5 Benefits of Shitake Mushrooms You Need to Know
Fungi are usually considered to be a type of parasitic fungus that is harmful and can grow on other organisms. However, not all mushrooms cause bad effects, one of which is shitake mushrooms. Conversely, shitake mushrooms actually have health benefits, lots of nutritional content, even delicious when eaten. If you are curious, consider the following reviews.
The nutritional content of shitake mushrooms
Before discussing the benefits or properties of shitake mushrooms (shiitake mushroom), You need to understand first about this type of mushroom.
Shitake mushrooms are a type of edible mushroom that has been famous for thousands of years.
The habit of consuming shitake mushrooms originated from the East Asia region which made these mushrooms a food ingredient.
Apart from being eaten, ordinary people use this mushroom as a basic ingredient in medicines.
The US Department of Agriculture’s Central Food Data website states that 100 grams (g) of shitake mushrooms contain nutrients, namely:
- Water: 89.74 g
- Energy: 34 kilocalories (kcal)
- Protein: 2.24 g
- Total fat: 0.49 g
- Ash (Ash): 0.73 g
- Carbs: 6.79 g
- Fiber: 2.5 g
- Calcium (Ca): 2 milligrams (mg)
- Iron (Fe): 0.41 mg
- Magnesium (Mg): 20 mg
- Phosphorus (P): 112 mg
- Potassium (K): 304 mg
- Sodium (Na): 9 mg
- Zinc (Zn): 1.03 mg
- Copper (Cu): 0.142 mg
- Manganese (Mn): 0.23 mg
- Selenium (Se): 5.7 µg
- Thiamin: 0.015 mg
- Riboflavin: 0.217 mg
- Niacin: 3,877 mg
- Pantothenic acid: 1.5 mg
- Vitamin B-6: 0.293 mg
- Folate: 13 µg
One shitake mushroom is generally 5-10 centimeters (cm) in size and weighs about 4 grams. Every 15 grams of shitake mushrooms contains 4 calories which come from fiber and sugar.
With the same amount of doses, shitake mushrooms can help meet daily vitamin and mineral needs, including:
- Vitamin B6, meets 7% of daily needs
- Selenium, fulfilling 10% of daily needs
- Copper, 39% of daily needs
- Manganese, sufficient for 9% of daily needs
- Zinc, sufficient for 8% of daily needs
- Folate, 6% of daily needs
Not only that, this one mushroom is also equipped with carbohydrates, protein, fat, and fiber to help meet your daily nutritional needs.
Health benefits of shitake mushrooms
The main health benefits of shitake mushrooms come from the content of essential nutrients and some of the compound components in them.
The following are some of the health benefits of consuming shitake mushrooms:
1. Maintain heart health
Shitake mushrooms have special components that have benefits to help control blood cholesterol.
Some of the special components present in shitake mushrooms are as follows:
- erythadenine to prevent the formation of excess cholesterol,
- sterols to prevent cholesterol absorption, and
- beta-glucan, which is a type of fiber that can lower cholesterol levels.
Well, this special component in shitake mushrooms can help control cholesterol levels so as to reduce the risk of heart disease.
2. Strengthen the body’s immune system
The benefits of shitake mushrooms to strengthen the immune system are because there are several components in it.
These components include fiber and other compounds including oxalic acid, lentinan, centinamycin (anti-bacteria), and erythadenine (antiviral).
Various ingredients in shitake mushrooms are considered to have good benefits for fighting germs.
This makes shitake mushrooms a potential alternative to antibiotics.
3. Prevent cancer
Lentinan is one of the ingredients of shitake mushrooms. In fact, lentinan is known to have benefits as an effective anti-inflammatory agent to repair damage to the body.
The American Cancer Society also believes that lentinan can inhibit the growth of cancer cells and the effect will be stronger if the cancer cells are still in the tumor phase.
4. Prevent obesity
The content in shitake mushrooms, such as erythadenin, has benefits for reducing fat.
Meanwhile, the b-glucan component can also increase satiety in reducing fat absorption.
Journal of Obesity shows that the intake of shitake mushroom powder can reduce the accumulation and mass of fat in the body of experimental rats by up to 35 percent.
However, further research is still needed to prove the benefits or efficacy of this shitake mushroom in humans.
5. Maintain brain health
Shitake mushrooms contain high levels of B vitamins so they can help treat cognitive impairment due to vitamin B deficiency.
Not only that, consumption of shitake mushrooms can help maintain the balance of brain hormones and optimize brain concentration.
How to eat shitake mushrooms
It is recommended that you boil the shitake mushrooms in warm water before cooking them. This is because shitake mushrooms are generally sold dried.
You can still get the benefits of shitake mushrooms without the need to eat the fresh stems or stems of the mushrooms.
Basically, processing shitake mushrooms is easy. You can sauté with vegetables or make these mushrooms as the main ingredient in warm soups.
It should be noted that the compound and vitamin content in shitake mushrooms is easily reduced when cooked at too hot a temperature.
The hotter the temperature used for cooking and heating shitake mushrooms, the less nutrients will remain in them.
Generally, shitake mushrooms are safe for consumption by anyone. However, in some people, lentinan can trigger an allergic reaction on the skin or what is known as shiitake dermatitis.
This condition can also occur if a person consumes shitake mushrooms continuously for a long time.
In addition, there are other allergic reactions due to eating too much shitake mushrooms, such as stomach upset and trigger joint swelling in gout sufferers.
Therefore, don’t hesitate to contact your doctor if you experience worrisome symptoms after consuming shitake mushrooms.
Hello Health Group does not provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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Patel, S., & Goyal, A. (2011). Recent developments in mushrooms as anti-cancer therapeutics: a review. 3 Biotech, 2 (1), 1-15. doi: 10.1007 / s13205-011-0036-2
Handayani, D., Chen, J., Meyer, B., & Huang, X. (2011). Dietary Shiitake Mushroom (Lentinus edodes) Prevents Fat Deposition and Lowers Triglyceride in Rats Fed a High-Fat Diet. Journal Of Obesity, 2011, 1-8. doi: 10.1155 / 2011/258051
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