Think about it, your brain’s important – from day-to-day function to your actual personality. It needs to run on premium fuel and under optimum conditions for maximum performance so that your life is the very best it can be.
Your brain actually needs quite a lot of things to work properly: carbohydrates, protein, vitamins and minerals.
Enter the humble mushroom! It’s brain food at its very best, containing carbs, protein – yes, protein – and a healthy array of vitamins, minerals and antioxidants.
According to Harvard’s The Nutrition Source, mushrooms are a source of B-vitamins, which help produce energy in the brain, as well as neurochemicals for brain signalling, and may even reduce rates of brain shrinkage in those with memory issues.
Mushrooms are also the only significant plant source of vitamin D, which can help clear Alzheimer plaques from the brain, help to synthesise neurotransmitters and act to improve mood.
There’s also selenium, that protects against the damages of oxidative stress; and copper, which plays a role in making feel-good dopamine, norepinephrine, and neuropeptides.
There’s a lot more, but suffice it to says mushrooms are pro-brain with zero back-end mind games. They’re good for you, good for your overall health, and good for your brain. Period! And the science backs it up.
“Researchers continue to uncover how mushrooms can ward off chronic disease and improve your everyday health,” notes UCLA Health.
In one Singapore study looking at the effects of eating mushrooms on mild cognitive impairment (MCI), which causes memory and language difficulties and is often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease, the data shows that “participants who ate more than two cups of mushrooms a week had a 50 percent lower risk of developing MCI. Even those who ate only one cup saw some benefit. The mushrooms eaten by participants included golden, oyster, shiitake and white button mushrooms.”
So into the trolley goes that punnet of white buttons as you zoom around the fresh produce aisle, right?
Another incentive to include more fungi in your meals is a 2022 Spanish study that concluded: “Diets supplemented with either white button or portobello mushrooms showed great potential in reducing oxidative stress markers in the brain, and they seem to do this through a modulation of the microbiota towards a healthier composition. The combination of physical activity and a healthy diet supplemented with Agaricus mushrooms may significantly contribute to the cognitive health of the general population.”
Agaricus is the name for the strain of edibles mushrooms that includes white button, portabellini and portabello mushrooms – the types most easy to find on South African supermarket shelves.
A further study by the University of Reading published last year in the National Library of Medicine found that “mushroom consumers displayed better cognitive performance than non-consumers across multiple cognitive domains.
“This relationship was observed to be dose-dependent, with those consuming one or more portions per week showing the highest cognitive scores. These findings suggest that regular mushroom consumption may be beneficial for cognitive function during ageing.”
This means eating more mushrooms is an easy, delicious and cost-effective addition to any anti-ageing regime, so you might as well add your fungi-of-choice to soups and stews, salads, sauces and side dishes. Go to https://bit.ly/31Tza3V for a whole host of marvellous mushroom meals.
Maybe choose something celebratory for Brain Awareness Week, which runs from 10 – 16 March this year, and is a global campaign to “foster public enthusiasm and support for brain science.”
We’re all-in with the mindful mushrooms vibe. Cauli Rice & Roasted Mushroom Dinner Bowls with Herb Vinaigrette https://rebrand.ly/5eb053 are served!
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