Why You Need to Include Mushrooms in Your Diet

Mushroom is one of the best foods you can include in your diet. Not only do they taste well and fit in wide variety of meals, they are supremely beneficial for your body in general. They are packed full of health benefits thanks to its unique nutrition profile. You can eat mushrooms to help achieve weight loss: dietary fiber, vitamin C, selenium, vitamin D, etc. They work together to alleviate high cholesterol levels and reduce or prevent the development of diabetes.

What are Mushrooms?

Mushrooms are edible fungi that possess various scientific names. They are more or less Saprophytes – organisms that do not contain chlorophyll – that live by extracting nutrients from dead or dying animal and plant matter. They vary quite a bit in color, shape, texture, and properties. There are approximately 140,000 different species of mushroom forming fungi, but people tend to interact with around 100 species.

Nutrition Facts

Mushrooms are filled with essential vitamins and minerals. Your standard mushroom has potassium, magnesium, phosphorus, niacin, vitamin C, riboflavin, folate, thiamin, and vitamin D. It also contains iron, fats, calcium, sodium, carbohydrates, and protein. Mushrooms are actually some of the best plant sources of protein that you can find.

Health Benefits

All of the vitamins and minerals work together to present your body with some great health benefits:

Rich Source of Selenium

The selenium content in mushrooms has anticancer, antioxidant, and anti-inflammatory properties.

Lower Cholesterol

Mushrooms are composed of lean proteins; they have zero cholesterol, fat, and very low carbohydrates. And the high amount of lean proteins actually burns cholesterol when it is digested.

Prevent Diabetes

Mushrooms are also a low-energy food that is perfect for diabetics. Their lack of fats, cholesterol, and low level of carbs plays a role in resisting the development of insulin resistance.