Shiitake mushroom: Benefits and tips on how to enhance the absorption of the nutrients

 Even if you never heard of this mushroom is very famous in east Asia and has been used for centuries and here are some reasons why and also  how to improve the absorption of beneficial nutrients

• Availability 

These mushrooms can be found easily in most of the groceries so not just Asian groceries shop

• Cost

The cost of this is very similar to the most common mushrooms, it might be few cents higher depending on the shop but is still affordable for most budgets

• Taste

Flavour is meaty and versatile for many recipes depending on your taste, especially for soups, salads and meat dishes 

• Nutrition

Is low in calories: 34kcal for 100 gr

Good amount fibres: over 2gr per 100 gr 

• Benefits

- Reduces unhealthy fat:

 The compounds found, especially the b-glucan can reduce plasma lipid fats and slow down the absorption of them

- Support the immune system:

Thanks to the vitamins and minerals contained they help to keep the immune system healthy and functional

- Reduces the levels of fatigue:

Thanks to the Vitamin B complex it gives an amount of energy for longer throughout the day

- Improve cardiovascular health:

Thanks to the sterol compounds rich in this mushroom which can interfere in a positive way with the production of cholesterol in the liver

- Fights cancerous cells

Is NOT a cure for cancer but the polysaccharides and lentinan can improve how the immune systems reacts properly against these cells 

- Reduce cholesterol:

Apart from the above reasons there is one more: Eritadenine a compound in this mushroom that helps to breakdown the cholesterol 

- Improve the health of your bones 

Thanks to the high amount of Vitamin D which can be increased even more with the following tip you can find below, it makes sure we have the recommended amount and avoid deficit in the long run

• Tips 

There is a way to increase the amount of VITAMIN D

Just by putting these mushrooms under the sun before cooking, exactly like as human these mushrooms can still absorb and increase their vitamin D amount

If find them sold dry, then it's a good idea to leave them at least 20 min in water to improve the consistency and taste

• Cooking 

- In oil they improve the general flavour and umami 

- With eggs they are usually a good combination 

- With pasta dishes they can replace meat 

Online there are many recipes and some of them recommend to eat the mushroom raw, as a advice is recommended to always cook it in this case to avoid any side effect related to the consumption of raw mushroom, in this case the most common is the skin rash, but this doesn't occur when cooked properly

• Powder/supplements

You can also find the powder version for a concentrated amount of these compounds quote above, to try the fresh mushroom is more recommended, if you decide to use the supplement than make sure that you are not allergic to any of the ingredients added in the powder other than the mushrooms