Why should mushrooms be sun-dried before eating?

According to a recent study in the United States, tasty and juicy mushrooms are a rich source of vitamin D in the diet, and eating mushrooms scientifically is beneficial to bone health.

Mushrooms are rich in protein, with a digestibility of 70%-90%, and enjoy the reputation of "plant meat." Different parts of the mushroom have different nutrient contents. Generally speaking, the cap is more nutritious than the stem, and the most suitable for eating are fresh, relatively young mushroom fruiting bodies. Mushrooms are not only rich in nutrients and delicious, rich in lysine and other essential amino acids for the human body, but also contain abundant mineral elements; for example, the trace element selenium abundant in mushrooms can enhance the activity of glutathione peroxidase in the blood, prevent peroxides from damaging the body, and improve immunity. The large amount of plant fiber contained in mushrooms helps prevent constipation, promote detoxification, prevent diabetes and colorectal cancer, and lower cholesterol levels. Moreover, it is a low-calorie food that can prevent weight gain, and it is also a fairly good weight-loss and beauty food.

The vitamin D content in shiitake mushrooms is 20 times higher than that in soybeans and 8 times that of kelp. Vitamin D helps the human body absorb calcium and is beneficial to bone health. There are not many natural sources of vitamin D; milk and certain fish contain vitamin D, and ultraviolet light in sunlight can also prompt human skin to synthesize vitamin D, so mushrooms are undoubtedly one of the important sources of vitamin D among natural foods.

The latest research by the U.S. FDA found that exposing growing or freshly picked fresh mushrooms to ultraviolet light can enable mushrooms to synthesize large amounts of vitamin D, and this research result was reported at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration Science Forum. Researchers irradiated freshly picked white button mushrooms with an ultraviolet lamp for 5 minutes, and a large amount of vitamin D was produced, with a content equivalent to 8.69 times the daily requirement of the human body. When growing mushrooms were irradiated with ultraviolet light for 3 hours, their vitamin D content also increased significantly. These experiments confirm that mushrooms can increase vitamin D after sun exposure. In fact, the reason mushrooms have such a magical effect is that they contain the vitamin D precursor ergosterol, a substance that converts into vitamin D under sunlight.

Research progress suggests that mushrooms are very beneficial to all groups of people, especially adolescents, elderly women, and other groups that particularly need calcium supplementation. To make them more nutritious and bring their nutritional value into full play, first choose fresh mushrooms, and it is best to sun-dry the mushrooms for a period of time before eating them. When people supplement calcium, increasing vitamin D intake can promote the absorption and utilization of calcium; therefore, the large amount of vitamin D provided by mushrooms is undoubtedly an excellent choice.