Why We Need Mushrooms

So, the take home lesson here is to take your stash of dried mushrooms and lay them out on a table in full sun for two days during the summer. (Interestingly, much more Vitamin D is produced when the mushrooms are dried with the gills facing up into the sun, rather than the cap). Repackage them for use later in the year. I like storing dried mushrooms in the freezer if you have room, or in Masonlike jars on a dark shelf, if you don’t have enough freezer space. Not only can these mushrooms provide you Vitamin D during the winter months, but they are delicious, nutritious, and offer a vegan-friendly source of this essential nutrient.

I've seen "Vitamin-D Enhanced" mushrooms for sale at the grocery store, which have been treated with artificial light. What do you think about those?

I think “Vitamin-D Enhanced” organically grown mushrooms are a good idea.

Most of us are worried about not getting enough Vitamin D, but mushrooms contain so much of this nutrient that in your book, you caution people about overdoing it. Is that something people should be thinking about when they eat mushrooms?

Most fresh mushrooms are about 90 percent water. If eating 3 to 4 ounces of fresh sunstroked mushrooms, my research shows that you would get about 4,000 IUs of Vitamin D2 in a meal. Dr. Andrew Weil and others now recommend around 1,000 IUs per day, or 7,000 per week. Having 10 grams of dried mushrooms (approximately 100 grams of moist mushrooms) twice a week would then give you about 8,000 IUs, very close to the recommended amount. Bear in mind that Vitamin D2 only stays in your bloodstream for two to three days. Realistically, I do not think you are in danger of overdosing on Vitamin D enhanced mushrooms if you eat them twice a week. 

Most Useful Mushrooms

If you had to pick a single species that was the most useful, which would it be?

As an antiviral and antibacterial: Agarikon (Fomitopsis officinalis).

For food and environmental medicine: Oyster mushrooms (Pleurotus ostreatus).

What’s the most delicious mushroom you’ve run across?

Candy Caps (Lactarius fragilis) taste like maple syrup!  

Is it difficult to grow your own mushrooms?

No, it’s just like riding a bike — once you know how to do it, mushroom cultivation is easy. However, some species are easier than others. Oysters, shiitake, pioppino, nameko, maitake, reishi and turkey tail are all easy to grow. Others are not. Fortunately we have a large cast of fungal characters to draw from.