I love mushrooms! I can hardly go a day without adding mushrooms to one, two or all of my meals. I am not a meat eater so adding weight and texture to my meals is very important. Mushrooms do exactly that for me and from what I thought had plenty of health benefits… Yes, from WHAT I THOUGHT they were good for me?!…I recently took my yoga teacher training course and learned a lot about Ayurvedic medicine and diet. I have been following many Ayurvedic ways and I feel great! One problem though, mushrooms are considered a NO in this practice. Well instead of quitting mushrooms I went in search of mushroom benefits: To eat or not to eat? That is my question!!
Cons of Mushrooms:
- To truly reap the benefits of mushrooms you should cook them to allow the vitamins to be available to your body and rid them of toxins. (not really a negative… i like them cooked more than raw anyway)
- Certain types of mushrooms are better than others. The best ones are harder to find such as shiitake and maitake. (again well worth the extra effort)
- Mushrooms should without a doubt be bought organic over non-organic versions. THey absorb everything, even the toxins they come in contact with. Keep that in mind when shopping.
Pros of Mushrooms: There are so many! And the cons from above aren’t really cons in my book!
- Weight management- They are low calorie and a great replacement to high calorie, high carb or high saturated foods like pasta, beef and other red meat.
- Full of nutrients like protein, b-vitamins, antioxidants and polyphenols.
- Studies have shown mushrooms are a great defense against cancer, tumors, inflammation, bacterial infections and high blood pressure.
- They are great for vegans and vegetarians as a replacement for meat.
Well enough has been said for me to make up my mind about the mushrooms. The benefits out weigh the rest for me. What do you think? Mushrooms with tomato sauce and parmesan anyone?
Quick guide:
-Try to find the following mushrooms for the most benefits
- Shiitake
- Cordiceps
- Enoki
- Maitake
- Reishi
-If you have trouble finding them. Check your local health food store or the Asian section in the supermarket.
-Purchase organic mushrooms
-Eat cooked mushrooms
Please let me know if this article inspired you to give mushrooms a try! They are so good for you and well worth it!
Do you already cook with mushrooms? What do you add them in? I’m always looking for new recipes.
Love,
Justine
http://www.fitday.com/fitness-articles/nutrition/healthy-eating/8-types-of-mushrooms-and-their-health-benefits.html#b
http://www.drweil.com/drw/u/QAA400053/are-mushrooms-good-for-your-health.html
http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/05/13/mushroom-benefits.aspx
http://www.prevention.com/health/health-experts/ask-dr-weil-it-true-you-should-never-eat-mushrooms-raw
Hi there! I’m not a meat eater either and I’m finishing up my yoga instructor training as well AND I’m a personal trainer. I love when I find people that are the same as this–haha!
But yes, I love mushrooms, and I’m glad you decided to make up your own mind about them instead of just following a diet or way of eating blindly. BUT, I am pretty much a plain mushroom eater. Meaning, I just get those white ones and I don’t even know what they are called (although I have had some great portabella mushrooms–yum!). So, I’m going to have to go do a little research about these other kinds you mentioned and go to my health food store and see if I can find them. 🙂 Nice to meet you!
Hi Bethany! That is so great we do have a lot of the same interests! Are you enjoying your yoga teacher training? Oh yes I love the white button mushrooms also. They are the easiest to find and taste great. I just try to get the organic ones to be on the safe side;)… Definitely check out the ones I mentioned. They taste great too. Especially in miso soup! So glad to meet you also. Stay in touch Bethany!