Eating Mushrooms a Few Times a Week Could Dramatically Reduce Dementia Risk, Says 6-Year Study

Source: Good News Network

An intriguing new study says that seniors who enjoy eating regular helpings of mushrooms with their meals may be significantly less likely to develop mild cognitive impairment (MCI).

MCI is typically viewed as the stage between the cognitive decline of normal aging and the more serious decline of dementia.

Seniors afflicted with MCI often display some form of memory loss or forgetfulness and may also show deficit on other cognitive function such as language, attention and visuospatial abilities.

However, the changes can be subtle, as they do not experience disabling cognitive deficits that affect everyday life activities, which is characteristic of Alzheimer’s and other forms of dementia.

That being said, a team from the the Yong Loo Lin School of Medicine at the National University of Singapore (NUS) has found that seniors who consume more than two standard portions of mushrooms every week could reduce their odds of experiencing mental decline by as much as 50%.

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A portion was defined as three quarters of a cup of cooked mushrooms with an average weight of around 150 grams. Two portions would be equivalent to approximately half a plate. While the portion sizes act as a guideline, it was shown that even one small portion of mushrooms a week may still be beneficial to reduce chances of MCI.

“This correlation is surprising and encouraging. It seems that a commonly available single ingredient could have a dramatic effect on cognitive decline,” said Assistant Professor Lei Feng, who is from the NUS Department of Psychological Medicine, and the lead author of this work.

The six-year study, which was conducted from 2011 to 2017, collected data from more than 600 Chinese seniors over the age of 60 living in Singapore. The results were published online in the Journal of Alzheimer’s Disease earlier this week.

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“People with MCI are still able to carry out their normal daily activities. So, what we had to determine in…

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