Food Worship #12: Mushrooms

Ah yes, mushrooms, those strange looking fungi that taste oh so good when sauteed and placed on top of pizza, philly cheese steaks, or in my case, salmon burgers and salads.  These little guys are quite unique, and while there are many different kinds, today we're going to look at the mushrooms you commonly find in those blue Styrofoam tubs in the grocery store called white button mushrooms.  They're easy to find, delicious, and go well with almost anything.  Seriously, if that plate looks a little bare, it's not hard to throw a few mushrooms at it.  And there are many reasons why you should do just that.

First, a little background of the white button mushroom.  Its formal scientific name is Agaricus bisporus, and according to Wikipedia it is also called by the names: common mushroom, button mushroom, white mushroom, table mushroom, champignon mushroom, crimini mushroom, Swiss brown mushroom, Roman brown mushroom, Italian brown,Italian mushroom, and cultivated mushroom.  That's quite a few names to keep track of, if I don't say so myself.  Amazingly, when these things are full grown, their known by a much more familiar name, the Portobello mushroom.  Funny how things work, right?  Nowadays, the white button mushroom is grown and cultivated all across the world.  The process isn't too complicated, first a bed of manure and fertile soil is put down and raised to about 70 degrees Fahrenheit.  The mushroom spawn are then laid over this growing bed, which is in a dark, sun-free location, and the temperature is then dropped to around 55 degrees Fahrenheit as the spawn take root.  The spawn are then covered with about an inch of soil, and 3-4 weeks later they're ready for harvest and use in your recipes!

But why is this simple food so darn good for you (and tasty)?  Well, let's explore the actual composition of these little mushrooms, and the nutritional benefits that lay within each one just waiting to spice up your diet and do your body some real good:

Immune System Support:  White button mushrooms can help you stay healthy throughout the year with a couple of unique nutritional benefits they offer.  Certain chemicals in these mushrooms actually interact with your white blood cells, and allow them to do their job more effectively.  In simple terms, if your body needs more active white blood cells, the white button mushroom can help to activate a greater number of cells to assist your body.  That's really an interesting trait of ANY food, and what's more the white button mushroom is actually BETTER at supporting your immune system than almost any other (more expensive or exotic) mushroom type.  Cool!

Antioxidants:  White button mushrooms are a food rich with all sorts of antioxidant benefits as well.  Each mushroom is packed with antioxidant related nutrients like zinc, selenium, and manganese, and these little mushrooms are also excellent at helping your body to produce its own oxidative enzymes to help prevent cell damage from oxidation.  

Heart Health:  These mushrooms also are conducive to helping that heart of yours to beat stronger and more efficiently.  They have incredible anti-inflammatory properties which cause your veins to remain less constricted, and the antioxidant benefits you receive from each mushroom can help to protect your blood cells, veins, and arteries from free radical damage.  These little guys also have been shown to lower LDL cholesterol (the bad stuff) quite effectively, which is definitely a help for remaining healthy in later years.  

Vitamins/Minerals:  You knew it was coming, time to look at all the other little goodies that white button mushrooms come packaged with that will help your body to remain healthy and strong.  This time, I'll list it in chart form, to hopefully let you see the nutritional profile of these mushrooms a little more clearly.

White Button Mushrooms have:

9%   DV vitamin B1

40% DV vitamin B2

27% DV vitamin B3

21% DV vitamin B5

52% DV selenium

10% DV of both zinc and manganese

These mushrooms are VERY nutrient dense, and clearly can add a lot to any meal.  Here are the nutritional facts for 1 CUP of white button mushrooms:

Nutrition Facts
Calories 21	(88 kJ)
% Daily Value 1
Total Fat	0.3g	< 1%
Sat. Fat	< 0.1g	< 1%
Cholesterol	0mg	0%
Sodium	5mg	< 1%
Total Carbs.	3.2g	1%
Dietary Fiber	1g	4%
Sugars	1.6g
Protein	3g
Calcium	2.9mg
Potassium	305.3mg

As you can see, these mushrooms are low in carbs, high in fiber, and have almost no fat.  I munch on them raw sometimes as a low calorie, filling, and delicious snack.  I suggest you try some out; they're actually quite tasty.  If you don't like them raw, saute them up (without using too much butter) and add them to almost any dinner without any trouble whatsoever.  It's a great low calorie filler that tastes heavenly.

So there you have it, the white button mushroom.  I strongly suggest you try a few of these in your next available meal, and I can almost guarantee you'll be glad you did.  They're tasty, nutritious, and readily available at your nearest grocery store.  So what are you waiting for?  Go pick up some fungus!

Be creative, enjoy your buttons, and as always, GOOD LUCK!

References:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Agaricus_bisporus

http://www.calorieking.com/foods/calories-in-fresh-or-dried-vegetables-mushrooms-white-raw-edible-portion_f-ZmlkPTcxMDU2.html

http://whfoods.org/genpage.php?dbid=97&tname=foodspice

Vegetables: To Cook or not to Cook?

I've always been intrigued by the debate about which is healthier:  Cooked vegetables or raw vegetables.  The claim by many is that cooking vegetables removes significant levels of the nutrients in them, therefore they become less beneficial to the human body.  The other side of the argument (which I tend to lean toward) is the fact that we as humans have weak digestive systems, and are unable to process much of the raw, fibrous plant matter contained in uncooked vegetables, so while even though more nutrients may be present in raw veggies, we can't actually absorb them.  There's good data for both sides of this argument, and many reasons to mix it up and have both cooked and raw veggies in your diet.

Reasons to cook vegetables:

1.  Easily accessible nutrients:  Across the board, all the vitamins present in vegetables (A, B1, B2, B3, C, E, etc.) tend to be more easily absorbed because the vegetables are softer, and easier to digest.  This means theoretically that while cooked vegetables have a tad less of each vitamin compared to their raw counterpart, you end up getting MORE of those leftover nutrients than you would have gotten originally if you'd just eaten the vegetable raw.

(Here's a chart displaying the amount of each main vitamin in various vegetables when they're both raw and cooked:  http://www.beyondveg.com/tu-j-l/raw-cooked/raw-cooked-2f.shtml)

2.  Beta Carotene- This extremely powerful nutrient present in many vegetables (especially carrots) is absorbed much more readily when the vegetables are lightly steamed.  Beta Carotene converts to Vitamin A in the body, which will aid in eyesight (ever heard the myth that if you eat enough carrots you can see in the dark?)

3.  Antioxidants- Same deal here.  Useful antioxidants like carotenoids and ferulic acid are utilized by the body much more effectively if vegetables are steamed or boiled.   

4.  They taste better!  At least this is what the majority of people agree upon.  I am partial to cooked vegetables myself, they're quite delicious, warm, easy to chew, and the flavors are much more palatable.  My friends would be a little stunned to see this because I'm usually munching on a pack of raw baby carrots or a stick of celery.  However if given the choice, I'll choose cooked every time.

5.  You can eat more of them!  Cooked veggies aren't as fibrous as raw veggies, and therefore won't fill you up as fast.  That means you can cram more of those useful nutrients down your gullet before your body tells you to stop.  On a muscle building diet, this is a must.  

6.  Anti nutrients are destroyed:  These things won't kill you, but they definitely won't help you.  But what exactly is an anti nutrient?  A good analogy is an apple seed.  The seeds are the valuable part of the apple, and the apple tree doesn't want you to eat its future offspring, therefore apple seeds have evolved to contain traces of cyanide.  Raw grains contain many anti nutrients, and the amount you absorb can be reduced by cooking them before consumption.  This destroys a good portion of those pesky little devils, and the analogy holds true with vegetables (mostly beans) as well.  

Reasons to leave them raw:

1.  They fill you up!  Raw vegetables are extremely fibrous, especially greens like lettuce, broccoli, celery, and spinach.  These foods all are extremely low calorie, healthy snacks that can fill your belly in a heartbeat if you're having one of those hungry hungry hippo moments.  Try a cup of raw broccoli sometime.  No, it may not taste great, but you'll definitely feel like you've eaten a significant meal.  

2.  Easy to snack on:  Raw veggies are easy to pack up.  Try packing a bag full of carrots, celery, pepper slices, and broccoli and I guarantee you'll end up with a filling snack that didn't take more than two minutes to make.  Raw vegetables are firm and robust, and won't be easily crushed.  They're relatively dry as well, so you won't soak the rest of your lunch by accident.  Plus, raw vegetables give that satisfying crunch, and if you can get used to the natural taste, you're golden.  

3.  More Vitamin C:  This vitamin tends to be the one that gets the bad end of the stick when veggies are cooked.  Much of the vitamin C is destroyed by steaming, boiling, or frying, so if you're looking for a little more in your diet (and you should be) then crunch on a few raw veggies today.  

4.  They make your body work!  Have you ever heard of negative calorie foods?  Well stop thinking about them right now, because there are huge debates on whether they exist or not, and the evidence is leaning toward a big fat NO.  However that doesn't mean your body isn't expending large amounts of energy to digest raw foods such as celery and broccoli, and the few calories that are in those foods make them great choices to give your digestive system a workout.  This isn't a pointless endeavor, a healthy digestive system can save you from all sorts of health troubles later in life.  The fiber in those tomatoes will only do you good!  

I say have them both ways!  Veggies are good for you no matter if they're steamed, boiled, fried, cooked, or right off the vine.  I love the way they taste each way, and once you try a few I bet you'll like them too.  Buy some baby carrot packs and much on them at work, or on a walk, or while you're outside reading a book, or while you're cooking dinner, whenever, wherever however you like!  In my opinion, there isn't really ever a bad time to have some vegetables.  

Load those plates high, crunch into a few carrots, and enjoy!