Mushrooms provide important nutrients with few calories

Mushrooms come in several forms and are a delicacy for many. They can be prepared in various ways and mixed with other foods or sauces such as groundnuts.
However, apart from appreciating their taste, we hardly think of the health benefits they bring to our diet. Although they are increasingly grown in dark rooms, some forms of edible mushrooms can be harvested in the wild.
A mushroom as a fleshy, spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus that is naturally produced above the ground. “Mushrooms are very delicious and important to our health; they are categorised as vegetables and provide many of the nutritional attributes which are commonly found in meat and other animal products,” he says. “Mushrooms are low in saturated fat and sodium, and very low in cholesterol,” he adds.

There are several types of mushrooms which include the indigenous obutiko obubaala, oyster mushrooms, button mushrooms and medicinal mushrooms such as gernoderma.
Jamiru Mpiima, a nutritionist notes that because the human metabolism relies on a healthy dose of protein, fibre and vitamin B to keep it functional and robust, mushrooms rank high in all the three metabolism-supporting nutrients.
“For those who are looking for nutritious weight loss foods, mushrooms are a good choice because they are low in calories, carbohydrates, fat and sodium. Fresh ones are very high in water content (80 to 90 per cent) and fibre which makes them a great diet food,” he reveals.
Mpiima explains that mushrooms are the leading source of the essential antioxidant selenium on the plant side.
Antioxidants such as selenium, protect body cells from damage that might lead to chronic diseases. They also help to strengthen the immune system.

Mushrooms provide ergothioneine, a naturally-occurring antioxidant that may help protect the body cells.
Medicinal materials contained in mushrooms include; polysaccharides, glycoproteins and proteoglycans which modulate immune system responses and inhibit tumour, whereas other ingredients show potential cardiovascular, antiviral, antibacterial, antiparasitic, anti-inflammatory, and antidiabetic properties. In addition, mushroom extract has been linked to some treatments for both migraines and mental disorders.

Potassium contained in mushrooms helps the body process sodium and lower blood pressure. So, people with hypertension or a high risk of stroke can enjoy many health benefits from a regular dose of mushrooms in their diet.
Mushrooms are also good for diabetics and for weight loss.
All mushrooms are a rich source of umami and the darker the mushroom the more umami it contains.

Umami is the fifth basic taste after sweet, salty, bitter and sour. Umami is described as a savoury, brothy, rich or meaty taste sensation. It is a satisfying sense of deep, complete flavour, balancing savoury flavours and full-bodied taste with distinctive qualities of aroma and mouth feel. The more umami present in food, the more flavourful it will be. Umami also counterbalances saltiness and allows for less salt to be used in a meal, without compromising flavour.
Cook with umami-rich ingredients such as mushrooms to reduce the overall sodium in a dish. This is good for hypertension diets.
However, some mushroom species produce substancess that can be toxic to human beings. One defence mushrooms use against consumption is the evolution of chemicals that cause the consumer to vomit the meal. The common poisonous mushrooms include; deadly webcap and fly agaric are among the poisonous mushrooms human beings should not consume.

Eat variety
Mpiima notes that because different species have different levels of nutrients, it is good for one to combine the big and small mushrooms.
“Cook the mushrooms properly because they have tough cell walls, which lock health benefits away in indigestible chitin (cell wall). So cooking them makes nutrients more available and can help neutralise smaller levels of toxins,” he says.

Eat a healthy diet
The nutritional benefits from mushrooms will be lost if one eats a lot of junk food or if you cook them in unhealthy oils.
Fresh mushrooms can be added to everyday dishes to provide an extra serving of vegetables and deliver important nutrients to our families,” adds Mpiima.

Health benefits

1. Mushrooms are a good source of dietary fibre, protein, vitamin C, folate, iron, zinc and manganese.
They are rich in vitamin D, thiamin, riboflavin, niacin, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, Phosphorus, potassium, copper and selenium.
When exposed to ultraviolet light, natural ergosterols in mushrooms produce vitamin D2 which no other vegetable does.
They are naturally gluten free (gluten a protein composite found in wheat.
Mushrooms contain copper an essential mineral that helps to protect the human cardiovascular system