Health Benefits
Discover the remarkable power of mushrooms, nature’s secret to holistic well-being! Packed with essential nutrients, antioxidants, and immune-boosting properties, our range of mushroom products unlocks a world of health benefits.
Health Benefits Of Mushrooms
From enhancing vitality and supporting cognitive function to fortifying the immune system and promoting overall wellness, let mushrooms be your ally on the path to a healthier, happier you.
Mushrooms possess a variety of medicinal benefits, thanks to their unique nutritional composition and bioactive compounds. Take the flavor profile of mushrooms referred to as “Umami”, a flavor also found in soy sauce, aged cheese, kimchi, Worcestershire sauce, and miso. A Japanese word meaning “Essence of Deliciousness”, umami is the fifth taste, joining sweet, sour, salty, and bitter. Foods that impart the umami flavor are high in glutamate, an amino acid (they are the building blocks of protein). Our bodies potentially need more glutamate after high-stress physical exercise and mental/emotional stress. The main amino acid in breast milk, glutamate, is also found in amniotic fluids. Here’s a fun fact! Taste is developed in utero, and the two flavor profiles infants are shown to prefer are sweet and umami. Foods with an umami flavor profile make an excellent meat substitute (like, for example, mushrooms)
BENEFITS
Some notable health benefits of mushrooms include:
Anti-Oxidant
Mushrooms are a powerful source of ergothioneine, an amino acid and antioxidant that prevents or slows cellular damage. Mushrooms that contain the highest amounts of ergothioneine include King oyster, maitake, oyster, and shiitake varieties. (It can also be found in black beans, red beans and oat bran.)
Anti-Cancer
Researchers found that incorporating any variety of mushrooms into your daily diet can lower your risk of cancer.
Promote Lower Cholesterol
Mushrooms make a great red meat substitute! Research shows that shiitake mushrooms are especially good at helping to keep cholesterol levels low. They contain compounds that inhibit the production of cholesterol, block cholesterol from being absorbed, and lower the overall amount of cholesterol in your blood.
Protect Brain Health
Researchers continue to study the effects of eating mushrooms on mild cognitive impairment (MCI). MCI causes memory and language difficulties and is often a precursor to Alzheimer’s disease. In a study in Singapore, participants who ate more than two cups of mushrooms a week had a 50% lower risk of developing MCI. Even those who ate only one cup saw some benefit. The mushrooms eaten by participants included lion’s mane.
Vitamin D
Mushrooms are the only produce that have a source of vitamin D. White button, portabella and cremini mushrooms provide the most vitamin D after exposure to UV light or sunlight. To get the recommended daily amount, slice three mushrooms (or one portabella), expose them to sunlight for at least 15 minutes and enjoy. Eating a little more than one cup of maitake mushrooms achieves the same goal without the need for sun exposure.
Support a Healthy Immune System
Mushrooms contain macronutrients that support a healthy immune system. Selenium, which helps your body make antioxidant enzymes to prevent cell damage.
Stimulate Healthy Gut
Mushrooms are rich in carbohydrates, like chitin, hemicellulose, β and α-glucans, mannans, xylans, and galactans, which make them the right choice for prebiotics. Mushrooms act as a prebiotics to stimulate the growth of gut microbiota, conferring health benefits to the host. Research shows that mushroom polysaccharides, their most abundant carbohydrate, stimulate the growth of healthy bacteria. While many foods break down with stomach acid, the polysaccharides found in mushrooms pass through the stomach unchanged and can reach the colon to encourage bacteria growth there.
B vitamins
Oyster mushrooms are a great source of the Vitamin B group, with the exception of B12. Shiitake is one of the few mushrooms with elevated B12. 50g of dried Shiitake will meet your daily requirements. Shiitake mushrooms are also the best choice for vitamin B6, which helps your body form red blood cells, proteins and DNA.
Disclaimer
If you are introducing a new mushroom into your diet for the first time and are on medications, please read this – Tinctures, Mushrooms & Medications.
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