Millions of Aussie kids have returned to school and now, more than ever, parents are looking for ways to support the child's immune health.  

One of Australia’s leading nutritionist’s Jane Freeman believes strengthening your child’s immune system should be added to the Term 1 ‘to do’ list.

The AMGA Dietitian says adding the mighty mushroom into lunchboxes is an easy way to support tip-top immune health.

“As a mother-of-three myself, I understand that mushrooms might not be the first ingredient that comes to mind when working out what to put in your child’s lunchbox, but mushrooms are a good source of vitamin D, antioxidants and other important nutrients proven to help support our immune systems,” says Ms Freeman.

“Mushrooms pack a powerful punch when it comes to health goodness and there are simple ways to sneak them in, even for the fussiest eaters.

“Interestingly, increasing intakes of wholefood antioxidants is something that can help our immune system to defend the body, and mushrooms contain a number of potent antioxidants to help do this.

“Mushrooms also contain a prebiotic type of fibre which provides an essential food source to the numerous types of good gut bacteria and cells in our body. In fact, 70 percent of the immune system is housed in the gut which is why including this superfood can help with overall gut and immune health.”

Ms Freeman says researchers are investigating whether a powerful antioxidant called ergothioneine and a compound called B-glucans – both found in mushrooms - might have a role to play in the overall treatment of respiratory illness, including COVID-19.

So how can you add more of the might mushroom to your child's diet?

“For a start, I recommend setting a target of around three small mushrooms per day as part of a plant-focused, whole-food diet. There are lots of great mushroom recipes on the Australian Mushroom Growers website, which children will enjoy.” says Ms Freeman.

“No matter how you decide to include more mushrooms in your child’s diet, you can be certain they will be better for it.”

A blend of mushrooms + mince is healthier, with less fat and more nutrients.

Mushrooms have almost no kilojoules compared to red meat, so substituting some mince for mushrooms significantly lowers the overall food kilojoules or calories that you are dishing up.

Comparatively, mushrooms have 88% less calories than lean red minced meat which is good for the waistline.

• 100g of lean red mince*           710 kJ (169 calories)
• 100g of minced mushrooms      86 kJ (20 calories)

Whilst we all enjoy having the kids home for the holidays, getting them back into a routine when school resumes is essential. Whether it’s to help keep them active in the playground or switched on in the classroom, you can rest assured knowing mushrooms are always an excellent choice.

Mushrooms are super sources of vitamin D, antioxidants and other biochemical nutrients known to help strengthen immune systems. This is especially important this year as kids are being vaccinated and working up the extra defences needed to help protect them from serious complications that can arise from COVID-19.

As a mother of three myself, I understand that mushrooms may not be the first ingredient that comes to mind when working out what to put in your kid’s lunch boxes or on the plates of fussier eaters, but after reading my ABCD&E’s of mushroom immune health goodness, you’ll see just how powerful the wonderful mushroom can be.

A - Antioxidants to defend the body

Increasing intakes of wholefood antioxidants is something that can help both small and bigger immune systems to defend the body. Mushrooms contain a number of potent antioxidants that include catechin, myricetin, quercetin, kaempferol and many more. They are also high in other nutrients that can act as antioxidants in the body, most notably potassium, selenium, copper, and magnesium.

B- Beta-glucans to influence your immunity

C- Chitin for a healthy gut and immune system

Chitin is also another polysaccharide type carbohydrate which is a key component of the fibrous wall of mushrooms. Also known as a prebiotic type of fibre, it provides an essential food source to the numerous types of good gut bacteria and the cells of the gut.

Fun fact! Did you know that 70% of the immune system is housed in the gut and that our gut microbiome (bacteria) helps direct many of its essential functions. This is also why including mushrooms in your diet can help with overall gut and immune health.

D- Vitamin D for protection

Vitamin D is a well-known essential nutrient that enables immune systems to function well. Research has also shown that healthy levels of vitamin D are able to help keep immune systems healthy and may protect against respiratory type illnesses such as asthma, viral and bacterial infections. While we are not saying that mushrooms can prevent COVID-19, there are some recent student which found that people hospitalised for COVID-19, and who also had good levels of vitamin D, did better and experienced less serious side effects. 

E- Ergothioneine to stay well

Mushrooms are the most abundant food source of another powerful antioxidant or nutraceutical (nutrient that may be able to exert a therapeutic effect) called ergothioneine. There is a lot of research interest in ergothioneine at the moment as it is being studied for a possible role in being able to help in the overall treatment of respiratory illness, including COVID-19. While it will be interesting to watch this space, it seems that being able to eat a food that contains ergothioneine could help us breathe a little better and stay well.

So there you have the A,B,C,D & E of mushrooms!  Implement more mushrooms into your diet by setting a target of including around three small mushrooms per day as part of a plant-focused, whole-food diet. For dinners, why not try lamb and mushroom ragu, Mexican-style mushroom mince tacos or chicken, mushroom and thyme enchiladas? Or power up that lunch box instead with egg, mushroom and pesto tarts, pizza-stuffed mushrooms, mini spinach, feta and mushroom gozleme or sausage and mushroom pides.

No matter how you decide to include more mushrooms in your kids’ diet, you can be certain they’ll be better off for it!

Note: the information in this article is meant as general information only. For specific, personal advice on any medical condition, please see your doctor.

Make your New Years resolutions a success: Ditch the detox diet and eat more mushrooms. 

If you’re like most people, setting a new year’s resolution that involves health and wellness is something that was on top of your 2022 to-do list.

If you’ve found yourself failing at accomplishing these goals in the past, it may be time to move away from a detox type or other quick fix type dietary approaches, and instead embrace the steps needed to fill the fridge with real food and start eating in an intuitive way.

Detox and restrictive type diets simply don’t work, they are not sustainable and overlook the fact that your body’s liver, kidneys, skin and lungs are already doing the job needed to detox and eliminate waste on a continuous basis. Trying to shed weight quickly, via a drastic cut in your usual calories or kilojoules, will generally back-fire. As your body thinks you are starving or in a famine type scenario, it will try to fight back. This is done via slowdown in your metabolic rate (how fast you usually burn the food kilojoules or calories you eat). It also means any initial weight loss, will be regained a lot quicker and then a lot harder to take off the next time around. The bottom line is that you will go a lot further if you focus on habits that allow you to implement nutritious foods into your diet, rather than restricting and cutting out superfoods such as mushrooms.

Here are five sustainable ways that mushrooms can help your health goals.

1. Mushrooms can help you to reduce your overall food energy intakes (kilojoules) in a sustainable way

Cutting or overly restricting your daily kilojoule intakes by too much is more likely to lead to nagging hunger and increased sugar cravings, making it harder to resist and stick to your goals. A better way to reduce your food energy intake is to eat and substitute with healthy and lower energy dense or lower calorie content foods, also those with a lower GI (Glycaemic Index) - this is where the mushroom truly excels. Mushrooms are low GI and have been proven to help with satiety – so they can help you feel fuller for longer.

Mushrooms are almost kilojoule or calorie free, a handful of mushrooms only has around 35 kilojoules. This also makes them a great food to snack on.

2. Blend in or add extra mushrooms to cut down on red meat intakes and make it go further

A key recommendation for health is to cut down red meat intakes, with leading organisations including the Australian Heart Foundation and Cancer Council advising we eat no more than around 350-400g across the week.

Mushrooms can be used as a food that can boost and extend your favourite meat dishes further. For example, if you are having tacos or bolognaise for dinner, simply replace half of your minced beef with minced mushroom. Not only will your meal be even more delicious, but you’ll be also eating more of a plant-focused diet and working towards your goals without even noticing.

3. Mushrooms help boost and feed a healthy gut microbiome

The frontier of nutrition health is now geared towards how your diet can promote the health of your gut microbiome. The gut microbiome has been described as our body's second brain, in that it has a real hand in affecting how we feel and our ability to maintain a healthy weight.

Research has found that if you feed your gut bacteria or microbiome with healthy and higher fibre foods, it is likely that the bacteria who thrive on the nutrients in these types of foods will directly feed back to the brain and by default you will start to prefer their healthier food preferences. If on the other hand you eat higher fat, sugary and more fast foods, then the not-so-good bacteria are more likely to take charge and you will crave more of the higher sugar, processed and fatty food options.

While this does sound like big brother is taking control of your body, it is one reason why some people feel as if they are addicted to sugar.

Mushrooms have been shown as able to help boost our healthier food eating types of bacteria. They contain a unique type of prebiotic fibre called chitin which is only found in mushrooms, crustaceans, and insects. Prebiotic fibres act like a fertiliser to the good bacteria colonies, helping them to grow and flourish.

Furthermore, mushrooms also contain high levels of potassium which can help stimulate the growth of new healthy bacteria in the gut, whilst also benefiting the pre-existing bacteria in the process.

4. Mushrooms are rich in key antioxidants needed to help our immune systems fight

It would be nice to be able to look forward to pursuing your 2022 health goals without having to mention COVID-19, but with it still raging in the community, it continues to be as important as ever to eat foods that are able to support our immune system and help arm our body to fight against COVID, as well as common colds and flu.

In addition to being the sunshine food and able to meet our daily recommended requirements for vitamin D, mushrooms have also been found to contain an incredibly unique and potent source of a sulphur-containing amino acid ergothioneine. Ergothioneine is being touted as having many possible benefits in human health that include helping with the immune system, cognitive function, inflammation and helping to protect the skin, the heart and the brain from the effects of ageing.

It is also in the research spotlight at the moment as casual observations noted that lower levels in the body could be associated with higher rates of COVID-19 hospital admissions and complications.

5. Mushrooms are a healthy heart food and may help to lower cholesterol

With so much focus on COVID, it can be easy to overlook that heart disease is still Australia’s number one cause of health problems and premature deaths. Reducing your dietary risk factors for heart disease means keeping your weight, blood pressure and cholesterol in check. Again, mushrooms are a food that is low in kilojoules, they are fat free (no saturated fat or cholesterol) and because of its umami type flavours they are an ideal substitute to adding salt into your soups, stews and minced dishes etc. Lower salt intakes have been shown to help reduce blood pressure levels.

Mushrooms are also particularly high in beta-glucans. We know the beta-glucans found in oats are proven to lower our cholesterol, and an Australian study is currently underway, conducted by the CSIRO, which could prove that eating the humble Australian mushroom could do the same.

Mushrooms are the perfect health partner to red meat. Meat is higher in saturated fat, meaning consuming too much of it can contribute to increases in the bad types of cholesterol in the body. Mushrooms are a great way to reduce the overall amount of meat that you normally serve up.

Try these great meat-free mushroom recipes to help boost the health of your gut. 

MUSHROOM ZOODLE BOWL

Note: the information in this article is meant as general information only. For specific, personal advice on any medical condition, please see your doctor.

With this year’s reunions set to be extra special, December is a wonderful time for catching up with our loved ones, swapping gifts, and indulging in feasts together. Of course, with all the celebrations, Christmas isn’t always a good time for our health (or the scales)!

We know that by simply adding mushrooms to our Christmas stuffing, to chip and dip platters for entertaining, and including mushrooms in summer BBQ recipes is a great way to serve lighter, healthier and tastier meals this festive season - but there are also very specific reasons why mushrooms are a great health gift to give your loved ones this Christmas.

White Mushroom Cups – The gift of vitamin D.

The white mushroom cup is on the top of our Christmas tree, as it is Australia’s most popular festive mushroom - with good reason. Despite its small size, exciting new Australian research¹ has uncovered that this little mushroom is full of B group vitamins (including B12), minerals, antioxidants, and gut health nutrients. The research also confirmed something very exciting - mushrooms are the only wholefood able to provide 100% of the daily recommended dose of vitamin D per serve.

Presenting as an active hormone called ergosterol, mushrooms can produce vitamin D in a similar process to our skin. When mushrooms are exposed to sunlight for just 15-minutes the ergosterol converts into a bioactive form of vitamin D, which we absorb when we eat the mushroom. Amazingly, once a mushroom has been ‘supercharged’ with vitamin D by being exposed to the sun, the new D levels remain in the mushroom for up-to a week if they are stored in the fridge.  

You might be thinking “It’s Summer and we will be out in the sunshine, so wouldn’t I get my vitamin D from the sun anyway?” Of course this is true! But with the Australian summer’s UV index at its peak, we are all encouraged to be ‘sun-smart’ and cover up. Using sunscreen or a summer rashie blocks the sun from reaching our skin, which also blocks the vitamin D process. This is why many of us could still be vitamin D deficient over Summer.

That’s where mushrooms can help. Eating just one serve (three mushroom cups) of ‘tanned’ (sunlight exposed) mushrooms as part of your festive meals or snacks, is a sun-smart way to meet your daily Vitamin D requirements. Snacking on 3-4 medium white mushrooms, in fact provides you the same dose of vitamin D that is found in a regular 1000IU Vitamin D supplement.

Festive White Mushroom recipe ideas – White mushrooms are the all-rounder mushroom. They can be eaten raw (a good afternoon filler snack or on as an addition to a tasting plate or platter), they add texture to salads and a richer taste in your Turkey stuffing. White mushroom cups are also ideal for blending with mince, to boost the nutritional value of meaty dishes such as burger patties, meatballs, spaghetti Bolognese and tacos.  

Roast Chicken with Mushroom Stuffing

Swiss Brown Mushrooms – The gift for your gut.

The baby of the Portobello mushroom-Swiss browns-are the same variety as a white button mushroom (Agaricus Bisporus), however they are richer in taste. They are also a little firmer than it’s white cousin, and contain about 10% of pre-biotic dietary fibres known as B-glucan and chitin. Both these pre-biotic fibres feed the healthiness of our gut microbiomes and immune system. B-glucan is also known to be able to significantly lower blood cholesterol levels. Research is currently being undertaken by CSIRO to measure the extent the B-glucan in mushrooms can lower blood cholesterol levels, and the possible role it will play, as a food able to be prescribed for hearth health.  

Festive Swiss Brown recipe ideas – Swiss brown mushrooms are interchangeable with white button mushrooms, but they are slightly firmer and have a deeper flavour, which makes them great in pasta, risotto or arancini balls. They hold firm on the home-made pitta bread pizzas and in your stir-fry dishes.

Swiss Brown Mushroom Arancini Snowballs

Portobello - An easy meat-free gift.

The Portobello mushroom is the same as a Swiss Brown mushroom, but it has just been allowed to grow larger before harvesting. As the mushroom matures, it forms a richer flavour and darker colour.

Like the button and the Swiss browns, the portobello mushroom is rich in essential vitamins and minerals, but also contains a lot of water which makes it a low energy dense food. It is essentially the perfect “diet” food, as it packed with nutrients, but only contributes around 25 calories or 100 kilojoules per serve-and is a healthier, lower energy, dense substitute.

Festive Portobello recipe ideas – Because of the size and texture, a large Portobello is an easy substitution for meat dishes, perfect for a meat free meal occasion and a simple way to cater for guests who are vegan or vegetarian. Portobellos are great grilled on the BBQ in place of a steak or burger patty or stuffed with ingredients and roasted. You can even use them in place of a burger bun to reduce the carbohydrate and calorie load – which is a novel idea for those wanting to lose weight over the festive season.

Christmassy Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

On behalf of the mushroom growers around Australia, we wish you the merriest Christmas!

Note: the information in this article is meant as general information only. For specific, personal advice on any medical condition, please see your doctor.

To help celebrate National Mushroom Day on Friday, October 15, we are excited to update you on new research and early-stage discoveries that could see us all inclined to eat more mushrooms for their ever-increasing range of health benefits.

In addition to being a super-food and nutritional all-rounder, it seems mushrooms could be a food recommended to help prevent vitamin D deficiency, heart disease, support the immune system and the gut.

Earlier this year, Nutrition Research Australia held an expert round-table, bringing together a group of leading Australian nutrition experts, food scientists, an Indigenous culture expert and a culinary nutrition expert, to discuss the science, history and future of mushrooms. We are excited to summarise the findings into seven key points, which is a taste of what is to come for Australian mushrooms. These findings provide more promising evidence as to why we should all strive to eat three mushrooms a day.

Mushrooms are an essential food, able to meet daily vitamin D requirements and support immunity.

Did you know that Australians spend $100 million dollars on vitamin D supplements every year – yet 1 in 4 of us are vitamin D deficient, with a further 2 in 5 of us in the lower range of normal? These are alarming statistics as vitamin D is an essential nutrient with a proven role in both optimal bone health and immune function, with low and deficient levels linked to increased rates of infection, notably respiratory infections and the prevalence of auto-immune diseases such as diabetes, multiple sclerosis and colitis.

But updated science, presented by the expert round table, demonstrated that mushrooms could be the whole-food solution Australia's problem of the publics low vitamin D levels. Within the walls of mushrooms is a vitamin D pre-cursor compound called ergosterol. It had been previously discovered that erogsterol was able to form vitamin D through exposure to sunlight. It was thought that mushrooms had to be left exposed sunlight (UV) for over an hour for the conversion to occur, but new research has since discovered, the exposure time only needs to be 15-minutes - which is a lot more achievable for us all, and a healthy habit to adpot. This means that if you leave your mushrooms out in the sunshine, let's say - while you unpack your groceries, the mushrooms will 'super charge' and be ready and able to meet daily vitamin D requirements.

A recent study also looked at the potency of a serve of sun-tanned mushrooms, which has now been compared to taking a daily low dose vitamin D supplement.

A food for which one serve is able to provide 100% of the recommended daily intake for vitamin D is very big news. It also means there is a whole food solution that saves us from exposing our skin to sunlight or taking extra vitamin D supplements.

The same study also looked at the shelf life of vitamin D once tanned. The re-assuring news is that measurements found that refrigeration of the mushrooms for up to 8 days was able to retain their high initial levels of Vitamin D. Also these levels can be protected when mushrooms by squeezing in a few drops of lemon juice or cooking the mushrooms with some juicy red tomatoes.

Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore, a member of the expert panel who has led many of the recent research projects into mushrooms, explained, “Tan your mushrooms and save your skin. Exposing just 1 Portobello mushroom to 15 minutes of sunlight can provide the same amount of vitamin D as a low dose vitamin D supplement (1000IU).”

Mushrooms support immunity and respiratory health.  

In addition to being the new sunshine food, mushrooms were found to contain a number of other bioactive nutrients and antioxidants that able to help support and influence immune system responses.

In particular they are especially rich in key flavonoid and polyphenol type antioxidants known to help keep cells healthy, reduce inflammation and risks of chronic disease:- including heart disease, cancer and diabetes.

Mushrooms have also been found to contain an incredibly unique and potent source of a sulphur-containing amino acid ergothioneine. Ergothioneine is being touted as having many possible benefits in human health that include helping with cognitive function, inflammation and helping to protect the skin, the heart and the brain from the effects of aging.

But it is also in the research spotlight at the moment as casual observations noted that lower levels in the body could be associated with higher rates of COVID-19 hospital admissions and complications. While research is yet to establish a formal link between ergothioneine and COVID-19, it will be interesting to watch this space.

“In view of our understanding of poorer outcomes from COVID-19 in those with diet-related chronic disease, future dietary guidelines will need to consider not only chronic disease prevention but also how the associated inflammation may play out in our immune response” Dr Linda Tapsell.

Mushrooms as a food that lowers blood cholesterol.  

While mushrooms are already known as a food for heart health, as it is fat-free, high in antioxidants and fibre, the panel explained some new exciting CSIRO research underway, looking into a specific role that mushrooms could have to help reduce blood levels of cholesterol.

Mushrooms have been found to contain very high levels of the soluble fibre beta-glucan. You may be familiar with beta-glucan if you eat barley or oats, as the beta-glucan in oats and barley has been 

proven to help lower cholesterol, and these foods are now allowed to make claims on their label to that effect. But what is amazing is that mushrooms have double the amount of beta-glucan as an equivalent serving of oats and could also be used as a food also able to help reduce the need for prescribed lipid lowering medications. 

But before we can make this claim, we need to ensure the beta-glucan in mushrooms acts in the same way as it does in oats and barley. Which is why the CSIRO is undertaking some human research trials in consultation with our food authority FSANZ.

Working in consultation with Food Standards Australia and New Zealand (FSANZ) to help ensure that the evidence uncovered allows for an approved health or what is known as a functional food claim. This means that it can be explained on mushroom bags and promotions that it is a food specifically able to help lower cholesterol. It is hoped the results of these important studies will be available in early 2026.

Mushrooms support gut health.

The panel were also intrigued with the potential role of another interesting pre-biotic ingredient in mushrooms that could help improve gut function and health.

A pre-biotic rich food helps to feed and increase the good types of bacteria in the gut, which is then what helps to improve gut function. The pre-biotic in mushrooms is known as chitin. Chitin is also the woody structure in mushrooms that contributes to texture, mouthfeel, and taste. It is also the likely

driver behind trial results that showed a significant improvement in gut function when mushrooms replaced meat in the diet. These improvements included an increase in stool weights, less strain, odour and increased numbers in beneficial types of good bacterias known as bacteriodetes and reduced numbers of the harmful types of bacterias known as firmicute types.

Chitin is a pre-biotic rich nutrient and fibrous structure in the cell wall of mushrooms. It contributes to their firm texture, mouthfeel and taste.

Jim Fuller, chef, turned mycologist recommends boiling your mushrooms to help break down the fibrous structures in the cell wall of mushrooms. The result is a nutritious, lower salt but still a flavoursome way to provide the savoury ‘umami’ taste that can help drive the palatability of other foods.

Jim’s top tip is to boil your mushrooms by:
Pouring a little water into a hot pan and bring to a boil. Throw in your mushrooms, and then reduce the water before you then sautee.

Mushrooms could reduce cancer risk.

Cancer is another illness that affects the lives of too many Australians. While the expert panel outlined that more studies are needed before we can claim mushrooms can help to lower cancer risk, some interesting preliminary trials have shown that including a regular serving of mushrooms could help.

One study found that eating a typical serving of white buttons could reduce women's chances of being hit with ovarian cancer by around 1/3. In men, another trial found that a regular intake of mushrooms in the diet helped to improve prostate treatment outcomes. The study reported that eating between 40-140g of mushrooms lowered the PSA measure in around 1/3 of cases. PSA is an antigen tracked in men with prostate cancer, and a lower number is better.

Mushrooms and their place in the updated Australian Dietary Guidelines.

Another big question discussed by the expert panel is where mushrooms should be put in the next edition of the Australian Dietary Guidelines (ADG). The current edition has been in circulation since 2013, and they are currently being reviewed and will be updated. In the past, mushrooms had been mis-classified as a vegetable, so they appeared alongside vegetables such as corn, peas and carrots - giving consumers the misconception that mushrooms are a vegetable. 

As their unique and all-rounder nutrition profile comes to light, it seems that they are a food that could add value across many food groups including vegetables, the meat and the grain group.

It is also important to recognise that mushrooms are not actually a plant or animal food, but a fungi. They also offer a wider range of nutrient and dietary need options, than what is suggested in the current guidelines that lists mushrooms as a vegetable and recommends it as just one option that can be used to meet the 5-a-day.

Nutrition researcher and Dietitian Glenn Cardwell has been stating for many years, "Mushrooms are not a plant food, nor are they an animal food, but they belong to an entire kingdom of their own".

Uncovering the history of Australian native mushrooms.

Another interest area explored by the panel included the role mushroom may have played in the lives of our First Nations People. As while we know mushrooms, have been used as a food and medicine in Asian and many other older populations. We really do not know much about how our First Nations People used and cultivated mushrooms.

Leading expert on indigenous culture, Arpad Kalotas, explained that although we do know that there

is a wide range of Australian native fungi that were valued and consumed by the First Nations people, little is known about how they were used and consumed. Therefore, the panel recommended that further work be undertaken with Indigenous communities and researchers to learn more about the role Australian native fungi had in traditional diets and options to extrapolate their uses into regular diets.

Dr Flavia Fayet-Moore from Nutrition Research Australia sums it up, by empasising that based on the emerging evidence, we should all be striving to consume at least 3 cup mushrooms (which equates to one cup of chopped raw mushrooms) every day.

So, let me ask you... have you had your three mushrooms today? 

Note: the information in this article is meant as general information only. For specific, personal advice on any medical condition, please see your doctor.

With school holidays upon us, it will be a relief for many kids who have endured lockdown to have a break from their virtual classrooms and online learning. But with the publication of a world-first Australian research project that has assessed and summarised all available research findings on the health properties of mushrooms, there is a new alphabet that your kids need to taste and learn. This is an A,B,C,D&E that will help your kids immune systems stay strong, enable better bones and support their health needs both now and throughout their lives.

A - Antioxidants for healthier cells

are naturally occurring food compounds that help protect cells from UV and other substances that can damage them. They also work hard to help keep immunes systems working at their best. Particularly important at the moment. Mushrooms are quite an array of antioxidants, also known as flavonoids and polyphenols (specifically, these include catechin, myricetin, quercetin and kaempferol). As mushrooms are classified in the diet as fungi, rather than a vegetable, they are one of the few non-plant foods rich in antioxidants.

Cooking Tip – Trying to eat more foods that provide food sources of antioxidants is important for health. The antioxidant levels of mushrooms are higher when you eat them raw or cook for the shortest time possible. Why not try stuffing mushroom cups with a mix of cream cheese and grated parmesan cheese as a yummy afternoon snack.

B- Beta-glucans for heart health

Beta-glucan is a soluble type of fibre that you will read about on labels of oat-based cereals that promote heart health. Beta-glucan binds with cholesterol as it moves through the large bowel, lowering cholesterol levels in the body. While oats are an excellent source of beta-glucan, food scientists have analysed mushrooms and found they contain almost double the amount of beta-glucan as an equivalent serve of oats.

Cooking-tip – The beta-glucan content of mushrooms is not affected by cooking, so to boost intakes of what is a valuable source of soluble fibre, add extra mushrooms to your spaghetti bolognese, burger patties, stews and soups.

C- Chitin for a healthy gut and immune system

Chitin is unique pre-biotic rich carbohydrate structure that makes up the cell wall of the mushroom. Prebiotics are a type of fibre found in plant foods that provide an essential source of fermentable food for the trillions of good gut bacteria that work inside our gut to keep it and our bodies healthy.

Fun fact! Did you know that 70% of the immune system is housed in the gut and that our gut microbiome (bacteria) helps direct many of its essential functions. This is why feeding our good gut bacteria a high fibre, and prebiotic-rich diet is important!

D- Vitamin D for strong bones

Vitamin D is a vitamin essential for growing bones, and mushrooms are one of the few foods that provide a good source of vitamin D, with levels increasing 10-fold when the mushrooms are left out on the kitchen bench and exposed to natural light. It is a vitamin that many people are deficient in and adding UV light exposed mushrooms will help build strong bones.

Cooking tip – To boost the vitamin D content of mushrooms, leave your mushrooms out and exposed to natural light for around 15-minutes. When cooking, it is a good idea to squeeze a few drops of lemon juice into the pan and cook your mushrooms for a shorter time. Cut up raw mushrooms are great in sandwiches, salads or try adding them to a toasted cheese sandwich.

E- Ergothioneine for brain and skin health

Mushrooms are full of protective type antioxidants, including one called ergothioneine. Nutrition researchers have been excited by it as it seems that it has quite a potent role in helping to protect our DNA, brain, skin and other cells in the body. It is now used as an ingredient in some skin creams, and diets rich in ergothioneine have are associated with a lower risk of neurological disorders such as multiple sclerosis and Parkinson disease.

Fun fact! Mushrooms serve up more ergothioneine, than any other vegetable or plant food. Making mushrooms an essential food for vegetarians. Vegans will also want to know that mushrooms are one of the few plant foods that provide a source of vitamin B12.

Cooking tip – To ensure you ingest the highest levels of ergothioneine, it is best to only cook your mushrooms for as short a period as possible. You can try them raw, steamed or throw them into the stir-fries for a few minutes before you serve them up.

So there you have the A,B,C,D & E of mushrooms!  So why not put the aprons on, roll up the sleeves and help your kids learn to recite the A, B, C, D& E of the mighty mushroom with recipes such as cheesy mushroom & bacon pizza, mexican mushroom popcorn or why not try mac & cheese stuffed mushrooms. (Yum!) 

Note: the information in this article is meant as general information only. For specific, personal advice on any medical condition, please see your doctor.

With winter well and truly set-in here in Australia, we are all rugging up to spend time indoors out of the cold. Of course the (necessary, but not so fun) lockdowns are also keeping us inside for lengthy periods of time too.

With more of us spending less time in the sun, it’s no wonder the rate of vitamin D deficiency increases in winter.

Despite the fact that Australians are reported to spend over $100M dollars on vitamin D supplements every year, almost 1 in 4 Australians are considered vitamin D deficient¹, with a further 43% considered insufficient². I’m sure you will agree, these figures are quite alarming and something all Australians should be mindful of.

Getting your daily dose of vitamin D is easier, cheaper, and more delicious that you might think! In this article, we will explain why vitamin D is so important for our bodies, and how ordinary store-bought mushrooms can be naturally ‘supercharged’ with vitamin D – using the sun.

How to ‘supercharge’ the vitamin D in your store-bought mushrooms at home.

We know our skin converts the sun into vitamin D, but it’s a little-known fact that mushrooms can produce vitamin D through a similar process. By placing our common store-bought mushrooms (i.e. white mushroom cups) out in the midday sun with their gill side up for just 15-minutes, the vitamin D levels in the mushroom drastically and naturally increase. We call this ‘tanning our mushrooms.’ It doesn’t change the texture, flavour or colour, it simply multiplies the vitamin D levels in the mushroom.

 I can hear you saying, “But, how does this work?”

In technical terms, when sunlight hits the surface of the mushroom it stimulates the conversion of a natural substance called ergosterol (a component of the mushroom cell walls) to ergocalciferol vitamin D2. When the ‘tanned’ mushroom is consumed, this vitamin D2 converts to the active form of vitamin D through the bodies natural process for food, via our liver and kidneys.

Tanning our mushrooms is a simple and natural process, to ensure we are getting our recommended dose of vitamin D. Adequately sun-exposed mushrooms are as effective as taking a vitamin D supplement.

The great news is these new 'super charged' levels of vitamin D will remain in the mushroom for around a week if stored in the fridge and will even remain throughout the cooking process.

Getting our daily dose of vitamin D is easy. All we need to do is get in the habit of placing our mushrooms in the sun, for 15-minutes as soon as we get them home.

Really, that’s about as much time as it takes to unpack the groceries and organise the fridge!

This simple change of habit on your weekly grocery shop will ensure your mushrooms are naturally enriched with vitamin D. This is a really quick and easy step to help you and your family stay healthy this winter. Mushrooms are a natural, efficient and cost-effective way to ensure your family are getting enough of this very important vitamin.

Buy 'Vitamin D Enriched Mushrooms' in stores.