10 hours Ago By Zena le Roux
Ergothioneine (ERGO), a potent antioxidant made by fungi and soil microbes, is making waves in the world of nutrition. However, many may wonder what it actually is. Fungi are a vital source of ERGO and typically grow in the rich, healthy soil of forests.
Robert Beelman, a professor of food science and director of the Center for Plant and Mushroom Foods for Health at Penn State University, has advanced the understanding of ERGO. “ERGO is actually an amino acid, but not one that’s found in proteins,” Beelman told The Epoch Times. Unlike other amino acids that build proteins, ERGO acts as an antioxidant with special benefits for brain and organ health.
This is one reason why ERGO is linked to aging and cognitive health, and why it stands apart from other amino acids. ERGO levels in human blood naturally decline with age, but decrease even more rapidly in people with cognitive decline. Beelman highlighted that people with low levels of ERGO in their blood face a higher risk of developing chronic neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease.
Beelman and his team have estimated ERGO consumption across five countries—the United States, France, Finland, Ireland, and Italy. “Our findings showed a strong association between higher ERGO consumption and longer life expectancy, as well as a reduced risk of Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s disease,” Beelman noted. The answer lies in modern farming practices—how our food system prioritizes affordability and crop yield over the health of consumers, plants, animals, and the environment, according to Beelman.
“Healthy soil is the foundation of healthy plants,” Alison Steiber, a registered dietitian with a doctorate in human nutrition, told The Epoch Times. Modern agricultural practices often rely on chemical additions to control pests and diseases, but these chemicals can harm the microbial populations in the soil that plants rely on for nutrition, said Steiber. These practices also reduce the organic matter in soil, lowering its ability to retain water and making the soil more susceptible to drought, she added.
ERGO is only made in nature by fungi, cyanobacteria—blue-green algae—and a few bacteria, Beelman said. Since mushrooms are the part of fungi that release spores to reproduce, they are by far the richest source of ERGO in our food supply, he added. “I’ve seen firsthand over the past 50 years the relentless drive to improve crop yields, often at the cost of long-term health.
The focus on yield, without considering nutritional quality, has likely contributed to poor health outcomes and rising health care costs. Someone needs to step up to help bring about change.”.
