Eating
mushrooms may slow mental decline: NUS study
SINGAPORE
- Eating more mushrooms could help keep mental decline at bay, a new study of
more than 600 Singaporeans aged 60 and above has showed.
Researchers
from the National University of Singapore (NUS) found that participants who ate
more than two servings of mushrooms a week - equivalent to 300g or about half a
plate - were 57 per cent less likely to have mild cognitive impairment compared
with those who ate less than one portion a week.
The
study was conducted between 2011 and 2017.
Announcing
the findings on Tuesday (March 12), Dr Irwin Cheah, a senior research fellow at
NUS' Department of Biochemistry, said this could be because mushrooms contain
high levels of a compound known as ergothioneine.
The
compound acts as an antioxidant and an anti-inflammatory agent, and can protect
brain cells from damage, Dr Cheah said.
In
a separate 2016 study also involving Dr Cheah , the researcher found that
having a deficiency of the compound could be a risk factor for
neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's.
"Humans cannot
synthesise this compound, but it can be obtained from dietary sources," he
explained.
Dr Cheah said the
researchers measured a range of foods and found that many, including beans and
liver, contain low levels of the compound.
Mushrooms, which are able to
synthesise ergothioneine, were found to have very high levels of it.
The study was part of the
wider Diet and Healthy Ageing research done in Singapore.
Those who were diagnosed
with dementia or other serious mental conditions were excluded from the
mushroom study.
The participants were asked
to report their regular diets, including the intake of six types of mushrooms
commonly eaten in Singapore: golden mushrooms, oyster mushrooms, shiitake
mushrooms, white button mushrooms, dried mushrooms and canned mushrooms.
The researchers also
controlled the intake of other foods known to be correlated with cognitive
function, such as vegetables, fruit and nuts.
The participants then took
tests designed to measure cognitive abilities like memory and how quickly they
can process information.
The scores were controlled
for age and education levels.
Those who scored less than 1.5
standard deviations below the mean score of participants with similar ages and
education levels were determined to have mild cognitive impairment.
About 90 out of the 663
participants fell into this category.
Mild cognitive impairment is
the intermediate stage between normal cognitive decline, associated with
ageing, and dementia, which is more serious and has no cure.
The study's principal
investigator, Assistant Professor Feng Lei, said: "With the increasing
number of seniors, we can expect to see a potential dementia tsunami in the
future. The good news is that cognitive decline can be managed."
Prof Feng, who is from NUS'
Department of Psychological Medicine, said people with mild cognitive
impairment can still perform most normal functions, and that the rate of
decline can be slowed through dietary and other lifestyle interventions.
Tests showed that this group
had lower levels of ergothioneine in their bloodstreams, which also correlated
with their lower intake of mushrooms.
Prof Feng added that the
researchers plan to conduct a clinical trial on the potential benefits of pure
ergothioneine alone or in combination with other nutrients derived from plants
in delaying cognitive decline.
If it is successful, the
research could lead to the development of a supplement in future.
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