http://www.care2.com/greenliving/vitamin-d-fortified-mushrooms.html
Vitamin D Fortified Mushrooms
By Brierley Wright, Natural Solutions
There are two ways to get vitamin D. You can sit in the sun (sans sunscreen for a few minutes) and soak up the UVB rays, which our skin cells use to make the vitamin. Or you can get it from food. Unfortunately, few foods are rich in D: fatty fish, such as mackerel, sardines and salmon; egg yolks; and D-fortified foods including milk and cereals. We can now add one more food “mushrooms” to the list of vitamin-D-rich foods.
“Mushrooms contain a compound called ergosterol that gets converted to vitamin D when exposed to UVB light,” explains Tara McHugh, Ph.D., research leader at the Western Regional Research Center of the Agricultural Research Service. This conversion is similar to the one that creates vitamin D in our skin. Mushrooms grow in the dark, so theoretically you could force them to make vitamin D by exposing them to sunlight, but it would take a long time. Instead a new technique exposes mushrooms to high-intensity artificial UV rays for a few minutes (think tanning bed).
McHugh helped to develop the process for Monterey Mushrooms, which launched its Sun Bella brand this fall. Dole Food Company, Inc. employs a similar method to create its vitamin-D-rich portobello mushrooms, which have been on the market since June. A single 3-ounce serving of Sun Bella or Dole mushrooms has 100 percent of the recommended daily intake for vitamin D.
Visit EatingWell.com for free quick and easy healthy recipe collections!
More from Mel, selected from Natural Solutions magazine (133 articles available)
related stories
-
(4 comments)
-
-
(1 comment)
Robyn
Melissa
Deepak
Eric
Dave
Dr. Brent
Isha
Susan
Delia
Michelle
Wendy
Megan
Hilary
Ann
Judi
Ronnie
Kelly
Lily
Terri
Betsy
Cait
Andrew
Jana
Annie B.
Veronica
13 comments
add your comment »thanks...you...
Kabin
Konteyner
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Its their protein content that make mushrooms a necessary part of anyone's diet, especially vegetarians. Let's talk about that instead.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
where does the D3 come from that they put into those pills?
I have a health food store and we sell them and someone asked me that question..I was at a loss.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
where does the D3 come from that they put into those pills?
I have a health food store and we sell them and someone asked me that question..I was at a loss.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Like Tom said, the vitamin D in mushrooms exposed to the sun, as with any fungus exposed to the sun, is Vitamin D2 which is not nearly as effective or safe as Vitamin D3. See:
http://en.allexperts.com/q/Naturopathy-3401/2008/11/vitamin-D.htm
http://www.cosmeticdatabase.com/ingredient.php?ingred06=706902¬hanks=1#multiple
http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/vitaminDPharmacology.shtml
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
I had heard about the completion of this research over a year ago. I was excited by the prospect and contacted Monterey Mushrooms via email to learn more and ask when the mushrooms were expected to be on the market and where they'd be distributed, but I never got a reply. I guess they only communicate to consumers through press releases.
I wonder what type of transformers they use- thanks for explaining the difference Alex.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Turning your mushrooms gills up in mid-summer sun will "irradiate" them as well. You can get a shiitake mushroom from 110IU to 1100IU by "tanning" them.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
The only real harm to be had from tanning beds, besides folks not being responsible (overexposure), is the type of transformer that powers the bulbs. Avoid the ones that "hum", the magnetic ballast type as the exposure from the Electromagnetic Field (EMF) can cause cancer whereas the solid state ballast type are not harmful.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Tom...the point of this article seems to be that these two specific brands of mushrooms have been specially treated to contain more ergo-D than the average mushroom that you're apparently talking about.
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
From a nutritionist that follows research very closely...you would need to eat about 7.2 pounds of mushrooms a day to meet the vitamin D needs of an adult that does not get any sun exposure. (think winter time, sunscreen, sun avoidance) The plant based D2 or ergocalciferol (found in mushrooms) is being disputed as having a little as 1/3 to 1/10 the potency as D3 (cholecalciferol) that comes from lanolin, fish oil, or natural sunlight conversion in our skin.(J Clin Endo Metab 2004;89:5387-5391) Considering researchers have determined that a typical adult needs between 3,800IU and 5000IU D3 depending on your current blood levels of 25 hydroxy vitamin D (Am J Clin Nutr 2008;87:1952-8), and 3oz gives you 100% RDA of 800IU D2, you can do the math. (11.72 pounds per day is needed at the high end and 2.67 pounds at the high end) I hope you really, really like mushrooms! Now if you ate the mushrooms on a beach in Fiji...well that's a different story. You can get up to 20,000IU of vitamin D3 converted in the skin with a bathing suit on in 10-20 minutes depending on your fat mass and skin pigmentation. Ahhhh Fiji...
send green star | flag as inappropriate
why is this inappropriate?
Facebook account: