Vitamin D deficiency: could mushrooms be the answer?

Did you know know that eating just 5 mushrooms can provide all your daily vitamin D needs?

All you need to do is 'tan' them!

Your body produces vitamin D naturally when it’s directly exposed to sunlight BUT despite an abundance of sun in this country, one in four Australians are vitamin D deficient. Whilst small amounts of vitamin D can be found in oily fish and egg yolk, the amounts are insufficient to meet your vitamin D requirements leading to a heavy reliance on vitamin D supplements. That’s where mushrooms come in!

Being a fungi they have a special ability when exposed to sunlight to significantly increase their vitamin D levels. It works in a similar process to how our skin converts the sun into vitamin D.

Recent research shows that simply eating 5 tanned mushrooms is enough to provide 24 ug of vitamin D (which is equivalent to 1000IU) the amount of vitamin D one needs in an entire day.

How to turn mushrooms into vitamin D factories

Simply place your store-bought mushrooms in the midday sun for 15 minutes, sliced or with the gills (underside) facing up.

These new 'super charged' levels of vitamin D will remain in the mushroom for 8 days if stored in the fridge, and will remain throughout the cooking process.

More about vitamin D

Vitamin D is an essential vitamin (that acts more like a hormone). It can boost the immune system, regulate mood and reduce depression, increase metabolism and assist with muscle growth. It also increases calcium absorption from the gut, thereby improving bone and teeth health. Mushrooms are a natural, efficient and cost effective way to ensure you are getting enough of this very important vitamin.