Mushrooms were once considered as just as an additional ingredient in a more spectacular dish, but now things have changed and they have become culinary stars.
Mushroom lovers – known as mycophiles – might have even more reasons to celebrate. Although mushrooms were once thought to be nutritional nothings, scientists are unearthing a variety of health benefits.
Emerging research suggests they might enhance the immune system; fight infections; and even offer protection against diabetes, heart disease and certain cancers.
The U.S. Department of Agriculture has released new nutrient data for the seven most commonly eaten mushrooms, revealing some surprising levels of nutrients, including fiber; B vitamins; and the minerals selenium, potassium and copper.
Recent studies show that mushrooms are packed with anti-oxidants – even more so than deeply hued vegetables such as carrots and tomatoes. Anti-oxidants repel free radicals, the damaging molecules in the body that are thought to promote cancer and other diseases. When growing or just-picked mushrooms are exposed to ultraviolet light, the vitamin-D content soars – making them an unlikely but significant source of the bone-building nutrient.
Many of the medicinal qualities of mushrooms are traced to beta glucans – the same type of fiber that gives oatmeal its cholesterol-lowering abilities. Increasingly, beta glucans in mushrooms are garnering attention for stimulating immune responses and activating cells that attack cancer.
Often thought of as a vegetable, mushrooms are fungi – in a class of their own, somewhere mysteriously between a plant and an animal. To obtain nutrients, fungi are totally dependent on their environment – most often a dead tree, a rotting log or compost for cultivated mushrooms.
Researchers have found that changes to the compost or soil can alter the nutrient content of mushrooms, creating opportunities to enrich them with calcium, selenium and other nutrients.
Experts think the survival skills of fungi might be a clue to the bundle of benefits locked inside. Mushrooms contain compounds to fight off potential invaders and to keep them from rotting.
That might be why mushrooms offer similar protection to us when we eat them. It’s not a far-fetched concept, considering that the lifesaving antibiotic penicillin was derived from a fungus.
Via : The Columbus Dispatch
