Eating mushrooms could lower the risk of depression — study

A new study published in the Journal of Affective Disorders came up with a finding that eating mushrooms could lower the risk of depression. The Penn State team based their research on the fact that mushrooms contain numerous bioactive compounds that may be associated with reduced anxiety — vitamin B12, antioxidants, and anti-inflammatory agents.

Data were collected from more than 24,000 U.S. adults from 2005 to 2016. Researchers looked at two days of dietary recall to assess how often participants were consuming mushrooms.

It turned out that those participants who reported eating moderate-to-high levels of mushrooms (median intake from 4.9 g/d to 19.6 g/d) over the course of the two days had lower odds of depression, as compared to those who ate low or no amounts of mushrooms.

One of the limitations of the study is that there is no information on specific types of mushrooms consumed by participants. But it seems like any edible mushroom — around 4% of all mushrooms — will be good to fight mental illness.