Mushrooms contain unusually high amounts of two antioxidants that some scientists suggest may help fight aging and boost health, according to a team of researchers from Penn State University. In one study, researchers found that mushrooms contain high amounts of the ergothioneine and glutathione, both important antioxidants. The researchers also found that the amounts of the two compounds varied widely between mushroom species. According to the researchers, the amounts of ergothioneine and glutathione in mushrooms vary by species with the porcini species, a wild variety, having the highest amount of the two compounds of the 13 species tested. The more common mushroom types, such as the white button, had fewer antioxidants but higher amounts than most other foods. Cooking mushrooms does not seem to significantly affect the compounds.
When the body uses food to produce energy, it also causes oxidative stress because some free radicals are produced. Free radicals are oxygen atoms with unpaired electrons that cause damage to cells, proteins and even DNA as these highly reactive atoms travel through the body looking for pairs with other electrons. Replenishing antioxidants in the body can then help protect against this oxidative stress.
“There is a theory – the free radical theory of aging – that has been around for a long time that says that when we oxidize our food to produce energy, there are some free radicals that are produced as byproducts of that action and many of these are quite toxic,” said the researcher. “The body has mechanisms to control most of them, including ergothionein and glutathione, but ultimately enough to cause damage associated with many of the diseases of aging, such as cancer, coronary heart disease and Alzheimer's disease.” /P>
