Natural Healers- Mushrooms

Mushrooms have long been a staple in this household. I like mine well fried, preferably with a dash of wine or soy sauce. They go well with leeks and cashew nuts, not to mention walnuts, spinach and cherry tomatoes. Add a generous amount of honey to soy sauce when cooking your mushrooms to achieve a flavoursome dish to serve with buckwheat grains.

    Aside from their culinary uses, mushrooms can help with weight management (providing you don't cook them in half a pound of butter, or grill a slab of cheese over them), boost the immune system, fight cancer and viruses, and kill bacteria.
 They are a source of Vitamin D, Vitamin B (Riboflavin, niacin and pantothenic acid), antioxidants, Ergothioneine (a naturally occurring dietary antioxidant, which may have a positive affect on inflammatory diseases), the minerals selenium, copper and potassium, and betaglucans (which increase host immune defences) and polyphenals(which are thought to have an antioxidant affect).

 They contribute dietary fibre, can act as a prebiotic, are low in calories (depending on how you cook them!), and are gluten free.
 It should be noted that the amount of benefits bestowed by the humble mushroom does vary. For example, 100g of the much lauded Shitake mushroom may give you 2% of you daily iron intake, compared to 19% for the Chantrelle, which will also give you 52% of your vitamin D, compared to 4% for the Shitake. However, the Shitake will give you 15% of your Vitamin B6, the Chantrelle none.

 But don't let us worry about which is the best for us. Instead, why not vow to widen your mushroom experience, and try a few you haven't before. At the  end of the day, the nutritional value of the mushroom on your plate is largely irrelevant if you're eating a balanced diet overall. Let us be like the Hobbits of Tolkein's world, and just enjoy them. Particularly on
a wholemeal roll, with a drizzle of HP sauce.

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