Scientists have found that mushrooms have the ability to protect the body from cancer cells. Among all the medicinal mushrooms active against tumors, the most studied is shiitake mushroom. Today it is one of the most studied mushrooms. According to American scientists, modern science has more than 40 thousand publications in the world on the properties of shiitake, as well as many monographs and scientific articles. Today shiitake is rightfully called "the mushroom of longevity", "the mushroom of eternal youth", "the elixir of life". In Japan, shiitake is traditionally included in the main diet. And now mushroom extract in this country is included in the diet of patients undergoing chemotherapy.
Shiitake mushrooms contain the substance lentinan, which stimulates the immune system to protect against the development of cancer cells. For example, it is known that Japanese peasants who often use shiitake are twice as likely to develop stomach cancer than those who do not. And studies conducted at Japanese universities confirm this and show that taking mushroom extracts increases the number and activity of immune cells that destroy cancer cells, including inside the tumor itself.