Nine mushroom research abstracts were presented at Experimental Biology this week, which found:
- Weight Loss and Maintenance: A one-year, randomized clinical trial found that substituting white button mushrooms for red meat can be a useful strategy for enhancing and maintaining weight loss.1 (Lawrence Cheskin, M.D., F.A.C.P., Department of Health, Behavior and Society at Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, MD)
- Better Diet Quality: Mushroom consumption is associated with better diet quality and increased intake of some nutrients according to an analysis of adult participants of the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES 2001-2010).2 (Carol O'Neil, Ph.D., R.D., Louisiana State University, Agricultural Center, Baton Rouge, LA)
- Vitamin D levels: Randomized studies of healthy adults show that eating dried white button mushroom extract containing vitamin D2 can be as effective at increasing and maintaining vitamin D levels (25-hydroxyvitamin D) as taking supplemental vitamin D2 or vitamin D3.3,4,5 (Michael F. Holick PhD., M.D. Department of Medicine, Section Endocrinology, Nutrition And Diabetes, Boston University Medical Center)
- Impact on Immunity:
Results from a human nutrition intervention show that supplementing the diet with one or two servings of dried shiitake mushrooms is immuno-modulatory and suggests positive impact on human immunity.6,7 Additional research presented establishes further need for sharing widely the health benefits, including immunity, of consuming mushrooms.8 (Susan Percival, Ph.D., Food Science & Human Nutrition Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, FL)
Dietary supplementation of white button mushrooms in mice may enhance the adaptive immunity response to salmonella, at least in part.9 (Dayong Wu, M.D., Ph.D., Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging at Tufts University, Boston, MA)