Mushrooms And Dietetics

Dietetics mainly deals with two issues — either a balanced diet for various diseases, or making a diet for those who are losing weight. It is traditionally believed that mushrooms are heavy, coarse, non-dietary, almost dangerous food. Indeed, in the practice of domestic nutritionists, mushrooms are absent as such. Although this is not true, which becomes quite clear if we look at the evidence of Asian specialists.

Mushrooms are characterized by the following positive dietary qualities

• Mushrooms are a delicately balanced animal-plant product , containing a competent ratio of proteins, carbohydrates, fats, amino acids, vitamins and trace elements. 100-200 g of mushrooms are enough to ensure the daily nutritional balance of a person weighing 70 kg, provided that they are not the only source of protein.

• In the case when mono-diets and plant-based diets are contraindicated (digestive disorders, gastritis, colitis, intolerance to raw vegetables and their juices, etc.), mushrooms come to the rescue. When boiled, salted or stewed, they form a thick mucus that envelops the walls of the stomach and facilitates the digestion of mushrooms and other products.

• Mushrooms are very nutritious and saturate quickly. It is enough to use a small addition of them to the second course (pasta, buckwheat, potatoes, etc.) so that the desire to "snack" is reliably postponed until dinner.

• Mushrooms have been proven to reduce cravings for sweets. Mushrooms , like seafood, are a source of zinc, the lack of which provokes an unhealthy addiction to sweets and alcohol. Zinc is also important for maintaining potency. In the Middle Ages, some mushrooms (for example, small varieties of truffles) were used as aphrodisiacs. At the same time, it is worth noting that mushrooms and seafood do not replace, but complement each other, since their active substances and mechanisms of action are different.

• When losing weight, the most difficult thing is to maintain the result — everyone knows that. Mushrooms are excellent helpers in this, as they are rich in vitamins and minerals. They contain vitamin C, B vitamins, which are necessary for the nervous system, and vitamin D, which promotes the absorption of calcium, as well as phosphorus, potassium, iron and many other trace elements.

• Champignons, mushrooms, as well as some wild mushrooms are recommended for metabolic disorders and obesity. They contain substances that reduce the level of cholesterol in the blood. If mushrooms (whether purchased or wild) make up at least 1% of the diet, there is a chance to lower cholesterol by 10%.

• Cultivated champignons and mushrooms are especially useful to eat raw, in this way, with a minimum of calories, we get a maximum of useful substances. It is not for nothing that raw champignons are one of the most popular components of vegetable salads in Europe and the USA.

Unfortunately, mushrooms also have dietary contraindications

• When fried (especially if sour cream is also added), the initially low-calorie, dietary product ceases to be so. After frying in vegetable oil, the calorie content of mushrooms increases 10-15 times.

• Unchopped mushrooms take a long time to digest, since a late dinner with mushrooms will not do you any good. In this case, the appearance of such side effects as a feeling of heaviness, bloating, flatulence, stomach upset is possible.

• It is worth knowing that mushrooms do not combine well with raw vegetables - cucumbers, cabbage, tomatoes. Only cooked vegetables are completely safe from this point of view.

• It is difficult for children under 7 years of age and the elderly to digest fried mushrooms , as well as a large number of boiled or raw mushrooms . In children, the secretion of digestive enzymes is not yet the same as in adults, and in the elderly it is no longer the same. 

As we can see, the correct approach to the use and consumption of mushrooms as a dietary product will add variety to the table and make any diet more attractive.