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07.10.2021

Are men (and steroids users) less likely to get covid if they eat 2 mushrooms a day?

Hormones that work via the androgen receptor make cells more vulnerable to SARS-CoV2, as the coronavirus is officially called. Adding a limited amount of ordinary white button mushrooms to the diet may counteract this negative immunological effect of androgens.

Covid & androgens
Natural and synthetic androgenic hormones activate the enzyme TMPRSS2, which plays a direct and perhaps indirect role in the process by which the coronavirus enters cells. That may explain why men are more likely to get covid than women, and why the coronavirus has probably also wreaked havoc among pharmacological athletes.

Epidemiologists have discovered that edible mushrooms reduce the risk of prostate cancer. The mechanism behind this protective effect may be that mushrooms - like common mushrooms - down-regulate TMPRSS2.

Study
Oncologists at the American Beckman Research Institute implanted mice with pellets that released the androgenic hormone DHT. Androgenic hormones such as DHT, testosterone and other steroid anabolics activate TMPRSS2 through the androgen receptor.

Some of the mice also received the antiandrogen enzalutamide. Another part of the test animals was given a freeze-dried extract of mushrooms. If the mice had been adult humans and had been given fresh mushrooms instead of mushroom powder, they would have consumed 2-3 mushrooms daily.

Results
The researchers studied the effect of mushrooms in various tissues, and discovered that mushrooms mainly had an effect in the lungs. In lung tissue, mushrooms blocked the action of androgenic hormones. Through this pathway, mushrooms blocked the increase in TMPRSS2 by DHT, as well as the increase in ACE2 receptors.

The figure below is incomplete. Click it for a full version.

Conclusion
"The data reported here suggest that white button mushrooms could be a useful dietary intervention in the COVID-19 pandemic", the researchers write.

"Our clinical trial [Cancer. 2015 Sep 1;121(17):2942-50.] using white button mushrooms with prostate cancer patients determined that a dose level of up to 14 g white button mushrooms powder/day (equal to 140 g fresh white button mushrooms) resulted in minimal side effects, mostly limited to abdominal bloating. White button mushrooms intervention is considered safe with patient compliance at 98.6%."

"However, studies with animal models designed specifically for COVID-19 and trials on COVID-19-infected patients will be needed to confirm white button mushrooms' efficacy."

Source:
NPJ Sci Food. 2021 Aug 2;5(1):20.

More:
Why you'll be sick less often if you eat 100g white button mushrooms every day 04.12.2017
White button mushrooms: an immunological weapon with a safety catch 25.10.2017
Button mushrooms make immune defences more alert 11.02.2009

Archives:
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