Is there anything dangerous or unhealthy about mushrooms?
Well, it depends.
Do you eat them raw or cooked? How do you cook them?
If you love mushrooms as much as I do, there are 2 things you’ve got to know.
The first thing is about whether mushrooms are safe.
Today, my heart skipped a beat because I discovered there’s a toxin in mushrooms called Agaratine.
Nooooooo!
Luckily, it turns out that most of the toxin is removed when you cook mushrooms. What a relief!
So, where did I learn about this toxin?
There are a few sources I highly trust for nutritional information, and one of the best sources, based solely on research from medical journals, is NutritionFacts.org, created and run as a non-profit service to the public by Dr. Michael Greger.
If you’re curious about Agaratine in mushrooms, then check out the NutritionFacts.org video.
I absolutely LOVE mushrooms, and to me, they’re part of a healthy diet, which leads to the second thing you’ve got to know about mushrooms if you’re interested in long-term health.
Most people cook mushrooms in butter or oil, and that’s the problem. Butter and oil are 100% fat, and when you cook your mushrooms in it, you’re getting a lot of artery-clogging “goodness” with your mushrooms.
Don’t get me wrong, I’m right with you on mushrooms sautéed in butter being amazing!
But, I want to enjoy my food without feeling guilty or being worried about my health.
To continue to love your mushrooms, without the extra fat bomb on your meal, you CAN cook mushrooms without oil. Yes. It is true, and that’s the groundbreaking , second thing you’ve got to know about mushrooms.
I won’t get into the different ways you can cook without oil (dry browning or sautéing in a little water or broth, for example) because tons of other online sources can show you.
I just want you to know that cooking mushrooms without oil IS possible, and that they are delicious. At home, I often make a quick stir-fry with veggies and brown rice ramen noodles, and I always include some tasty mushrooms in it.
There’s a unique, satisfying flavor in mushrooms that you can’t get from other vegetables (mushrooms are actually a fungi, but whatever; we lump them into the veggies category), so mushrooms are a must for me.
Most of us think we HAVE TO use oil to sauté everything, but the reality is we don’t.
Give it a try some time, but be forewarned; if you put oil/fats on a lot of your food, your taste buds will expect the fat when you eat your oil-free mushrooms. You may need to try this healthier way of cooking a few times before you love it like I do.
I’m glad to know that my love of cooked mushrooms means I’m not downing a toxin on a regular basis, and I’m glad to know there’s a healthier way to cook them.
Live your true life,
Post-featured photograph by Emma Jones from Pexels.
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I saw his video earlier, and most cooking only removes about half of it. But no studies have shown it is harmful to humans. Phew!