Food & recipes

Why You Should Be Eating Mushrooms

Want to upgrade your health this year? Here’s why fungi should be on the menu…

When it comes to on-trend fodder, foods and herbal preparations of traditional Asian medicine are set to be the main healthy heroes of 2019. The yellow spice turmeric will continue to stay strong this year, as it’s forecast that products for pain and inflammation, including those for joint health, will remain popular. Also, the increased awareness of turmeric-based products, including wellness tonics such as golden milk and turmeric-infused teas, will boost this ingredient’s appeal. Other traditional ingredients to watch out for this year include ginger, green tea and garlic. But a key ingredient on our radar is medicinal mushrooms. There is a growing demand by consumers for traditional products, which have a long history of use in herbal medicine, to aid their health and wellbeing.

FABULOUS FUNGI

Medicinal mushrooms will be booming in 2019, as worldwide sales are predicted to double since 2013. These foods are
increasing in popularity due to their low fat, high fibre, and rich phenolic, sterol and antioxidant content, making
them great health products. Medicinal mushrooms are also in favour as they form part of popular diets, such as the
Mediterranean-DASH intervention for neurogenerative delay diet (MIND). This diet is designed to prevent dementia and loss of brain function due to ageing. Combining the Mediterranean and
DASH diets, the MIND diet helps create a dietary pattern which focuses primarily on brain health to slow mental decline. Cases of dementia, Alzheimer’s and other neurodegenerative diseases are projected to hit 42 million by 2020, so consumers are looking at natural treatments, such as
mushrooms, to reduce the likelihood of these diseases. These special mushrooms
appear to alter the body’s immune response and contain rare compounds which positively affect brain cells. They are rich in nutrients, including the trace element selenium, a powerful antioxidant,
which helps to protect cells against damage, preserving brain health and promoting cognitive functioning.
Buy Life Plan’s Reishi Mushroom here

ANCIENT HEALERS

There are 2,300 species of edible and medicinal mushrooms and shiitake is
the second most popular behind the button mushroom. Shiitake, which grows
naturally on decaying hardwood and has a rich savoury taste, was traditionally used to increase longevity and improve circulation. This mushroom contains the
active compound eritadenine which helps lower cholesterol and has strong antiviral
effects, too. There are a number of other medicinal mushrooms such as reishi,
which is one of the oldest mushrooms used medicinally and the most studied in
traditional medicine. It is considered to be a ‘spiritual mushroom of immortality’
and known in Chinese medicinal texts to aid the sick and ill. It has been used for autoimmune disorders, to aid the nervous
system and calm the mind.
Buy Life Plan’s Shiitake Mushroom here

HEALTH HELPERS

Maitake, which means ‘dancing
mushroom’ in Japanese, is another nutritious mushroom. It is rich in beta
glucan, a polysaccharide which has great therapeutic actions, most notably in
lowering LDL cholesterol. Other benefits include blood sugar control, modulating
the immune system, reducing blood pressure and fighting emotional and physical stress. Cordyceps is another important mushroom, a parasitic fungus which
forms a complex with another fungi and is known as the ‘winter warm of
summer grass’. Traditionally, it was used to replenish the kidneys and soothe the
lungs, as well as treat fatigue, night sweats
and heart and liver diseases.
Buy Life Plan’s Maitake Mushroom here

For more information, visit: lifeplan.co.uk