Italy’s ‘mushroom armor’ a gamechanger for aging Americans?
On its own, getting older isn’t a disease… or a condition that needs to be FIXED.
But if you’re getting “up there” in years, you ARE in the crosshairs for certain so-called “diseases of aging.”
The good news is that those are BY NO MEANS a fait accompli.
You can live well into your “golden years” without being TAKEN DOWN by devastating, age-related conditions.
I’m talking about Alzheimer’s… cancer… skin damage… and more.
If you’re over 60… there’s a trick to GUARDING yourself from the ravages of time that you need to know about.
It’s a way to fight aging on a CELLULAR level… and it comes from one of the most MEDICINAL types of foods out there!
An antioxidant with a backstage pass to your body
Older folks in countries like France and Italy have a secret that helps REDUCE their incidents of age-related neurodegenerative conditions, like memory loss.
Turns out those aging populations include MORE of a certain ingredient in their diets.
If you eat MORE of the foods that contain this substance… it could open the door to aging more GRACEFULLY.
And in more ways than one.
I’m talking about the substance L-ergothioneine, or EGT for short.
It’s technically an amino acid found in fungi… like certain types of mushrooms.
But it’s earned the reputation of being a kind of “longevity vitamin”… even though it hasn’t OFFICIALLY joined the “alphabet” of more commonly used and widely known vitamins like A, B, C, D, E, and K.
Unfortunately, our levels of this anti-aging amino acid DECREASE as we get older…
Especially past the age of 60.
And LOWER levels of it have been associated with a GREATER incidence of cognitive decline.
But ADDING L-ergothioneine has been shown to DELAY neurodegeneration… and even PROTECT those neural pathways!
That’s not all…
Because this mushroom secret could also help keep another age-related disease at bay – cancer.
A long-term study published just last year showed STUNNING results in reducing guys’ risk of prostate cancer when they consumed EGT as little as once or twice a week.
And their odds were improved even MORE when they consumed EGT more frequently.
This wasn’t just some little study – but MASSIVE research that spanned nearly 25 years and involved over 35,000 adult participants.
The latest to come out of the anti-aging research on EGT is an in vitro study out of Taiwan, which found that it can help keep UV skin damage at bay.
EGT works by COMBATING oxidative stress – that is, scavenging free radicals and other ROS.
And it can go DEEPER into your cells than other antioxidants… PENETRATING the mitochondria, or “powerhouses” of the cells.
In there, it can SHIELD your genetic material (a.k.a. DNA) from oxidative damage – the SAME kind of damage associated with the development of cancer and visible signs of aging.
Now, unlike other nutrients that can’t always be easily absorbed, EGT is a very special compound that our bodies were DESIGNED to embrace.
You see, people produce a type of protein that can transport EGT to exactly where it’s needed most – and this protein is so highly specific to this amino acid, it’s like a lock and key!
So we can ACCESS the powers of this compound… RETAIN it in our tissues instead of “peeing” it out… and USE it when we need it!
Fortunately, that means you can eat mushrooms… and possibly get ALL the EGT you need!
The highest amount of EGT appears to be present in porcini mushrooms… but even plain ol’ white mushrooms contain more of this anti-aging “vitamin” than most OTHER non-fungal foods do!
And cooking doesn’t seem to DRAIN them of this compound.
You can also get EGT in supplement form as part of mushroom complexes or on its own. Choose one from a quality maker you trust.
One well-studied form of EGT… called ErgoActive… is naturally fermented and received FDA GRAS status.
To foraging for a more youthful you,
Melissa Young
