| FAQ |
Answer |
| Do mushrooms
contain vitamin B12? |
Australian government
laboratories tested the mushroom in 1987 and found
that a serve of mushrooms provided about 10% of
the daily needs of vitamin B12. Since then there
has been speculation whether the B12 came from
the mushroom or just happened to be on the mushroom.
To establish the real levels of B12 in mushrooms,
scientists at the University of Western Sydney
are now checking mushroom samples from around
Australia for their B12 content. We shall be bringing
you those results later in 2008. |
| Do mushrooms
contain vitamin D? |
Mushrooms are
the only non-animal fresh food source of vitamin
D. Small amounts naturally occur in mushrooms.
What has been an exciting development is that
leaving mushrooms in the sunshine for a short
time dramatically increases the vitamin D levels.
The Australian mushroom industry, with help from
the University of Western Sydney and Pennsylvania
State University, are now testing to see how much
sunlight is needed to reach a certain level of
vitamin D. When that has been successfully trialled,
there could be vitamin D enhanced mushrooms at
the supermarket. |
| Are mushrooms
are fruit or a vegetable? |
Neither actually.
Fruits and vegetables are members of the plant
family. Mushrooms evolved later, just before the
evolution of animals. Being different to fruit
and vegetables may help explain why mushrooms
contain more B vitamins, selenium, and the antioxidant
ergothioneine than found in fruit and vegetables. |
| Is it true that
mushrooms have antioxidants? |
Yes. In fact,
they are in the top five high antioxidant foods
in nature. Recently, mushrooms were found to be
the best source of the antioxidant ergothioneine.
As humans have a special protein to transport
ergothioneine in the blood, it has been speculated
that humans have naturally long been mushroom
eaters. |
| What is the GI
of a mushroom? |
The Glycaemic
Index (GI) of mushrooms is close to zero. The
GI of foods is a measure of their effect on blood
sugar levels. As mushrooms have virtually no carbohydrate,
they do not raise blood sugar levels, which is
good news for everyone, as well as those with
diabetes. |
| Can mushrooms
prevent you from getting cancer? |
We don’t
know for sure. But there has been some very interesting
research of late showing that mushrooms influence
specific enzymes in the body and could be playing
a role in reducing your risk of breast or prostate
cancer. Further research is being conducted in
the US to see the effect of eating mushrooms on
cancer development. With the mushroom being high
in antioxidants, essential nutrients, fibre and
selenium, we feel confident that mushrooms are
helping to enhance the health of all Australians.
|
| How much mushroom
should I eat each day? |
A 100g serve
will provide all the nutritional benefits available
from a mushroom. That works out to be about three
button mushrooms a day. Easy. |
