Higher Mushroom Consumption Associated with Lower Cancer Risk

Acupuncture in Exeter: a higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower cancer risk.

Research by Penn State College of Medicine in the US, suggests that a higher mushroom consumption is associated with a lower cancer risk. Seventeen observational studies looking at mushroom intake and cancer risk, published between 1966 and 2020, were included in the systematic review and meta-analysis.

Higher mushroom intake was associated with lower overall cancer risk, and with lower breast cancer risk in particular, although the latter could simply reflect the smaller number of studies on prostate, liver, stomach, ovarian and colorectal cancers. To put it into figures, a dose-response meta-analysis indicated that a mushroom consumption of 18 g per day, was associated with a 45% lower risk of total cancer, compared with zero dietary intake.

The authors speculate that the beneficial effects of mushrooms  may stem from antioxidant properties imparted by the ergothioneine and glutathione found in mushrooms.

(Higher Mushroom Consumption Is Associated with Lower Risk of Cancer: A Systematic Review and Meta-Analysis of Observational Studies. Advances in Nutrition, 16 March 2021.)

A Greener Front Garden Helps You to Feel Relaxed

A greener front garden helps you to feel relaxed Making your front garden greener, can help you to feel more happy, relaxed, and closer to nature. A four year collaborative project carried out by the universities of Sheffield, Westminster and Virginia, with the Royal Horticultural Society, looked at adding plants to previously bare front gardens in deprived streets of Greater Manchester.

A greener front garden helps you to feel relaxed Forty-two residents received a tree, a shrub (azalea), a climber (clematis), lavender, rosemary, spring bulbs, plus enough bedding plants to fill two containers. A second, control group of residents, received the same plants one year later. The researchers tracked residents’ cortisol levels before and after the planting, to use as an indicator of their stress levels.

A greener front garden helps you to feel relaxed Before the experiment, 24% of residents had healthy cortisol patterns. Over the course of the year following the plantings, this increased to 53% of residents. Additionally residents’ perceived stress levels decreased by 6% once the plants had been introduced. More than half (52%) of residents said their front garden contributed to them feeling happier; 40% said it helped them to feel more relaxed and a quarter said it helped them feel closer to nature.

Dr Lauriane Suyin Chalmin-Pui, who conducted the experiment as part of her PhD research said, “We now have further evidence of the vital need to incorporate plants into our front gardens and domestic spaces. The stress reduction data is startling, in that there was such a significant response with a relatively small number of plants. Now we know that access to a tiny patch of nature has beneficial effects for our health.”

(RHS Website, accessed 8 March 2021.) 

Reduced Risk of Memory Loss Associated with Fruit and Vegetable Consumption

Acupuncture in Exeter: fruit, vegetables, protein & cereal are all associated with better memory. A study by the University of Technology Sydney, of 139 000 adults aged 45 and over, reveals associations between food groups, memory loss and heart disease. A high consumption of fruit, vegetable and protein-rich foods was found to be associated with lower risk of deteriorating memory. A high consumption of fruit and vegetables was also associated with lower risk of comorbid heart disease. People aged 80 and over, with low cereal consumption, had the highest risk of memory loss and comorbid heart disease compared with people in other age groups.

(Eating and healthy ageing: a longitudinal study on the association between food consumption, memory loss and its comorbidities. International Journal of Public Health, online 12 February 2020.)

Walnuts Benefit Gut Biome and Heart Health

Walnuts and gut biome and heart health. Researchers at Pennsylvania State University looking at walnuts and the gut biome, have found that eating walnuts daily as part of a healthy diet, leads to increases in certain beneficial gut bacteria associated with improvements in some risk factors for heart disease. Forty-two adults aged 30 to 65 and already identified as at risk from cardiovascular disease, were put on randomised, crossover diet trials. For the first fortnight, they consumed a standard western diet. There then followed three different six week diets to test the effects of walnuts. The walnut diet included 57 to 99 grams per day of whole walnuts. Faecal samples were collected to analyse gut bacteria.

The team found that after the walnut diet, there were significant associations between changes in gut bacteria and risk factors for heart disease. Eubacterium eligens was inversely associated with changes in several different measures of blood pressure, suggesting that an increase in Eubacterium eligens was associated with reductions in those risk factors. Additionally, greater numbers of Lachnospiraceae were associated with reductions in blood pressure, total cholesterol, and non-HDL cholesterol.

Kristina Petersen, assistant research professor, said “Replacing your usual snack, especially if it’s an unhealthy snack, with walnuts is a small change you can make to improve your diet. Substantial evidence shows that small improvements in diet greatly benefit health. Eating two to three ounces of walnuts a day as part of a healthy diet could be a good way to improve gut health and reduce the risk of heart disease.”

(Walnuts and Vegetable Oils Containing Oleic Acid Differentially Affect the Gut Microbiota and Associations with Cardiovascular Risk Factors: Follow-up of a Randomized, Controlled, Feeding Trial in Adults at Risk for Cardiovascular Disease. The Journal of Nutrition, 18 December 2019.)

Marathon Training Improves Blood Pressure & Arterial Health

Marathon training. The headline above is unlikely to surprise you. However, researchers at University College London, found that just six months of training for a first marathon, resulted in an aorta (the main artery from the heart) with a flexibility equivalent to that of someone four years younger. The greatest benefits were reaped by older, slower, male marathon runners with higher baseline blood pressure.

The researchers selected 138 healthy, first-time marathon runners, mean age 37, from the 2016 and 2017 London Marathon. They examined the participants before training and after marathon completion to determine whether age-related aortic stiffening would be reversible with real-world exercise training. Assessments included blood pressure, and aortic stiffness by cardiovascular MRI. Training schedules equated to between 6 and 13 miles per week.

Training decreased systolic and diastolic blood pressure by 4 and 3 mmHg respectively. Aortic stiffness reduced with training, with increases in distensibility of up to 9%. This amounted to the equivalent of an almost four-year reduction in ‘aortic age’. Older patients had greater changes, with males and those running slower marathon times deriving greatest benefit.

Dr Charlotte Manisty of the UCL Institute of Cardiovascular Science & Barts Heart Centre said, “Our study shows it is possible to reverse the consequences of aging on our blood vessels with real-world exercise in just six months. These benefits were observed in overall healthy individuals across a broad age range and their marathon times are suggestive of achievable exercise training in novice participants.”

(Marathon running makes arteries younger and lowers blood pressure. UCL News, accessed online 8 January 2020.
Training for a First-Time Marathon Reverses Age-Related Aortic Stiffening. Journal of the American College of Cardiology, January 2020.)