Do this to mushrooms to increase their Vitamin D content

70 per cent Indians are vitamin D deficient! Thanks to the meagre vegetarian sources of the vitamin. Vitamin D is found in fatty fish like tuna and salmon, beef liver, egg yolks, cheese, fortified milk products and mushroom. And of course, sunlight. However, with the little time the millennials are spending in sun and the more they are residing in the comfort of their air-conditioned everything, the lesser vitamin D they get. Repercussion? Vitamin D deficiency.

But, did you know that mushrooms are naturally good sources of vitamin D? Chances are you did not. However, you can make it even better. Studies say that when you expose mushrooms to sunlight for up to an hour, the proportion of vitamin D in them increases substantially, so much so that they become as effective as vitamin D supplements!

To prove the same, a study was conducted on 30 adults who were either given a vitamin D capsule with 2000 units for 12 weeks or sun-exposed mushroom powder. At the end of the study, it was proven that there wasn’t a significant difference in the results of the two categories.

Many a times, while cultivating mushrooms, they are exposed to sunlight and this also has a bettering impact on their vitamin D levels. However, you can also do this on your own after you have bought the commercially available variety. All you need to do is take them out of their packing and put them in the sunlight in morning or afternoon, preferably between 10 am and 3 pm for 60 minutes. Then wash them and use them for whichever purpose you want. Any variety of mushrooms can be taken for this.

There are some experts who argue that cooking destroys the vitamin D content in the superfood! However, that is not the case. The best thing about mushrooms is that their vitamin D levels remain intact even after cooking. So, you can cook them without losing on any precious D. In fact, if any impact occurs, it only makes it easier to absorb the nutrient.

Ideally, one should be consuming 2000 units of vitamin D every day. A single serving of sun-exposed mushrooms can provide about 400 units, however, more consumption can increase the vitamin intake.

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