Does giving your Mushrooms a sunbath boost your Vitamin D?

Mushrooms as we all know, grow in the dark. We get our Vitamin D from the sun. It sounds a bit crazy, but putting the two together can help out your Vitamin D levels.

Research in the Medical Journal of Australia says giving our mushies an hour-long sunbath can help boost the amount of Vitamin D in our diet.

A lot of people have low Vitamin D; older people in aged care, people with chronic diseases such as multiple sclerosis, and many of us who work all day indoors. Even the Alexanders boys look a bit pale during the winter months driving the truck to market.

If you love a bit of capricciosa or mushroom risotto, there’s good news for you; exposing your 100g or so of Australian mushrooms to direct sunlight sun can provide 800 IU (international units, or 20 micrograms) of Vitamin D3. The daily recommended dose is about 800-1000 IU – easy done!

Mushrooms are also the only non-animal natural source of Vitamin D. Which is something we love hearing at Alexanders.

The humble mushroom is your friend

Getting stuck into a 100g serve of cooked mushrooms provides around 3g of dietary fibre, which is about 10% of your daily fibre needs. It also contains most of the B group vitamins that help give energy from food, maintain blood health, improve your vision, and help fight tiredness.

Mushies can also improve cholesterol levels, triglycerides (bad fats), and blood sugar levels.

They also contain heaps of bio-copper, selenium, phosphorous, potassium, and are an antioxidant.

You might think – jeez, what can’t these Mushrooms do?

Why is Vitamin D so important anyway?

The Medical Journal also estimates one in three of us may have Vitamin D deficiency. If it isn’t you, it’s someone in your family or friend group.

Vitamin D is essential to maintain calcium and phosphate levels, which means stronger and healthier bones. It also has been shown to have positive effects on muscle function. The hormonal form of Vitamin D, serum-25 OHD can also be a predictor of if older people will suffer falls; as low levels can cause lower-body muscle weakness and impaired balance.

Extreme Vitamin D deficiency can cause insulin resistance, immune depletion, arthritis, brain decline, and other issues.

For people with very low Vitamin D, they may need to take 3000-5000 IU of Vitamin D per day for six to twelve weeks, along with calcium supplements.

Join in the Mushroom Madness at Alexanders

For the freshest mushrooms at the best prices in Oakleigh, come see the Mushroom Madness boys at Alexanders today.