Men who eat mushrooms have a lower incidence of prostate cancer, a study suggests.
A Japanese study found that mushrooms are especially useful for people over 50, who eat a lot of meat and dairy products, but few vegetables and fruits, the Daily Mail reported.
Those who ate mushrooms once or twice a week were eight percent less likely to develop prostate cancer than those who did not eat mushrooms, according to the study, published in the International Journal of Cancer.
She pointed out that those who eat mushrooms three or more times a week have a 17% reduction in the disease.
Prostate cancer is one of the most common diseases affecting men, with more than 1.2 million new cases reported in 2018, and the risk of developing the disease increases with age.
One in eight men in Britain is expected to develop prostate cancer at some point in their lives.
Mushrooms are widely used in Asia for their nutritional benefits and for medical purposes.
"Studies of living cells have shown that mushrooms can prevent prostate cancer," said Shu Zhang, a teacher at the School of Public Health at Tohoku University in Japan, who led the study.