Mushrooms

[tkdcanada]

Anyone know the nutritional value of mushrooms? Do they have any or are they just a tasty treat?

[Paul B]

OMG! I love mushrooms......on pizza, deep fried, stuffed with cheese and sausage.....Oh, wait......was this a "health" thread?

Sorry, Tkd, had to! :laugh:

[Paul B]

O.K. seriously, my buddy (who is an organic nut :laugh: ) is right here, so I am going to turn it over to veggie-boy..........

Hi, on a more serious note, the shitake mushroom is well know for its amazing immune system boosting properties. there is a supplement cxalled MGN-3 that you can buy online or at a "vitamin shoppe". There is also an acid in certain mushrooms that works on the metabolism. and some that work on the central nervous system. i.e. shrooms........ But I do not recommend any that arent for your well being.

Jeesh! See what I mean? :laugh:

[tkdcanada]

OMG! I love mushrooms......on pizza, deep fried, stuffed with cheese and sausage.....Oh, wait......was this a "health" thread?

Sorry, Tkd, had to! :laugh:

:D

Actually, I hated mushrooms all my life....until about a couple of years ago. I used to pick the smallest pieces out of my food, now I eat them as a main dish. Go figure. I love sauteed portobello mushrooms. Anyway, it just got me thinking about whether they even have a nutritional value or not, since I'm not really sure where they fit in to the four food groups.

[Paul B]

Oh yeah! Sautee'd portabella's!! I don't know what foodgroup they would be in, either. Fungi=vegetable?

Jay(my friend) said that some mushrooms have antioxident effects and also were a good source of protien.FWIW.

I believe him,personally.The man knows way too much about stuff normal people have never even heard of! He also got on his organic kick after his father was diagnosed with brain cancer. After that he researched organic foods and properties of different vegetables,etc, with a vengence.

[tkdcanada]

Cool, sounds good to me. Anything else, they can do for you?

[Paul B]

Nope, not personally,Michleine. If you want,I could ask him where he dug up all this stuff,but it could get scary... :laugh:

[tkdcanada]

:D I kinda thought I might get an answer like that - I did leave it wide open didn't I? :p

[Patrick Hayes]

My botany professor in college told us that raw mushrooms, especially the white agaric variety most commonly sold in supermarkets, contain carcinogens. Cooking them destroys the carcinogens, so mushrooms are fine to eat cooked, but not raw.

[dao]

:eek: I love mushrooms, I eat them both raw and cooked all the time... don't know if I'm correct but, have always thought of them as a vegetable.

[David Craik]

A little protein, a little vitamin C, and some iron. So they're a bit better than styrofoam, depending on the variety I imagine.

I used to hate them as a kid but now I'm quite fond of 'em.

[StanLee]

Mushrooms, I was told was supposed to nurish your grey matter; making one better at using the brain.

So for one week when I was 16 and revising for exams, I went on a mushroom and fish diet (fish does the same thing also).

Was sick of eating mushrooms by the end of the week... Mushroom soup, mushroom veg, mushroom pie, mushroom skewers, mushroom icecream :laugh:

[John Lucas]

White agarics are also easily mistaken for the destroying angel, so make sure you get them at the store, and dont try to pick them yourself unless you absolutely know what youre doing.

Other than that, Mushrooms are great for you, if anything I would count them like vegetables. I havent ever heard of carcinogens, and I usually eat them both raw and cooked, but I wouldnt be surprised, those agarics are a mysterious strain, they can do everything from nourish you, to poision you and kill you, to put you on a "magic journey" depending upon your preference.

[Patrick Hayes]

From the Puget Sound Mycological Society's webpage:

Some delicious edibles are notorious for absorbing and concentrating heavy metals. Although these mushrooms are delectable they should be avoided when found growing next to busy roads or areas that contain high levels of lead, cadmium, arsenic etc. The familiar button mushroom on store shelves contains a volatile hydrazine that is a known carcinogen. Although these mushrooms are delicious raw, once you’ve learned that they contain this hydrazine and that it is volatile and leaves the mushroom upon cooking you know to avoid them raw.
For more information:

http://www.psms.org/edibility.html

[John Lucas]

Wow, I had never heard that before, but I wouldnt eat one that I found close to a road anyway because of all the nasty stuff that washes off of the road.

Dr Weil is a good source on mushrooms though, he is probably THE authority for mushrooms, and even has a mushroom named after him.

[jakmak52]

Reishi mushrooms have been used for thousands of years to promote good health in the Far East.

Shiitake mushrooms have natural antiviral and immunity-boosting properties and are used nutritionally to fight viruses, lower cholesterol and regulate blood pressure. Researchers S. Suzuki and Oshima found that a raw shiitake eaten daily for one week lowered serum cholesterol by 12%.