Mushrooms Nutritional Value

Mushrooms contain many important minerals and nutrients required by the human body. Go through the article to know about the nutritional value of mushrooms.
Mushrooms have been popular source of useful nutrients since ages. There are number of myths and facts related to the nutritional value of mushrooms. Pharaohs of ancient Egypt considered mushrooms as source of being immortal. Not just Egyptians, even Greeks and Chinese people believed mushrooms to be a very useful food, that built strength and good health.

A mushroom is nothing but a fungus that has a fleshy body and bears spores. These days mushrooms are used extensively in many cuisines specially in Japanese, Chinese and European. They are popular for their taste and flavor. Usually people think that mushrooms have no nutritional value. But it is not so and mushrooms have a number of health benefits associated with them. Mushrooms are low in calories, low in carb, low in sodium, no cholesterol and contain zero fat. Moreover, they contain vitamins and useful minerals like potassium, copper, selenium, magnesium etc and are high in dietary fibers. There are about 14,000 different species of mushrooms out of which 1400 are poisonous, 3,000 are edible and 700 have medicinal properties. Oyster, shiitake, portabella, button, crimini, etc are some of the popular varieties of mushrooms that are used for preparing different recipes.

Nutritional Value of Mushrooms

As discussed earlier, mushrooms contain important minerals and vitamins, that are required by human body. They are rich sources of vitamins, which include vitamin B and vitamin D. Natural sources of vitamin D are very rare and some mushroom species contain vitamin D and minerals like potassium, copper, magnesium, etc that play an important role in improving the immune system and have plenty of health benefits. These minerals are present in a large amount in mushrooms. The table given below will give a brief idea on mushroom nutrition fact for serving amount of 100 gm mushroom.

Type of Nutrient Nutrient Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Vitamins Niacin (Vitamin B3) 3.6 mg 18%
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) 1.5 mg 15%
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) 0.1 mg 5%
Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) 0.4 mg 24%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) 0.1 mg 5%
Folate (Vitamin B9) 16 mcg 4%
Minerals Copper 0.3mg 16%
Selenium 9.3 mcg 13%
Potassium 318 mg 9%
Phosphorus 86 mg 9%
Iron 0.5 mg 3%
Zinc 0.5 mg 3%
Magnesium 9 mg 2%

Nutrition Facts About Portabella Mushrooms

Portabella mushrooms are known for their high content of selenium. Researches say that selenium contains cancer fighting elements. The table given below elaborates on other nutrition facts of portabella mushroom.

Type of Nutrient Nutrient % Daily Value
Vitamins Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) 28%
Niacin (Vitamin B3) 23%
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) 15%
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) 5%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) 5%
Folate (Vitamin B9) 5%
Minerals Copper 20%
Selenium 16%
Potassium 14%
Phosphorus 13%
Iron 3%
Zinc 4%
Magnesium 3%

Nutritional Value of White Button Mushrooms

White button mushroom is one of the natural sources of vitamin D and also contains antioxidants. Given below is a table that specifies nutritional value of this mushroom.

Type of Nutrient Nutrient % Daily Value
Vitamins Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) 25%
Niacin (Vitamin B3) 20%
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) 20%
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) 4%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) 4%
Folate (Vitamin B9) 6%
Vitamin D 4%
Minerals Copper 15%
Selenium 15%
Potassium 8%
Phosphorus 6%
Iron 2%
Zinc 4%
Magnesium 2%

Nutritional Value of Shiitake Mushrooms

Shiitake mushrooms are also natural sources of vitamin D. They have been used for medicinal purposes for long period of time in Asia. They also contain elements that boost the immune system. Take a look at the table to know more nutrition facts on shiitake mushrooms.

Type of Nutrient Nutrient % Daily Value
Vitamins Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) 10%
Niacin (Vitamin B3) 7%
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) 36%
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) 8%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) 2%
Folate (Vitamin B9) 5%
Vitamin D 25%
Minerals Copper 45%
Selenium 35%
Potassium 3%
Phosphorus 3%
Iron 2%
Zinc 9%
Magnesium 3%

Nutritional Value of Oyster Mushrooms

Oyster mushrooms can help to reduce increased glucose level, triglycerides, etc in diabetic patients. The table given below specifies the percent daily value of vitamins and minerals present in oyster mushroom.

Type of Nutrient Nutrient % Daily Value
Vitamins Riboflavin (Vitamin B2) 21%
Niacin (Vitamin B3) 25%
Pantothenic Acid (Vitamin B5) 13%
Pyridoxine (Vitamin B6) 6%
Thiamin (Vitamin B1) 8%
Folate (Vitamin B9) 7%
Minerals Copper 12%
Selenium 4%
Potassium 12%
Phosphorus 12%
Iron 7%
Zinc 5%
Magnesium 5%

From the tables given above, you can see that mushrooms are rich in nutrition, with so many vitamins and minerals. Each of the vitamins and minerals are beneficial for human body. Thus, mushrooms do not provide just taste but also a wide array of health benefits.
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