A fungus a day keeps the doctor away?



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Researchers have identified another good reason to eat more mushrooms. New research, published in Food Science & Nutrition (January 2021), found that adding a serving of mushroom to the diet increased the intake of several micronutrients, including missing nutrients like vitamin D, without any increased calories, sodium or fat.

Dr Victor L. Fulgoni III and Dr Sanjiv Agarwal modeled the addition of fungi to the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES) dietary data by examining a composite of white fungi, crimini and portabella at a 1: 1: 1 ratio; a scenario including fungi exposed to UV rays; and a scenario including oyster mushrooms for 9 to 18 year olds and 19 year olds and over based on an equivalent portion of 84 g or ½ cup.

The main findings include:

– Adding an 84g serving of mushrooms increased several missing nutrients including potassium and fiber. This was true for the 1: 1: 1 mixture of white, crimini and portabella and oyster mushrooms.

– Adding a portion (84 g) of mushrooms to the diet resulted in an increase in dietary fiber (5% -6%), copper (24% -32%), phosphorus (6%), potassium (12% – 14%), selenium (13% -14%), zinc (5% -6%), riboflavin (13% -15%), niacin (13% -14%) and choline (5% -6%) in adolescents and adults; but had no impact on calories, carbohydrates, fat or sodium.

– When commonly eaten mushrooms are exposed to UV light to provide 5 mcg of vitamin D per serving, vitamin D intake may reach and slightly exceed the Recommended Daily Value (98% – 104%) for ages 9-18 and 19 years and over. as well as reduce the insufficiency of this insufficient nutrient in the population.

– A serving of commonly eaten mushrooms exposed to UV rays reduced the population’s vitamin D deficiency from 95.3% to 52.8% for the 9-18 age group and from 94.9% to 63 , 6% for the 19 and over age group.

“This research validated what we already knew that adding mushrooms to your plate is an effective way to meet dietary goals identified by the DGA,” said Mary Jo Feeney, MS, RD, FADA and coordinator of the DGA. nutrition research at the Mushroom Council. “Data from surveys such as NHANES are used to assess nutritional status and its association with health promotion and disease prevention and help formulate national standards and public health policy (CDC, 2020) . “

Fungi are fungi – a member of the third food kingdom – biologically distinct from the plant and animal foods that make up the USDA food models but have a unique nutrient profile that provides nutrients common to plant and animal foods. Although categorized into food grouping systems based on their use as a vegetable, the increasing use of mushrooms in the main main dishes of plant-based diets is increasing, supporting consumers’ efforts to follow dietary recommendations based on them. foods to reduce the intake of calories, saturated fatty acids, and sodium, while increasing the intake of under-consumed nutrients, including fiber, potassium, and vitamin D. Often grouped with vegetables, mushrooms provide many nutritional attributes in products, as well as attributes more commonly found in meat, beans or grains.

According to the USDA FoodData Central, 5 medium raw white mushrooms (90g) contain 20 calories, 0g fat, 3g protein, and are very low in sodium (0mg / <1% of the recommended daily value ). Few foods naturally contain vitamin D, and mushrooms are unique in that they are the only food in the produce aisle to contain vitamin D. Specifically, a serving of raw mushrooms, exposed to UV, white (90 g) and crimini (80 g) contains 23.6. mcg (118% RDA) and 25.52mcg (128% RDA) of vitamin D, respectively.

Mushrooms are one of the best dietary sources of antioxidant amino acids containing sulfur ergothionein and tripeptide glutathione The ergothionine and glutathione content of mushrooms depends on the variety of mushroom, and oyster mushrooms contain more of these sulfur-containing antioxidants than mushrooms commonly eaten: white button, mushrooms or portabella mushrooms. Adding one serving of commonly eaten mushrooms and oyster mushrooms should add 2.24 and 24.0 mg of ergothioneine, respectively, and 3.53 and 12.3 mg of glutathione, respectively, to the NHANES 2011-2016 diets. based on values ​​published in the literature.

At this time, the USDA FoodData Central database does not include analytical data for ergothionein. However, the Mushroom Council is currently supporting research to analyze fungi for bioactives / ergothionein for possible inclusion in the USDA FoodData Central database.

More research from the Mushroom Council is to come

With mushrooms increasingly being viewed and considered by consumers nationwide, in 2019 the Mushroom Council invested $ 1.5 million over several years in research to help broaden understanding of the nutritional qualities of the food and overall health benefits.

In addition to the analysis of fungi for bioactives / ergothioneine to be included in the USDA FoodData Central database, other approved research projects include:

– Health benefits of including mushrooms as part of a healthy diet.

– Relationship of fungi with cognitive health in the elderly.

– The impact of fungi on brain health in an animal model.

– Nutritional impact of adding a serving of mushrooms to USDA food models.

Since 2002, the Council has been conducting research that supports a greater demand for mushrooms by discovering the nutritional and health benefits of mushrooms. The published results of these projects form the basis for communicating these benefits to consumers and health influencers.

Reference
Fulgoni VL, Agarwal S. Nutritional impact of adding a serving of mushrooms on usual intakes and nutrient adequacy using data from the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Review Survey . Food Science and Nutrition. doi: https: //doi.org/10.1002/fsn3.2120

This article has been republished from the following materials. Note: Material may have been modified for length and content. For more information, please contact the cited source.



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