Researchers from Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health in Baltimore, Maryland, have been conducting a year-long trial to gauge the health benefits of white button mushrooms.
The randomised clinical trial of 73 adults, mostly women, found that those who ate 128g (1 cup) of Agaricus bisporus a day in place of meat consumed 123 calories and 4.25g of fat less than the subject who continued to eat meat.
The mushroom-eaters lost an average of 3kg, and also showed improvements in body composition. Low in energy density – the opposite of meat – mushrooms fill you up without adding pounds.
A case control study of 2,018 women in 2009 also showed a correlation between feasting on fungi and a decreased risk of breast cancer.
Women who ate fresh mushrooms daily were 64 per cent less likely to develop the disease – while those who also drank green tea regularly saw the risk drop by nearly 90 per cent.