Five Major Mushrooms: Application to Integrative Oncology
