Proven Benefits and Uses of Shiitake Mushrooms
People have been cultivating shiitake mushrooms for more than 800 years, to use them in various dishes for their unique flavor and impressive health benefits.
🍀What are Shiitake Mushrooms?
Shiitake mushrooms (Lentinula edodes) are a popular fungal variety native to East Asia. The name ‘shiitake’ is taken directly from its name in Japanese and it is also known as black mushroom or oakwood mushroom. These mushrooms have become famous all around the world and comprise more than 1/4 of all mushroom cultivation globally.
🍀Shiitake Mushrooms Nutrition
Shiitake mushrooms are particularly sought after because of their rich nutrient content, which consists of significant amounts of B vitamins, phosphorus, manganese, and zinc, as well as vitamin C, vitamin D, iron, magnesium, and potassium. This is in addition to dietary fiber and a number of powerful antioxidants including alkaloids, phenols, and diterpenoids. Experts recommend adding small amounts of shiitake mushrooms to your meals to maximize your intake of these uniquely beneficial fungi.
🍀Benefits of Shiitake Mushrooms
The most impressive benefits of shiitake mushrooms include aiding in weight loss, strengthening the bones, promoting skin health, reducing inflammation, preventing premature aging, improving repair and growth, and boosting circulation, among others.
🍀Skin Care
There are an incredible amount of antioxidant compounds in shiitake mushrooms that provide an excellent defense against free radicals and oxidative stress throughout the body. These help in protecting the skin from signs of aging such as wrinkles, while also reducing the appearance of scars and blemishes and promoting a healthy glow to the skin. With a good amount of selenium, these mushrooms have also been called a natural acne treatment, as deficiencies in this mineral are often linked to acne symptoms.
🍀Help in Weight Loss
A 2014 study in the Nutrients journal says that consuming shiitake mushrooms for combating obesity is a great way to deal attain your weight loss goals.
The nutrient density of shiitake mushrooms, in comparison to their caloric value, makes them an excellent food for people trying to lose weight. In 100 grams of these mushrooms, there are approximately 35 calories, so you can boost your mineral and antioxidant levels without compromising your calorie limits, in addition to stimulating the metabolism and circulation, which can aid in weight loss efforts.
🍀Improve Digestion
The antimicrobial effects and immune system-boosting properties of these mushrooms make them ideal for digestion. Eating small to moderate amounts of these mushrooms can balance the bacterial balance in your gut, improve digestion (thanks to the dietary fiber levels) and even increase the uptake efficiency of nutrients like iron and calcium.
🍀Boost Overall Energy
B vitamins are often misunderstood and forgotten about but they play a key role in metabolism and energy production. Shiitake mushrooms happen to have high levels of vitamin B2, vitamin B6, pantothenic acid, vitamin B3, and folate, all of which optimize many of the body’s functions. Furthermore, half a cup of shiitake mushrooms provides more than 70% of your daily recommended amount of copper, which is also a crucial element in energy metabolism.
🍀Reduce Stress
With so many antioxidants, including phenolic compounds, diterpenoids, vitamin C, vitamin A, gallic acid and others, shiitake mushrooms can significantly cut down on oxidative stress throughout the body. These active compounds are known to seek out and neutralize free radicals before they can cause chronic disease, premature aging, and cognitive problems.
🍀Boost Immune System
A research paper by the University of Florida, published in the Journal of American College of Nutrition, suggests that shiitake mushrooms help boost the immune function.
Additionally, there are many different antioxidants present in shiitake mushrooms, along with vitamin C, which is well known for its effects on the immune system. More importantly, certain messaging molecules found in shiitake mushrooms can improve the efficacy of our immune system and speed up its response time to potentially harmful allergens and other substances.
🍀Help in Growth and Repair
Aside from vitamin C, one of the most crucial components of collagen is copper. Collagen is required for the creation of all tissues, muscles, bones, blood vessels and skin in the body, and with shiitake mushrooms being the 4th most dense copper source available in our diet, we can certainly increase our growth and repair rates with a steady stream of this nutrient-rich fungi.