Mushrooms & vitamin D

This article is a collection of  content extracted from various  research papers & other scholarly articles. Due credits are for them.

In these difficult times of Covid   Vitamin D can be  a game  changer in the immune response of an individual.

One vitamin D study demonstrates an association exists between low levels of  vitamin D and higher numbers of Covid-19 cases.

Vitamin D deficiency can worsen or even lead to  respiratory diseases including bronchitis ,TB .

Vitamin D is one of the least understood of all vitamins.So lets burst some of the 

Popular myths 

1) early morning sun exposure leads to Vit d synthesis.

     Fact Early morning/Evening sun rays are deficient in UV -B rays since most of it get absorbed in        atmosphere above. Midday/Noon is the best time to get sun exposure for Vit D .Sum exposure of 15 to 20 minutes around mid day once in 15 days is more than sufficient for all group of individuals across wide geography.

2)Non Vegetarians don't suffer from Vit D .

Fact 42% Percent of Americans Are Vitamin D Deficient. 

As we all know per capita consumption of dairy & meat is highest in America 

3)Mushroom are good sources of Vit D.

Fact Mushrooms are very good sources of ergosterol .Ergosterol is a biological precursor of vitamin D₂, the chemical name of which is ergocalciferol. Exposure to ultraviolet light causes a photochemical reaction that converts ergosterol to ergocalciferol.

As we know modern mushroom cultivation happens in darkness.

So exposure to sunlight is a must to enhance Vit D2 content.

Exposure of mushroom even for few couple of hours enhances the Vitamin D content significantly & can meet Vit D requireents of a family.

Cutting the mushroom  so as to increase the mushroom surface area before exposure also significantly enhances Vitamin D2 contents.

Even if you are using dried mushroom Exposure of dried mushroom is also beneficial in increasing VItamin D content.

Always expose mushrooms in terracotta/arecanut plates or on a sheet of paper/cloth, since sun exposed  metal plate can heat up and may partially cook the mushroom .

Relatively mushroom caps contain more ergosterol than stalk.

Vitamin D content of Sun exposed oytser mushroom far exceeds vitamin content of cod liver oil.

As little as 5 gms of Sun exposed oyster Mushroom (fresh weight) is sufficient to meet a persons daily need of Vitmin D.

Not all mushroom are equal in ergosterol content. 

Few like oyster ,button have highest ergosterol.

Lowest is for Enoki & shiitake mushroom.

Big Bonus of sun exposure it adds nice ummami flavour to mushroom. 

If your area is deficient of sunlight you may consider purchasing UV lamps or UV boxes.

Make sure that they emit UV B radiation.