Just add mushrooms: making meals more nutritious

February 1, 2021 – Researchers have identified another good reason to eat more mushrooms. New research, published in Food Science and Nutrition (January 2021) found that adding a portion of mushrooms to the diet increased the intake of several micronutrients, including deficient nutrients like vitamin D, without any increase in calories, sodium or fat.

Dr. Victor L. Fulgoni III and Dr. Sanjiv Agarwal modeled the addition of mushrooms to the 2011-2016 National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey (NHANES) dietary data by looking at a 1: 1 composition of white mushrooms, crimini and portabella: 1 Reason; a setting including mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light; and a scenario including oyster mushrooms for both 9-18 years and 19+ years of age based on a portion equivalent to 84g or ½ cup.

Key findings include:

• Adding an 84g serving of mushrooms increased several deficient nutrients, including potassium and fiber. This was true for the white, crimini and portabella mix 1: 1: 1 and oyster mushrooms.
• The addition of a portion (84 g) of mushrooms to the diet resulted in an increase in dietary fiber (5% -6%), copper (24% -32%), phosphorus (6%), potassium (12% -14% ), selenium (13% -14%), zinc (5% -6%), riboflavin (13% -15%), niacin (13% -14%) and choline (5% -6%) in both adolescents and adults; but it had no impact on calories, carbohydrates, fat or sodium.
• When commonly consumed mushrooms are exposed to ultraviolet light to provide 5 mcg of vitamin D per serving, vitamin D intake can reach and slightly exceed the recommended daily value (98% – 104%) for groups aged 9 to 18 and 19 years or more, as well as reducing the inadequacy of this deficient nutrient in the population.
• A portion of commonly consumed mushrooms exposed to ultraviolet light reduced the population’s inadequacy for vitamin D from 95.3% to 52.8% for the 9 to 18 age group and from 94.9% to 63.6% for the age group. age group of 19+ years.

“This research validated what we already knew that adding mushrooms to your plate is an effective way to achieve the dietary goals identified by the DGA,” said Mary Jo Feeney, MS, RD, FADA and coordinator of nutritional research at the Mushroom Council. “Research data like NHANES are used to assess nutritional status and its association with health promotion and disease prevention and assist in the formulation of national standards and public health policies (CDC, 2020).”

Mushrooms are fungi – a member of the third food kingdom – biologically distinct from the foods derived from plants and animals that make up USDA food standards, although they have a unique nutritional profile that provides nutrients common to plant and animal foods. Although classified in food grouping systems for its use as a vegetable, the growing use of mushrooms as a main entry into vegetable diets is growing, supporting consumer efforts to follow food-based food guidance recommendations to reduce calorie intake , saturated fatty acids, and sodium while increasing the intake of little-consumed nutrients, including fiber, potassium and vitamin D. Often grouped with vegetables, mushrooms provide many of the product’s nutritional attributes, as well as attributes most commonly found in meat , beans or grains.

According to the USDA’s FoodData Central, 5 medium white raw mushrooms (90g) contain 20 calories, 0g fat, 3g protein and are very low in sodium (0mg /

Mushrooms are one of the best dietary sources of antioxidant amino acids containing sulfur ergotioneine and glutathione tripeptide The content of ergotioneine and glutathione in mushrooms depends on mushroom varieties, and oyster mushrooms contain more amounts of these sulfur-containing antioxidants than commonly consumed mushrooms: button white, crimini or Portabella mushrooms. The addition of a portion of commonly eaten mushrooms and oyster mushrooms should add 2.24 and 24.0 mg of ergotionein, respectively, and 3.53 and 12.3 mg of glutathione, respectively, to the NHANES 2011-2016 diets based on published literature values.

The USDA FoodData Central database does not currently include analytical data on ergotionein. However, the Mushroom Council is currently supporting research to analyze mushrooms for bioactive / ergotionein for possible inclusion in the USDA’s FoodData Central database.

More research from the Mushroom Council is yet to come

With mushrooms growing in awareness and consideration among consumers across the country, in 2019, the Mushroom Council made a multi-year investment of $ 1.5 million in research to help broaden the understanding of the nutritional qualities of foods and the general benefits to Cheers.

In addition to the analysis of mushrooms for bioactive / ergotionein for inclusion in the USDA FoodData Central database, other approved research projects include:

• Health-promoting effects of including mushrooms as part of a healthy eating pattern.
• Relationship between mushrooms and cognitive health in the elderly.
• Impact of mushrooms on brain health in an animal model.
• Nutritional impact of adding a portion of mushrooms to USDA dietary standards.

Since 2002, the Council has conducted research that supports the increased demand for mushrooms, discovering the nutrients and health benefits of mushrooms. The published results of these projects form the basis for communicating these benefits to consumers and health influencers.

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For more information on nutrition, recipes and links to other studies funded by the Mushroom Council, visit mushroomcouncil.org.

NHANES intake data is self-reported and memory-dependent and therefore subject to reporting bias. The results presented are based on modeling to assess the maximum effect of adding mushrooms and may not reflect actual individual eating behavior; however, this modeling offers a technique for testing the potential nutritional impact of dietary guidance.

About the Mushroom Council

The Mushroom Council is made up of producers or importers of the fresh produce market that average more than 500,000 pounds of mushrooms produced or imported annually. The mushroom program is authorized by the Mushroom Consumer Promotion, Research and Information Act 1990 and is administered by the Mushroom Council under the supervision of the Agricultural Marketing Service. Research and promotion programs help to expand, maintain and develop markets for individual agricultural commodities in the United States and abroad. These sector self-help programs are requested and financed by the sector groups they serve. For more information, visit mushroomcouncil.org.