white button mushroom study...

I remember HR talking about the importance of a dendretic cell response while on TX and it was in regards to why he didn't think it a good idea to take anti inflammatory herbs while on TX (possibility of it slowing down dendretic cell response.)  I'm not claiming to deeply understand any of this but when HR speaks, I listen...then I find an interpreter. :>)
Anyway, I read this study about button mushrooms and thought it sounded like it might good idea to eat some while on treatment, especially in the first weeks when a fast response is so important.   I have also read that is important to cook them and not eat them raw.  Apparently there is a toxin in the raw mushroom that is gone when you cook them. Sometime I cook them in the microwave and then sprinkle olive oil and garlic powder on them.  Salt is a nice addition for those that can have it.  No salt for Joe though.
Ev
Ars: Researchers Study Benefits of White Button Mushrooms
M2 Communications

07-29-10


Mushrooms are among the many foods thought to play an important role in keeping the immune system healthy. Now, Agricultural Research Service (ARS)-funded scientists have conducted an animal-model and cell-culture study showing that white button mushrooms enhanced the activity of critical cells in the body's immune system. In the United States, white button mushrooms represent 90 percent of the total mushrooms consumed.

The study was conducted at the Jean Mayer USDA Human Nutrition Research Center on Aging (HNRCA) at Tufts University by center director Simin Meydani, colleague Dayong Wu, and others. The results suggest that white button mushrooms may promote immune function by increasing production of antiviral and other proteins that are released by cells while seeking to protect and repair tissue.

Wu and co-investigators are with the HNRCA Nutritional Immunology Laboratory in Boston, Mass. The study's cell-culture phase showed that white button mushrooms enhanced the maturity of immune system cells called "dendritic cells," from bone marrow. Dendritic cells can make T cells-important white blood cells that can recognize and eventually deactivate or destroy antigens on invading microbes.

When immune system cells are exposed to disease-causing pathogens, such as bacteria, the body begins to increase the number and function of immune system cells, according to Meydani. People need an adequate supply of nutrients to produce an adequate defense against the pathogen. The key is to prevent deficiencies that can compromise the immune system.

The study appears in a 2008 issue of The Journal of Nutrition.

Read more about this and other research related to improving health through nutrition in the July 2010 issue of Agricultural Research magazine, available online at: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/AR/archive/jul10/immunity0710.htm.

ARS is the principal intramural scientific research agency of the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA).

CONTACT: Rosalie Marion Bliss, ARS News Service Agricultural Research Service, USDA Tel: [phone] e-mail: rosalie.***@**** WWW: http://www.ars.usda.gov/is/pr ARS News Service, Information Staff, Agricultural Research Service Tel: [phone] Fax: [phone] e-mail: ***@**** WWW: http://www.ars.usda.gov/news

[carol411]

It's always nice when something I enjoy eating shows up on a list as something that I should be eating.  Thank you, Evangelin.

Carol