ABSOLUTE ASCENDANCY

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Overview

“Mushrooms are mysterious things. They will grow in one field but not another, and there is no explanation for it. But walk slowly across a green field in the autumn and spot suddenly ahead of you that little pure white dome nestling in the grass, that, I tell you, is exciting”.

-Quentin Blake

I’ve recently been experimenting with mushrooms, so figured now would be a good time to talk about these fungi. Indeed, mushrooms are not fruit nor vegetable – they are fungi. Because of this, their nutritional portfolio varies significantly from most fruit and vegetables. Hence I intend to keep these guys commonly in my diet for a long time to come.

Mushrooms come in all shapes and sizes, and although the most commonly found mushrooms in the supermarkets are white in colour, they boast a wide variety of benefits to the human body (unlike most other white coloured foods such as white bread and white rice for instance). Consider the following 10 mushroom benefits listed below.

10 Mushroom Benefits

1. Cancer Prevention
2. Lowers Cholesterol
3. Diverse Nutrition
4. Diabetes Prevention
5. Heart Health
6. Slows Ageing
7. Brain Health
8. Bone Health
9. Energy Boosting
10. Immune System

1. Cancer Prevention

Mushrooms contain various antioxidants and lectins, which can help prevent several types of cancers from growing. Antioxidants prevent oxidative stress to cells and lectins bind to abnormal or cancerous cells and signal the immune system to destroy them.

2. Lowers Cholesterol

Not only are mushrooms cholesterol-free, they also contain fibres such as chitin and beta-glucan that help lower cholesterol levels in the body.

3. Diverse Nutrition

Especially in this day and age, it can be difficult for the body to get enough vitamin D. Direct sunlight is the primary method for the accumulation of this highly sought after vitamin, but with lockdown measures in place over the past few months, many people may have found it difficult to bathe in enough sunlight.

Apart from some kinds of margarine, canned fish and eggs, UVB mushrooms are the only other food which provides a decent amount of vitamin D. Basically, just like humans, mushrooms need to be exposed to sunlight to convert a compound called ergosterol into vitamin D. On the packaging, look out for the marking UVB to make sure you purchase mushrooms which have been grown in sunlight.

Mushrooms also contain lots of copper, potassium, C and B vitamins.

4. Diabetes Prevention

The dietary fibre content in mushrooms may not be as significant as many other foods out there, but the content is decent enough such that regular consumption can help prevent type II diabetes from occurring.

5. Heart Health

The potassium and vitamin C content, as well as the fibre contained in mushrooms, can all help maintain a healthy heart. Potassium helps explicitly regulate blood pressure and mushrooms themselves provide very little sodium content – a primary indicator which can lead to cardiovascular problems.

6. Slows Ageing

Two specific antioxidants – ergothioneine and glutathione – work together to slow down the physical ageing process of the body.

7. Brain Health

Those same two antioxidants also help prevent brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s. The increase in brain health also promotes memory retention.

8. Bone Health

UVB exposed mushrooms contain a good amount of vitamin D, which is vital for bone health.

9. Energy Boosting

The B vitamins contained in mushrooms help deliver energy throughout the body so that it can easily be accessed.

10. Immune System

The many antioxidants contained in mushrooms also help to fight off disease by strengthening the immune system.

Poisonous Mushrooms

I do feel the need to include a section about poisonous mushrooms because there are a fair few and many of which are lethal – even in small doses. Scientists have categorised poisonous mushrooms into three main types, and the naming convention is rather morbid.

• Death Caps
• Destroying Angels
• Funeral Bells

The scary thing is that many of these poisonous mushrooms actually appear quite innocent. The converse is also true. There are perfectly edible mushrooms which look like they would kill you! Never judge a book by its cover. The phrase has never been more exact when it comes to mushrooms.

Let’s play a game!

Examine the following 10 images below, and make a guess whether each mushroom displayed is poisonous or edible. I will reveal the answers at the end of this post. I will give you one hint. Five are poisonous and five are edible. Good luck!