Dietary Sources of the “Longevity Vitamin” Ergothioneine

What are the benefits of ergothioneine for longevity? It may be even more important to include mushrooms (or tempeh) in our diet as we age.

Note that unlike oyster mushrooms, white, crimini, portobello, shiitake, and morel mushrooms should not be eaten raw. I have a video coming out about this but wanted to give everyone a heads up.

For more on the mushroom-cancer connection, see Medicinal Mushrooms for Cancer Survival ( ).

I mentioned I may add mushrooms to my Daily Dozen checklist. You can learn all about the original checklist in my book How Not to Die ( ) or the Daily Dozen page ( ).

For more on how to live your longest, healthiest life, preorder my new book How Not to Age ( ). (As always, all proceeds I receive from all of my books ( ) are donated to charity.)

New subscribers to our e-newsletter always receive a free gift. Get yours here: .

Have a question about this video? Leave it in the comment section at and someone on the NutritionFacts.org team will try to answer it.

Want to get a list of links to all the scientific sources used in this video? Click on Sources Cited at . You’ll also find a transcript and acknowledgements for the video, my blog and speaking tour schedule, and an easy way to search (by translated language even) through our videos spanning more than 2,000 health topics.

Thanks for watching. I hope you’ll join in the evidence-based nutrition revolution!
-Michael Greger, MD FACLM

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Leroy Johnson
 

  • Xero Punt says:

    Thank you, I was ignorant of this.👍

  • Mike N says:

    I am glad that I buy a pound of shiitake every week and figure out ways to incorporate them into recipes. Thanks for this technical video.

  • Eelke Aptroot says:

    I got some oyster mushrooms ready to eat, but growing my own again is definitely a good idea!

  • andrew pawley says:

    I love this channel!

  • scot am says:

    Quality content as always

  • Abdul Sherief says:

    Superbly good! Thanks!

  • Nadine Tonn says:

    Gosh, I guess I’ll need to start including more mushrooms to my diet. I’m glad to see that porcini is high on the list as they are highly accessible and therefore, likely more affordable for all.

  • Linda Fine says:

    Excellent information and concise presentation, Dr. Greger. Thank you!

  • Linda PB says:

    Wow, a million subscribers! Congratulations, Dr. G !!💚

  • bigfriki says:

    Amazing recap. So much information packed in a short video. Thank you Dr. Greger for these. You are really helping people live healthier.

  • Ophelia Leverett says:

    Nice video. Very important information. Thank you.

  • Little Voice says:

    I hope you cover the best mushrooms to eat raw vs cooked.

    • ExplodingPsyche says:

      I don’t believe any mushrooms should be eaten raw. They need to be cooked to break down the chitin or they’re not digestible.

  • Elena Ortiz says:

    Thank you so much!! 😊

    Could you please do one video on recommendations re: taurine??

  • Jazey Razey says:

    Ah, I knew it was mushrooms before our Dr. Greger let us know what we need to get egothioneine into our systems … !! 😃 Thank you, Dr. Greger and congrats on the release of “How Not To Age” !! 🙏

  • o m says:

    I think mushrooms needs to become a new series of videos

  • Hendrik Grundling says:

    Very interesting, but two questions occur;- 1) Is ergothioneine heat stable, i.e. does steaming or cooking mushrooms destroy it, (2) Do other plant nutrients block (or accelerate) absorption of ergothioneine?

  • M T says:

    Fascinating! Thank you for the coverage <3

  • kapa0224 says:

    Thank you. I also heard that placing mushrooms in the sun for 20 mins or so doubles the amount if vitamin d level. Keep this great longevity info comin!!

  • NutritionFacts.org says:

    Dr. Greger’s next webinar, How Not to Age, is coming up on October 6. For more information and to register, go to: https://nutritionfacts.org/webinar/how-not-to-age-webinar/

    • CarnivoreOrVegan? says:

      One question, doctor. Is it advisable to eat legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas) when you have an autoimmune disease? Some nutritionists advise against consuming them due to their antinutrients and lectins.
      Thank you so much.

  • Andreas Bintoro Dewanto says:

    Excellent additional information on the benefit of mushroom

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