Mushrooms Miraculous Health Benefits & Unexpected risk

A mushroom, or toadstool, is the beefy, the spore-bearing fruiting body of a fungus, typically produced above ground on soil or on its food source. 

Mushrooms are classified as vegetables in the food world, but they are not technically plants. They belong to the fungi kingdom. Although they are not vegetables, mushrooms provide different important nutrients. 

Mushrooms are eatable fungi with various scientific names and their family name is “Agaricus”. They are essentially Saprophytes, the organisms which thrive by extracting nutrients from dead and decaying plant and animal matter. They vary greatly in their color, texture, shape and properties. 

Mushrooms have a stem (stipe), a cap (pileus), and gills (lamellae, sing. lamella) on the underside of the cap. "Mushroom" also outlines a variety of other gilled fungi, with or without stems. 

Botanical Name: Agaricus bisporus   

The terms "mushroom" and "toadstool" go back centuries and were never precisely defined, nor was their consensus on application. Between 1400 and 1600 AD, the terms mushroom, mushrum, muscheron, mousheroms, mussheron, or musserouns were used. 

The term "mushroom" and its variations may have been derived from the French word mousseron in reference to moss (mousse). The delineation between edible and poisonous fungi is not clear-cut, so a "mushroom" may be edible, poisonous, or unpalatable. 

The most popular of the different types of mushrooms that are used in foods are white mushrooms, morels, truffles, and portabella mushrooms. Other popular types include the chanterelle, shiitake, oyster and enoki. 

Mushrooms are high in antioxidants. Antioxidants are chemicals that get rid of free radicals, a type of chemical that can harm a person's body cells, potentially leading to cancer. 

Selenium is a mineral found in mushrooms. It plays a role in liver enzyme function and assistance detoxify some cancer-causing compounds in the body. Additionally, selenium stops inflammation and also minimize tumor growth rates.

The vitamin D in mushrooms has also been shown to inhibit the growth of cancer cells by contributing to the regulation of the cell growth cycle. The folate in mushrooms plays an important role in DNA synthesis and preventing the formation of cancer cells from mutations in the DNA.

MAIN THING: Mushrooms are a good source of selenium, has anticancer, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory potential and may help in reducing the risk of cancer, heart diseases, thyroid disease, and cognitive decline.

The powerful antioxidant therein mushrooms is very effective in providing protection from free radicals as well as boosting the immune system.

Mushrooms contain natural antibiotics, which inhibit microbial growth and other fungal infections. These same polysaccharides, beta-glucans, can stimulate and regulate the body’s immune system. They can also help cure ulcers and ulcerous wounds and protect them from developing infections. The good combination of vitamin A, B-complex, and C that is found in them also strengthens the immune system.

MAIN THING: The antioxidant found in mushrooms helps to boost your immunity.

Mushrooms have no cholesterol or fat and have very low carbohydrates. The fiber and certain enzymes in them also help to lower cholesterol levels and high lean protein content found in mushrooms helps burn cholesterol when they are digested. Balancing levels of cholesterol between LDL or bad cholesterol and HDL or good cholesterol is essential in the prevention of various cardiovascular diseases like atherosclerosis, heart attack, and stroke. 

The fiber, potassium and vitamin C content in mushrooms all provide good health to the cardiovascular system. Potassium and sodium work together in the body to help control blood pressure. Consuming mushrooms, which are high in potassium and low in sodium, helps to lower blood pressure and decrease the risk of high blood pressure and cardiovascular diseases.

MAIN THING: Mushrooms include in your diet helps to reduce risk of heart diseases.

Mushrooms are an ideal low-energy diet for diabetics. They have no fats, no cholesterol, very low levels of carbohydrates, high protein content and a wealth of vitamins and minerals. They also contain a lot of water and fiber. 

They are also known to contain certain compounds that help the proper functioning of the liver, pancreas and other endocrine glands and promoting the formation of insulin and its proper regulation throughout the body. 

The natural antibiotics in mushrooms can help protect diabetics from these painful and potentially life-threatening conditions like a diabetic foot or any injury in limbs.

MAIN THING: Some compounds found in Mushrooms prevents diabetes.

Vitamin D is a relatively rare vitamin to find in vegetables, and in fact, its edible forms, are not particularly common, but the main benefit of the mushroom is they have it, and this crucial vitamin can make easy the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorous. 

Calcium and phosphorus are also present in good amounts in mushrooms, Calcium is an essential nutrient in the formation and strengthening of bones. calcium in the diet can reduce the chances of developing conditions like osteoporosis, and can also reduce joint pain and general lack of mobility that is associated with bone degradation.

MAIN THING: Vitamin D found in Mushrooms helps strengthening of bones.

Mushrooms have high in potassium content. Potassium acts as a vasodilator, relaxing tension in blood vessels and, therefore, reducing blood pressure. High blood pressure is related to a number of deadly conditions, particularly heart attacks and strokes. 

Potassium also raises cognitive function, because increased blood and oxygen flow to the brain stimulates neural activity.

MAIN THING: Due to Potassium content in Mushrooms helps lower blood pressure.

Mushrooms have a large amount of copper. copper deficiency can lead to anemia and neutropenia. This is because copper regulates and stimulates the absorption of iron from food, and properly utilize it by getting it released from primary storage spots in the body like the liver. So anemia is prevented due to the use of mushrooms. Mushrooms also have high levels of iron, so the two work together for healthy bones and also prevent anemia.

MAIN THING: Copper regulates iron absorption helps to prevent anemia.

Dietary fiber plays a vital role in weight management by functioning as a "bulking agent" in the digestive system. Mushrooms hold two types of dietary fibers in their cell walls, beta-glucans and chitin. These increase satiety and reduce appetite. By making feel fuller longer, they can reduce overall calorie intake.

MAIN THING: Mushrooms include in your diet help to loose your weight.

A single toxic mushroom among others in a dish can intimidate a large amount of people’s health, resulting in comas, severe poison symptoms, nausea, vomiting, convulsions, cramps, and insanity. 

Many species can even be fatal if ingested.

Always avert eating discolored ones or those which are different in color than the typically accepted color of their species. 

Select fresh mushrooms that have no discoloration.

Always trust sealed products from reputable companies or those which you have grown yourself under controlled conditions after buying their seeds from a trusted source. Also, do not faith any unknown vendors when you buy mushrooms. 

Don’t ever try picking them for consumption from the woods unless you have been trained to identify them very well. 

Many mushrooms, when picked in the wild, hold heavy metals, which can be very poisonous, as well as air and water pollutants.

Mushrooms have the unique ability to soak up the material that they grow on, either good or bad. This quality is what gives them so much of their beneficial power, but also their dangerous aspects.

Store them in a paper bag or tea towel in a refrigerator or a cool place. Use them within a few days as they start aging faster.