Researchers at Yale University, collaborating with researchers in Japan, report that a mushroom compound known as AHCC significantly enhances the immune system in may even help prevent cancer.
Shiitake is one of the mushrooms used in the cancer-fighting blend known as AHCC.
AHCC (Active Hexose Correlated Compound) is derived from the hybridization of several subspecies of medicinal mushrooms and has been the subject of over 80 research studies worldwide.Research demonstrates that AHCC enhances the immune system by increasing the activity of white blood cells.
For the study, healthy individuals 50 years or older took AHCC for 60 days. Before supplementation and after 30 and 60 days, scientists measured the production of two key cytokines (interferon and tumor necrosis factor), believed to play a major role in the body’s natural defense against the formation and spread of abnormal and cancerous cells. They found that the production of these cytokines increased within four weeks of taking AHCC, and that its immune-enhancing effect lasted for at least a month after stopping supplementation.
AHCC is the leading immune-enhancing supplement in Japan and is utilized by over 700hospitals and health care facilities worldwide.
Source: Medical News Today, Sept 20,2008
