Mushrooms in skin care, really? Yes! This might seem strange, but mushrooms offer a FANTASTIC way to boost energy production, which in turn slows down aging.

This past week, I talked about the role of energy in aging. To review, you need energy for DNA repair. If your cells lack the energy to repair DNA, you age faster.

I’d like to end this topic with an intro to one of my favorite skin care ingredients. (The others discussed so far are Vitamin C and Grape Seed/Resveratrol.)

It’s called ERGOTHIONEINE. (Pronounced er-go-thigh-o-neen.)

Ergothioneine is a naturally occurring amino acid – a powerful antioxidant that protects mitochondria from the free radicals that are generated during energy production. It also repairs damage to mitochondrial DNA.

Like every other living thing, mitochondria get old. So reducing damage to mitochondria is an important anti-aging strategy. Healthy mitochondria produce more energy.

So where does ergothioneine stack up compared to other antioxidants? It is more effective at inhibiting lipid peroxidation than Coenzyme Q10 or Ubiquinone (antioxidant ingredients that are more commonly found in skin care products).

How to Get Ergothioneine

1). The easiest way, EAT MUSHROOMS! Mushrooms are the richest natural source of Ergothioneine. All kinds! Fresh or dried. They also happen to be a good source of protein. (fyi – Ergothioneine is an amino acid, which is what protein is made of.)

2). Ergothioneine can be found in some professional skin care lines. It is called by a different name on an ingredient list, its trade name Thiotaine.