One serving of this food can dramatically increase your vitamin D intake, researchers say



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Health experts cannot stress enough the importance of making sure that you are getting adequate levels of vitamin D every day. While there aren’t many foods rich in vitamins, taking a supplement is a great way to make sure you reach your recommended dietary intake and fight infections.

However, new research funded by the Mushroom Council indicates that a single common plant-based food may be able to meet your daily needs on its own. In the newspaper Food Science and Nutrition, Dr Victor L. Fulgoni III and Dr Sanjiv Agarwa modeled the addition of fungi to dietary data from the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Survey (NHANES). Specifically, they examined a composite of white fungi, crimini and portabella in a ratio of 1: 1: 1; a scenario including fungi exposed to UV rays; and finally, a scenario including oyster mushrooms. (Related: Single Vitamin Doctors Urge Everyone To Take Now).

Researchers looked at the health benefits of each type of fungus for people aged 9 to 18, as well as those 19 and older. Each age group was ordered to eat 84 grams, or about a 1/2 cup serving, of mushrooms. What did they find out? A single serving of mushrooms increased the intake of dietary fiber from each group as well as several minerals including copper, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, zinc, riboflavin, niacin, and choline.

However, the biggest takeaway came from the mushrooms that had been exposed to UV rays. Eating a single serving of these mushrooms allowed both groups to meet or slightly exceed their recommended daily value of vitamin D.. So the next time you go to the grocery store, see if you can buy a packet of mushrooms that say “fortified with vitamin D.” Alternatively, if you have UV light at home, consider putting your fresh mushrooms on it for a few hours to enrich a normal packet of mushrooms with the vitamin right in your kitchen.

Of course, not everyone has access to UV light in the home, so eating regular mushrooms in addition to taking a vitamin D supplement may still be the best course of action as the pandemic progresses, unless than your doctor advises otherwise.

For more information, be sure to check out 5 Signs of Vitamin D Deficiency You Should Never Ignore.

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