Health Benefits of Mushrooms that You May Not Be Aware Of

Mushrooms are a staple in my house for flavoring so many foods and it also stands alone for a great sandwich. I always knew it was high in zinc but until I decided to do some research on additional benefits on mushrooms, I didn't realize how much more important they were to our health. However, it is also one of the most under rated health food sources out there. Mushrooms were one of the first herbal medicines used in the Oriental world for thousands of years to inhibit many conditions like tumors. Personally, I zoomed in on that because I do have a benign brain tumor that needs to be watched. And according to the "Icones of Medicinal Fungi from China" the authors documented 272 species of mushrooms having many medical benefits showing that over 60 of these mushrooms contain polysaccharides which inhibit the growth of specific tumors. We're talking about the history of these mushrooms going back to the first century B.C! With that said, I decided to continue to explore some of the other health benefits.

According to Andrew Weil, M.D in the Nutrition News section of American Health Magazine wrote that cooked mushrooms and rice is a great way to balance and complete protein because mushrooms contain essential amino acids.

According to Healthmad.com, an article written on mushrooms showed that mushrooms are a great food source of mineral content and that scientist are discovering more significance about them; like how they can have a positive effect on gall bladders. There is evidence that the significant levels of selenium that is found in mushrooms help to break up the gall stones. They have reported that it can even dissolve the stones however there is no clinical proof at this time.

A few examples of specific mushrooms and their health benefits:

A popular mushroom for treating inflammatory areas is called the Reishi mushroom. This mushroom has anti inflammatory agents called Triturpiods which has a similar action like taking steroids. This is especially good if you have arthritis. Reishi is documented as being beneficial for individuals who suffer from asthma or chronic bronchitis. The good news for those who do not like to eat mushrooms but who want to see if the benefits work is that you can buy Reishi mushrooms in a syrup, tea or pill form online. Just do a search in Google and you will see many vitamin stores selling Reishi herbs. You can go to a holistic doctor and get injections also. The list for Reishi mushrooms benefits goes on to say it is also good for liver disorders, hypertension, allergies, and it even lifts your mood too! It is a good antioxidant.

Shitake mushrooms are said to boost the immune system. Shitake or Lentinan extract is documented to show it has effects on the reproduction of the AIDS virus when it is taken with AZT which is an AIDS drug.

Oyster mushrooms are used to strengthen veins and relax the tendons.

Portabella is a great source of riboflavin, panthothenic acid, niacin, thiamine, folate, selenium, lyseine, protein, zinc, copper, manganese, and iron.
Morels are similar to the portabella benefits with adding vitamin D and potassium.

Porcini also has the copper, seleninum, potassium and protein.

All mushrooms have high fiber, protein, and are rich in B vitamins. More and more the research is showing that mushrooms can reduce many cancer risks like breast and prostate.

I know a few people do not like the texture of mushrooms but there are ways you can get around that in your cooking by putting them in a blender. The flavors are still there and they won't know you are cooking with mushrooms. You also have the alternative of taking it as an herb. All in all, you can see how important this under rated fungi is for a well balanced diet. For those of you who do love mushrooms like me, I leave you with one of my favorite mushroom sandwiches.

Take a whole portabella mushroom either you can peel it or not.
Marinade it a couple of hours with a quarter cup of balsamic vinegar and a heaping teaspoon of either fresh crushed garlic or from the jar. (That's just a rough estimate)
Add to the marinade a half inch slice of red onion keeping it intact.
Broil or grill them both for about 10 minutes, turning it after the first 5 minutes. Salting and peppering only the red onion.
Set aside when they are done.
Get some Martin's potato bread hamburger buns if you can find them, otherwise your favorite hamburger buns.
Spread your favorite bar b q sauce on both parts of the inside of the bun. Put a slice of smoked provolone cheese on each part and broil for a quick minute till the cheese is melted. Now assemble the mushroom and onion on the sandwich buns. My husband loves this and calls it the best meatless hamburger.

Then mangia, mangia!