Not too many foods provide vitamin D, because mother nature intended for you to make it as you went about your business under the sun, rather than eat it.

Of course, business today is seldom conducted under the sun and now even pleasure is an increasingly indoor pursuit.

So lots of people are running short of this vital vitamin, leading to suboptimal health.

Sun shy mushrooms make vitamin D

Mushrooms have long been on the list of foods that can provide vitamin D, along with certain types of fish, eggs and full cream milk.

Mushroom farming takes place in the murky shadows, since mushrooms are not sun worshippers, preferring dark damp worlds. But, these creatures of the dark, can also turn UVB light into vitamin D.

Enlightened mushrooms are vitamin D loaded

Agricultural scientists have found a way to turn on the vitamin D switch, rousing vitamin D production by as much as 700 percent.

The button, for the button mushroom vitamin D production, is a brief stint under tanning lights, following harvesting.

Of course, a brief stint under the tanning “lights” is also the way we boost our own production of vitamin D.

The mushroom sun tanning experience does not adversely affect the other nutrients in the mushrooms, nor does it interfere with the taste. So expect vitamin D enriched mushrooms on the shelves in the not too distant future.

Science is making mushrooms magical

But they are already rather magical and a great food to include in your diet, especially if you are watching your calorie intake.

Officially they are classified as a low-energy density food, which is a fancy way of saying, they fill you up, but don’t actually pack on the pounds. In addition to their low calorie counts they are jam packed full of nutrients.

Serve mushrooms as your starch

Mushrooms are a good way to cut carbohydrates and get lots of vitamins and things.

They’re versatile in the kitchen, they can take centre stage in a dish or simply play a supporting role.

Why not add them to dinner tonight.

Vitamin D Mushrooms: Comparison of the Composition of Button Mushrooms (Agaricus bisporus) Treated Postharvest with UVB Light or Sunlight. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry, 2011; 59 (16): 8724. Ryan R. Simon, Katherine M. Phillips, Ronald L. Horst, Ian C. Munro

 

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Further reading

Vitamin D takes out the rubbish in Alzheimer’s Disease	Does sun aversion trigger allergic reactions ?	Colon cancer fat busting yoghurt coming to a supermarket shelf near you

The 7 Big Spoons™…. are master switches that turn health on.

Balance Eicosanoids	Rein in insulin	Dial down stress	Sleep !	Increase Vit D	Culivate microflora	Think champion

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