Can mushrooms hold back dementia?

Scientists have found that people who ate more than two 150g portions of mushrooms a week were
half as likely to suffer with Mild Cognitive Impairment (MCI).  MCI is a transition phase between normal ageing and dementia, and can affect memory, attention and spatial awareness.

Researchers from the National University of Singapore believe on of the compounds in mushrooms, called Ergothioneine, can help protect the brain from ageing.  A previous study found levels were lower among patients with MCI.

Dr Lei Feng, who led this research, said "the correlation is surprising and encouraging. It seems that a commonly available single ingredient could have a dramatic effect on cognitive decline. Based on current evidence, we propose that mushroom consumption could be a potential preventive measure to slow cognitive decline and neurodegeneration in ageing."

Up to 2.4million Brits are thought to be living with MCI, and 850,000 with Dementia!!!

According to the Alzheimer's website

The word ‘dementia’ describes a set of symptoms that may include memory loss and difficulties with thinking, problem-solving or language.
These changes are often small to start with, but for someone with dementia they have become severe enough to affect daily life.
A person with dementia may also experience changes in their mood or behaviour.
Dementia is caused when the brain is damaged by diseases, such as Alzheimer's Disease or a series of strokes. Alzheimer’s disease is the most common cause of dementia, but not the only one.
The specific symptoms that someone with dementia experiences will depend on the parts of the brain that are damaged and the disease that is causing the dementia.