Mushrooms & Vitamin D

LaurieLovesLearning

I'd never heard of this before. Have you?

https://fungi.com/blogs/articles/place-mushrooms-in-sunlight-to-get-your-vitamin-d

kbmbillups1

No I've never heard of it. Seems you'd have to trust the person you're buying them from to get all that D.

Torey

I have taken a few mushroom courses so I did know this, however I didn't know that it could be done with dried mushrooms. That's pretty amazing.

So you don't necessarily need to trust the person you are buying from to get the Vitamin D. You can expose the mushrooms to sunlight yourself to ensure high levels.

This is a link to a page from Mushrooms Canada that has a chart with how high the Vitamin D content is in various mushrooms, before and after exposure. It doesn't list the "after" results for oysters or shitakes which is unfortunate because they both have higher starting points. I always thought that shitakes were highest in Vitamin D but it seems that oysters might be higher. There is also a chart listing optimal Vitamin D dosing for different age groups.

https://mushrooms.ca/vitamin-d/

I must remember to tell our local mushroom producer that he should be promoting this aspect of mushrooms.

Lisa K

I had heard about growing mushrooms in sunlight but like @Torey did not know you could dry them in sunlight to get Vitamin D. Thanks @LaurieLovesLearning great article!

jowitt.europe

@LaurieLovesLearning @Torey Thank you for this information and the articles. I have lots of dried mushrooms. They will all go sunbathing. I never new that one fouls increase Vitamin D by placing them in the sun. Amazing!

Ruth Ann Reyes

WOW! This is amazing!

I'm currently attempting to grow a variety of mushrooms.

I definitely need the Vitamin D!

nicksamanda11

Very cool

MissPatricia

Fascinating read! I may have to try this next summer if I can remember then. I had not heard of this.

vickeym

Very interesting. Wish there was someone else in my family who actually ate mushrooms. But if I can get some to do this with (and it doesn't rain all summer again) I will have plenty of Vitamin D for myself.

annbeck62

I did not know this. Thanks for posting because I trust what I learn from the forum to be accurate.

LaurieLovesLearning

@annbeck62 I think there are enough knowledgeble people here who are careful to vet their sources, or gently call out incorrect information, that the forum should be pretty reliable. None of us wants to promote things that can harm anyone.

Anyone reading here should still remember that there is always a possibility of something being off for whatever reason. As you know, researching further (a minimum of 3 reliable & respected sources) is always encouraged!

water2world

My sister and I have always had extremely low Vitamin D levels. Sis lives in FL and is outside most of the time!

I currently take a RX for Vit D3 50,000 unit capsule once a week and usually that keeps it close to the normal levels.

I would love to find something natural!! I want to try sunbathed mushrooms!!

LaurieLovesLearning

@water2world's comment has me thinking.

@Torey (or anyone), do you have any information on how to assist the body in processing vitamin D? I know that we can sometimes take in vitamins and our bodies just eliminate them because we don't have those processes working quite right.

I think I've heard of something in the past, but can't quite recall if it had to do with vitamin D or not.

Torey

Yes. Laurie is correct. Most vitamins and minerals are more easily absorbed when taken with certain other things.

Vitamin D is fat soluble and is stored in our body's liver and fat reserves. So to increase absorption of Vitamin D, it should be taken with a fat of some kind. That could be as simple as taking it with some peanut butter or an avocado.

Similarly to using supplements, fat would be needed when consuming foods high in vitamin D. So with the mushrooms, sautéing them in butter would increase absorption. Or a cream of mushroom soup. Maybe baked, stuffed mushrooms with shrimp and cream cheese?

There is also a suggestion that magnesium might increase absorption of vitamin D. Pumpkin seeds are very high in magnesium and good fats including omega-3 fatty acids. They are also one of the highest seed sources of zinc (helpful with stress, so I'm sure we could all use extra in today's world). So maybe a spoonful of pumpkin seed butter to increase absorption.

@water2world Has your doc made a suggestion as to why you are low in vitamin D? There could be several reasons. As we age, our skin loses some of the ability to absorb vitamin D. Some people with darker skin tones may have issues absorbing it from the sun. People with gastrointestinal disorders or liver disease may also have difficulty assimilating vitamin D. If your doc thinks you need this amount of vitamin D, you are unlikely to be able to maintain that from more natural food or supplement sources. I certainly wouldn't want to contradict your doc, but if you are able to improve your body's ability to absorb natural vitamin D, that might help to lower your intake of supplements.

I take a D supplement in the winter cause we are well beyond the 40° latitude where it is recommended. But not everyday. If I am having fish for dinner or a big plate full of sautéed mushrooms, I will avoid the supplement.

water2world

@Torey Thanks for all of the info. I am willing to these things and help my body to improve the absorption of Vitamin D. Hopefully at some point, lower or even get away from supplements.

I have had low levels for as long as I can remember. My skin tone is so light, you would think I would get sunburned in 5 minutes---but I can spend the day on the beach and no sunburn.

Now I do have liver disease. Had a blood transfusion when I was little. Many years later, found I had Hep C---my liver was already in stage 4 cirrhosis. Only thing we could track it to was the blood transfusion. So, maybe this is causing it--however, my sister has no liver problems and still has very low levels. Gone thru 3 different "cures" for the Hep C and finally for the past 6 years, have been HepC free, but liver function is not what it should be.

Marjory Wildcraft

https://community.thegrownetwork.com/discussion/comment/924320#Comment_924320

wow, thats a huge dose... I take 5,000 per day and spread it out. I checked my levels a few months ago and they were at 70. I'm happy about that.

Marjory Wildcraft

Does cooking the mushrooms destroy the vitamin D? I noticed the Canadian info shet only mentioned raw shrooms...

water2world

@Marjory Wildcraft I really don't like taking that amount, but I always end up there--even when taking a Vit D supplement every day, the levels start falling and I end up having to add until we get to that "magic dose" for my body. I'm hoping that working of some of the absorption issues, that maybe the next lab work will show a higher reading and I can start to cut back!