Mushrooms Benefits: Should you eat mushrooms every day? | - Times of India (2024)

When one talks about healthy eating without compromising on the tastebuds, what’s the first delicacy that comes into your mind? For many of us, it’s mushrooms! From puffballs to truffles, mushrooms can range from everyday fare to a costly delicacy. People can buy them fresh, canned, or dried and infuse them with their choice of cuisine. To say it lightly, mushrooms make healthy meal real magic!
Whether in a spinach salad, sautéed in a stir-fry or folded into an omelette, mushrooms are a nutrient-packed treat.

Mushrooms contain selenium and ergothioneine, which are potent antioxidants. They also contain b vitamins and copper, which all support red blood cell development, contain many minerals, like potassium, copper, iron and phosphorus, that are not often found in plant-derived foods.
Another winner quality of mushrooms — there are so many interesting textures and flavours to try, from dense, meaty portobellos, to earthy hen-of-the-woods, to delicate chanterelles, which end ad adding another layer of great taste to your food. And when something adds to the taste profile along with providing numerous nutritious benefits, it’s a clear winner!

Benefits of consuming mushrooms:

Apart from jazzing up your meal, mushrooms end up elevating the health profile of the same. Here are some health benefits of mushrooms:
Cancer: Antioxidants, like many found in mushrooms, may help prevent numerous types of cancer. These can include prostate, colorectal, and breast cancer. Some researches have suggested that selenium may help prevent cancer, but a 2017 review found no evidence to confirm this. Mushrooms also contain a small amount of vitamin D. There is some evidence that vitamin D supplementation may help prevent or treat some kinds of cancer. Choline is another antioxidant in mushrooms. Some studies have suggested that consuming choline can reduce the risk of some types of cancer.

Heart health: Mushrooms can help your heart health. Mushrooms help recipes taste better in place of salt because they contain glutamate ribonucleotides. Those compounds contribute a savoury, umami taste with no ramifications for your blood pressure or heart disease risk. An entire cup of mushrooms has only 5 mg sodium! Mushrooms also make an excellent, satisfying substitute for red meat in any dish, eliminating calories, fat, and cholesterol from the equation.
Brain health: Mushrooms can protect your brain as you age. A long-term study from Spain published in 2021 found that certain foods rich in polyphenols (which include mushrooms, as well as coffee, cocoa, and red wine) may be protective against cognitive decline in older adults. Penn State researchers also found that the antioxidants ergothioneine and glutathione may help prevent Parkinson's and Alzheimer's. They recommend eating at least five button mushrooms per day to reduce your risk of neurological illness in the future. Cook the mushrooms to best preserve their nutritional benefits, either by microwaving or grilling.
Diabetes: Dietary fibre may help manage a number of health conditions, including type 2 diabetes. A 2018 review of meta-analyses concluded that people who eat a lot of fibre may have a lower risk of developing type 2 diabetes. For those who already have it, fibre may help reduce blood glucose levels. The Dietary Guidelines for Americans 2020–2025Trusted Source recommend that adults consume around 20–30 g of dietary fibre each day, depending on sex and age.
Bone health: Mushrooms can assist in strengthening your bones. Mushrooms that are grown outside in UV light (as opposed to those grown in the dark) are a good source of vitamin D. The UVB-labelled mushrooms have converted a compound called ergosterol directly into vitamin D. This means by eating just 3 ounces of UVB-exposed mushrooms, you've met your daily vitamin D requirement and given your bone health a leg up.

Memory boost and reversing the age: Mushrooms may boost your memory. Researchers at the National University of Singapore found that eating two 3/4 cup servings of cooked mushrooms per week may reduce your odds of mild cognitive decline in a 2019 study. Mushrooms contain a super-high concentration of two antioxidants, ergothioneine and glutathione, according to a 2017 Penn State study. When these antioxidants are present together, they work extra-hard to protect the body from the physiological stress that causes visible signs of aging.
Mood lifter and more energy: Penn State researchers did some further investigations in 2021 and found that in a sample of almost 25,000 people, those who regularly ate mushrooms had a lower risk for depression. They recommend eating button mushrooms, which contain potassium, which may help reduce anxiety. Mushrooms will help give you energy. Mushrooms like riboflavin [B2], folate [B9], thiamine [B1], pantothenic acid [B5] and niacin [B3] are rich in B vitamins. These help the body utilize energy from the food we consume and produce red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body.
Besides, mushrooms have been found as helpful foods during pregnancy. Many people take folic acid, or folate, supplements during pregnancy to boost fetal health, but mushrooms can also provide folate. A cup of sliced raw mushrooms contains 11.9 micrograms (mcg) of folate. Current guidelines recommend that adults consume 400 mcg of folate each day. Pregnant people should aim for around 600 mcg.

How much mushrooms should you consume daily?

The recommended amount of mushrooms to eat per day is at least two medium mushrooms, or about 18 grams. A typical serving size is one cup of chopped mushrooms.

What happens in case of 'Mushroom Overdose'?

Although mushrooms are healthy additions to your daily meals, eating too many mushrooms can cause a variety of side effects like gastrointestinal issues, nausea, vomiting, diarrhea, flatulence, and stomach pain. Mushrooms can be difficult to digest because they contain carbohydrates like chitin, mannitol, and trehalose. The stomach can take up to five hours to digest mushrooms. Sometimes, overeating mushrooms also leads to headaches, sweating, chills, irregular heartbeat, confusion, delusions, convulsions, and excessive salivation. Consuming wild mushrooms can be dangerous. It's recommended that you only pick wild mushrooms if you're an expert.