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' s h r m s Flavorful fungi are better for you than dietitians previously thought By Jen Motl The Free Lance-Star u

Hearty mushrooms even better for you than previously thought

Date published: 9/17/2006

NEARTHLY MUSHROOMS kept sprouting in mulch in our suburban backyard when I was a child. The ugly fungi looked like brown lumps, honeycombed with shallow holes. And my parents kept uprooting and throwing them away, fearing they were poisonous.

Then one day, an Eastern European friend saw them and begged to pick the mushrooms for his dinner. He was horrified by our ignorance--the mushrooms were morels, a gourmet treat that sells for more than $15 to $20 per pound. Usually, they're hunted deep in the forest.

Strange morels and more familiar (and less expensive) varieties of mushrooms are rich in nutrients. And scientists are studying mushrooms to see what their ability may be to prevent or treat cancer, to produce low-cost vitamin D, and to boost defenses against colds and the flu.

Recently, researchers discovered mushrooms are loaded with antioxidants. This is good news because mushrooms were previously relegated to the back of the vegetable bin by dietitians--considered not a bad vegetable, but not a stellar source of vitamins, either.

Now, Penn State researchers say white button mushrooms, the mild-flavored American favorite, have 12 times more of the antioxidant ergothioneine than wheat germ. Darker mushrooms like crimini and shiitake have even more.

With the weather turning cooler, the time is right to weave more mushrooms into your diet. Mushrooms are good all year, but their hearty, rich flavor makes them especially tasty in fall and winter.

Just remember, unless you're an experienced mushroom hunter, it's best to buy them at the store, not pick them.

Even the most common white button mushrooms are a good buy nutritionally. Not only are they and other mushrooms tasty, they're also low in calories and fat. You can indulge without worrying about your weight.

A half-cup of cooked mushrooms has only 20 calories, while supplying the B-vitamins niacin and pantothenic acid. Mushrooms also have minerals such as selenium and copper.

Sun-dried shiitake mushrooms also are unusually high in vitamin D. That's important because the sunshine vitamin is notoriously hard to find, usually only in animal-based foods like egg yolks, fortified milk and fatty fish. And research shows many Americans need more vitamin D for cancer prevention and strong bones.

JENNIFER MOTL is a registered dietitian. Formerly of Fredericksburg, she now lives in Wisconsin.

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Date published: 9/17/2006