Product Overview
For hundreds of years, shiitake mushrooms have been a popular food source in Asia. They’re the second most popular and the third most widely cultivated edible mushroom in the world. Shiitake mushrooms have antiviral, antibacterial and antifungal properties. They also help to control blood sugar levels and reduce inflammation within the body. That’s right — all of these health benefits come from eating a mushroom. And there are a ton of easy ways to incorporate shiitake mushrooms into your diet.
Shiitake mushrooms contain many chemical compounds that protect your DNA from oxidative damage, which is partly why they’re so beneficial. Lentinan, for example, heals chromosome damage caused by treatments. Eritadenine substances help reduce cholesterol levels and support cardiovascular health. Researchers at Shizuoka University in Japan found that eritadenine supplementation significantly decreased plasma cholesterol concentration.
Shiitakes are also unique for a plant because they contain all eight essential amino acids, along with a type of essential fatty acid called linoleic acid. Linoleic acid helps with weight loss and building muscle. It also has bone-building benefits, improves digestion, and reduces food allergies and sensitivities.
Shiitakes also …
1. Fight Obesity
Certain components of the shiitake mushroom have hypolipidaemic (fat-reducing) effects, such as eritadenine and b-glucan, a soluble dietary fiber that’s also found in barley, rye and oats. Studies have reported that b-glucan can increase satiety, reduce food intake, delay nutrition absorption and reduce plasma lipid (fat) levels.
Shiitake mushrooms can help prevent body weight gain, fat deposition and plasma triacylglycerol when added to a high-fat diet. This encourages an effort to pursue human studies that examine the efficacy of shiitake mushrooms for the prevention and treatment of obesity and related metabolic disorders.
2. Support Immune Function
Mushrooms have the ability to boost the immune system and combat many diseases by way of providing important vitamins, minerals and enzymes. Consuming mushrooms improved cell effector function and improved gut immunity. There was also a reduction of inflammation due to mushroom consumption.
3. Destroy bad Cells
Research suggests that shiitake mushrooms help fight bad cells and the lentinan in shiitakes help heal chromosome damage caused by treatments. Shiitake mushrooms were able to inhibit growth in bad cells with their mycochemical value. Shiitake mushroom successfully inducted apoptosis, the process of programmed cell death.
4. Support Cardiovascular Health
Shiitake mushrooms have sterol compounds that interfere with the production of cholesterol in the liver. They also contain potent phytonutrients that help keep cells from sticking to blood vessel walls and forming plaque buildup, which maintains healthy blood pressure and improves circulation.
5. Contain Antimicrobial Properties
Shiitake mushroom extract lowered the numbers of some pathogenic organisms without affecting the organisms associated with health, unlike chlorhexidine, which had a limited effect on all organisms.
6. Boost Energy and Brain Function
Shiitake mushrooms are a great source of B vitamins, which help support adrenal function and turn nutrients from food into useable energy. They also help balance hormones naturally and break through the brain fog to maintain focus all day long — even improving cognitive performance.
Millions of people come up short on one or more of the B vitamins, and that causes energy slumps, unhealthy blood cell and adrenal effects, and foggy thinking. Adding shiitake mushrooms to your diet can give you the extra boost of B vitamins that you need to avoid a deficiency.
7. Provide Vitamin D
Although vitamin D is best obtained from the sun, shiitake mushrooms can also provide a decent source of this essential vitamin. Vitamin D is important for bone health as well as reducing the risk of heart disease, diabetes, autoimmune diseases and some types of cancer. It’s vital for the absorption and metabolism of calcium and phosphorus, too.
Getting ample supply of vitamin D also helps regulate and support the immune system, maintain healthy body weight, maintain brain function as you age, reduce the severity of asthma symptoms, reduce the risk of developing rheumatoid arthritis in women, and reduce the risk of developing multiple sclerosis. Mushrooms, as well as wild-caught salmon, raw dairy and eggs, are the best vitamin D-rich foods.
8. Promote Skin Health
When selenium is taken with vitamins A and E, it can help reduce the severity of acne and the scarring that can occur afterward. A hundred grams of shiitake mushrooms contain 5.7 milligrams of selenium, which is 8 percent of your daily value. That means shiitake mushrooms act as a natural acne treatment.
The zinc in shiitake mushrooms also promotes immune function and reduces buildup of DHT to improve skin healing.
Dried shiitake mushrooms are fresh shiitake mushrooms that have been dried. Dried shiitake mushrooms contain Guanylate, a Umami enhancer, which is not present in fresh shiitake mushrooms. This acid enhances the flavor of other ingredients. Drying fresh shiitake mushrooms causes their cell cores to break down. When rehydrated, the RNA inside the cores reacts with external enzymes to create Guanylate.
How to use: Dried Shiitake mushrooms should be rehydrated in cold water to make them sweeter and tastier without any messy taste. Slow rehydration at less than 10°C for 5-24 hours is required to increase the Umami Guanylate. To reduce soaking time, take out the Shiitake one hour after you started soaking, remove the stem, soak for another enough hour until soft. Shiitake absorbs water from the cut surface of the center, so it can be quickly and plumply rehydrated. Add to soups, stews, sauces, or braises. Slice and use in stir-fries or rice dishes.