At the center of the mystery is the false morel<\/b>, a brain-like mushroom with a reddish hue that looks nearly identical to the gourmet true morel, a delicacy often served in creamy sauces and risottos.<\/p>\n
Highlights<\/p>\n
- \n
- Sixteen villagers were diagnosed with ALS after years of eating toxic mushrooms once believed to be healthy<\/li>\n
- Experts discovered toxic compounds in the mushrooms break down into deadly neurotoxins<\/li>\n
- Locals believed the mushrooms had rejuvenating effects and ate them for decades<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n
BP Daily – Your Source for Balanced NewsScientists discovered the link between a luxurious mushroom dish and neurodegenerative disease<\/b><\/p>\n
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![\"Morel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/alla-kemelmakher-I5m_IGiQhyE-unsplash-68b84bc5511f8__880.jpg\" "\\"Morel")
<\/p>\nImage credits: Unsplash \/ Alla Kemelmakher<\/a><\/p>\n
But unlike its prized counterpart, the false morel contains toxic<\/a> hydrazines, which are compounds that can destroy the nervous system, and, according to French neurologist Emmeline Lagrange, may have triggered a localized ALS outbreak unlike any ever seen before.<\/p>\n
Lagrange, who works at Grenoble University Hospital, first rang the alarm after one Montchavin resident came in with symptoms of ALS: an incurable disease that progressively paralyzes<\/a> its victims.<\/p>\n
That single case turned out to be the tip of the iceberg.<\/p>\n
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![\"Gourmet](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/connie-perez-5FmHtH3WRqE-unsplash-68b84bc9c9828__880.jpg\" "\\"Gourmet")
<\/p>\nImage credits: Unsplash \/ Connie Perez<\/a><\/p>\n
Over the course of a decade, 16 villagers out of a population of just 200 people had developed ALS. The rate was so far above the global average of 2 to 3 per 100,000 per year that it stunned the medical community<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Lagrange began investigating, looking for any possible shared risk factors. Eventually, one thing stood out: every single ALS patient had consumed false morels, some of them for more than twenty years.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nImage credits: Unsplash \/ Beth Macdonald<\/a><\/p>\n
Locals told her that these mushrooms were prized for their \u201crejuvenating effects.\u201d One resident even admitted to being part of a secret group that regularly foraged for them, despite the fact that France bans<\/a> their sale and consumption.<\/p>\n
\u201cThey believed it made them feel better,\u201d Lagrange said. \u201cThat it gave them energy. That it was natural.\u201d<\/p>\n
But the consequences<\/a> were anything but.<\/p>\n
The mushroom contains a compound that metabolizes in the body as a dangerous neurotoxin<\/b><\/p>\n
Share icon<\/a>
![\"Morel](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Gyromitra-caroliniana-Mushroom-Profile-by-FUNGIWOMAN-3-68b84cf014c76-png__880.jpg\" "\\"Morel")
<\/p>\nImage credits: Fungi Woman<\/a><\/p>\n
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The connection between false morels and ALS might have stayed a local curiosity if it weren\u2019t for Dr. Peter Spencer, a neuroscientist from Oregon who has spent over four decades studying food-linked neurological disease<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Spencer had previously studied an epidemic on the island of Guam, where the indigenous Chamorro people suffered unusually high rates of ALS and dementia<\/a>.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nImage credits: Auvergne Rh\u00f4ne Alpes<\/a><\/p>\n
Eventually, he discovered that Cycad seeds were behind the symptoms. The seeds contain a toxin that metabolizes in the body as methylazoxymethanol (MAM), a compound that attacks nerve cells.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nImage credits: Unsplash \/ NCI<\/a><\/p>\n
When Lagrange shared her findings with Spencer, he immediately saw the connection. The hydrazine compounds in false morels break down into the same neurotoxin<\/a>.<\/p>\n
Spencer then joined the investigation, and the pair compared the 16 ALS patients with 48 healthy locals. Every patient with ALS had eaten false morels.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Not a single person in the control group had.<\/p>\n
Foragers often have trouble distinguishing between the true and false version of the mushroom<\/b><\/p>\n
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![\"Female](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/09\/Emmeline-Lagrange-68b84c5b1d1bd__880.jpg\" "\\"Female")
<\/p>\nImage credits: CHU Grenoble<\/a><\/p>\n
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Morels are not new to controversy. They\u2019ve long been known to cause gastrointestinal<\/a> distress, liver damage, and seizures if undercooked. But this is the first time they\u2019ve been tied to a cluster of neurodegenerative illness.<\/p>\n
The Montchavin discovery is already raising concerns internationally.<\/p>\n
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<\/p>\nImage credits: The Ohio State University<\/a><\/p>\n
In Finland, where false morels are considered a delicacy, restaurants are required to boil and rinse them multiple times before serving<\/a>.<\/p>\n
In the United States<\/a>, similar poisonings have been documented. A recent study in Michigan found numerous false morel-related hospitalizations, with symptoms ranging from vomiting to liver failure and neurological impairment.<\/p>\n
\n
Amateur foragers<\/a>, however, often have problems with distinguishing between the true and false<\/a> versions of the fungus.<\/p>\n
True morels tend to be green or gray, with hollow stems and honeycomb caps. False morels appear reddish-brown and lumpy, with a twisted, brain-like look. But to an untrained eye, they\u2019re nearly identical.<\/p>\n
The consequences of mixing them up can be irreversible.<\/p>\n
\u201cToo dangerous.\u201d Netizens reflected on the risks of eating certain types of mushrooms<\/p>\n
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