Mushrooms Nutritional Value

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 fungi 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 (read more on, types of edible mushrooms) 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. Let us take a look at mushrooms nutritional value.

Mushrooms Nutritional Value
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%

Portabella Mushrooms Nutrition Facts
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%

White Button Mushroom Nutritional Value
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%

Shiitake Mushrooms Nutritional Value
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%

Oyster Mushroom Nutritional Value
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 above tables you can see, that mushrooms nutritional value are unlimited with so many vitamins and minerals content. Each of the vitamins and minerals that are present in mushrooms are beneficial for human body. Thus, mushrooms do not provide just taste but also a wide array of health benefits.