Mushroom Health Benefits

Health benefits of exotic mushrooms

Edible mushrooms are an extremely healthy food, rich in vitamins and minerals and a good source of both protein and fibre.

All three types of edible mushrooms we grow contain:

  • Vitamins D and B, making them great for vegans, vegetarians, and those on a gluten-free diet.
  • Beta-glucans that can help to maintain normal blood pressure.
  • Minerals including potassium and selenium.

Mushrooms are also naturally low in calories, carbohydrates, fat and sodium, and rich in fibre and protein.

Mushrooms and your health – an important notice

If you have not tried our three types of mushrooms before, you should check with your physician or medical professional if you’re taking any form of medication and/or under treatment for chronic conditions. The same applies if you are pregnant or breastfeeding.

As with all foods, some people may experience allergies to mushrooms, including skin allergies. If you experience any symptoms of an allergic reaction, or have in the past, you should stop consuming mushrooms in any form – fresh, dried or powdered.

We recommend that all our fresh and dried mushrooms should be gently heated or cooked and not consumed raw. Proteins in mushrooms are unavailable unless you cook them, and as expected, cooking helps with the digestion process.

If you are (or suspect you are) mildly allergic to mushrooms, cooking them can lessen a reaction as well. It is possible that with those sensitive to mushrooms, reactions could be magnified by alcohol intake.

For our powdered mushroom products, we recommend a reasonable amount of around 1-2 teaspoons per dosage. Again, creating a hot drink such as mushroom coffee or using it in cooking will heat the mushroom powder and make it easier for your body to absorb the nutrients in it.

You may find these types of mushrooms referred to as medicinal mushrooms. Research continues into the health benefits of specific mushrooms, but to date much of the studies have been on animals. Weth Mushrooms is unable to make any direct health claims as we are not medical professionals.

 

Health benefits of our mushrooms

Each of our mushroom types, whether fresh dried or powdered, have different potential health benefits.

 

Lion’s mane mushrooms

Hericium erinaceus

Nutrients: Whether fresh, dried or powdered, organically grown lions mane mushrooms are protein-rich, and packed with essential nutrients. That’s why lion’s mane is much prized in Japan for its potential health and wellness properties, including naturally high levels of antioxidants.

Buy your lion’s mane mushrooms dried or powered at our online shop and we’ll ship it direct to your door (link).

Potential health benefits:

  • Supporting mental health. Lion’s mane is a natural adaptogen which helps boost your body’s respond to stress, anxiety, and tiredness.
  • Improve your sleep. If you have trouble sleeping, lion’s mane may help you drift off more naturally. Our powdered lion’s mane supplement is ideal for adding to a healthy, non-caffeine drink at night to aid your sleep. (link)
  • Better gut health. Lion’s mane mushrooms may raise the activity of your intestinal immune system by helping regulate your natural gut bacteria.
  • Improved cognitive function. Lion’s mane mushrooms contain hericenones and erinacines, which research suggests can protect your brain from the cognitive effects of aging and boost your memory.

Maitake mushrooms

Grifola frondosa

Nutrients: Maitake mushrooms are a rich source of protein, vitamins B and C, and minerals including potassium and copper, and beta-glucans. Also known as hen in the woods mushrooms, maitake are rich in antioxidants, whilst being naturally low salt, low calorie, cholesterol-free and high in dietary fibre.

Buy your maitake mushrooms dried or powered at our online shop and we’ll ship it direct to your door (link).

Potential health benefits:

  • Reducing cell damage. Maitake mushrooms contain antioxidants which help protect the body against damage from free radicals.
  • Reducing stress. Maitake mushroom are an adaptogen, a group of plants that help our bodies cope with stress.
  • Improved immune system functionality.
  • Helping lower cholesterol. Maitake mushrooms may help keep your arteries healthy by lowering cholesterol in your blood.

  • Reduced blood sugars. Maitake mushrooms has been shown to have a positive effect on blood sugar levels, making them potentially very useful for those looking to take themselves out of Type 2 diabetes through diet and lifestyle changes.

  • Suppressing cancer. We’ll be honest the body of evidence simply isn’t there yet, but the indications are there that maitake extract can suppress the growth and spread of cancerous cells in animals.

Shiitake mushroom

Lentinula edodes

Nutrients: Like most mushrooms, shiitake mushrooms are rich in vitamins and minerals, including potassium and copper. In addition, shiitake contain B vitamins including riboflavin and pantothenic acid (B6). They are also rich in vitamin D, making them especially useful for vegans. Their umami content also reduces the need to add salt or artificial flavours to your cooking.

Buy your shiitake mushrooms dried or powered at our online mushroom shop and we’ll ship it direct to your door (link)

Potential health benefits:

  • Boost your immune system. Shiitake contain polysaccharides which may help boost your immune system.
  • Better heart health. Shiitake mushrooms contain eritadenine, sterols and beta-glucans, which could lower your cholesterol. In addition, reducing your salt intake with dishes cooked with shiitake could benefit your overall heart health.
  • Help strengthen bones. All mushrooms contain vitamin D, which the body needs to keep bones strong and healthy. Shiitake mushrooms can contain up to 18 IU of vitamin D per 100g, so they can make a sizeable contribution to your required 400 IU micrograms of vitamin D a day.

Wild mushrooms

Never forage for or pick wild mushrooms unless you thoroughly check with a reliable and established source that they are safe to eat. Some may be poisonous, and others may be protected species. Even edible wild mushrooms can also assimilate toxins from their surroundings.

If you busy or simply biased like us, trust us to supply more mushrooms than you can handle.