You Ask, I Answer: Mushrooms

From a nutrition standpoint, are all varieties of mushrooms pretty much the same?

Sometimes I see portobello mushroom steak as a vegetarian option at restaurants.

Is it higher in protein than other types?

-- Linda Ahern
Santa Ana, CA

All mushrooms are good low-calorie sources of potassium, phosphorus, and two B vitamins (riboflavin and niacin.)

A cup of chopped mushrooms also offers approximately ten percent of the selenium daily value (although oyster mushrooms come up short in this mineral.)

Portobello mushrooms are not higher in protein than other varieties.

A five-ounce serving only delivers 5 grams of protein (that same amount of tofu offers 15 grams; five ounces of seitan contribute 30 grams; half a cup of black beans adds up to 10 grams.)

Portobello mushroom "steak" as a vegetarian option on a restaurant menu strikes me as rather uninspired, particularly when it is the only meat-free choice.

I can't tell you how many times I have been at events where that is the sole vegetarian dish, and it is literally nothing but a huge, grilled portobello mushroom inside a hamburger bun. Snore!

Many chefs love it, though, because it's very easy to prepare.

All-Star of the Day: Mushrooms

The term "fungus" does not necessarily make one think of nutrition and wellness, but a healthy eater knows not to judge food by its name.

Not only are mushrooms a dieter's dream food, they could also soon become one of the absolute best sources of the sunshine vitamin!

Although the meaty texture of a grilled portabella mushroom might have you thinking it was a high-fat food, that couldn't be further from the truth.

A four-ounce portabella cap only provides 42 calories and 1 gram of fat, while simultaneously delivering 3 grams of fiber, 31% of our daily selenium needs, and 18% of the potassium and phosphorus we should be getting each day.

Selenium is one mineral -- and antioxidant -- you want to make sure your body is getting, since it works alongside vitamin E to cut down on cell damage caused by free radicals.

If you prefer shiitake mushrooms, consider that one cup of these cooked veggies contains a mere 81 calories and also provides 3 grams of fiber, 13% of our recommended daily intake of zinc, and half a day's worth of selenium.

Coincidentally, it is the white button variety that has become the vegetable world's hot button player.

Recent microcellular research has concluded that if a serving (half a cup) of these unique-shaped mushrooms is exposed to five minutes of ultraviolet light after being harvested, they become vitamin D powerhouses, providing 869 percent of the daily recommended intake!

This is a huge development, considering that recent estimates classify two thirds of adults in the United States as Vitamin D deficient.

That number does strike me as absurdly high, though. If consumed in a consistent basis, such a large amount of vitamin D can cause nausea, kidney failure, and hypertension.

Hopefully, they can find a way to expose this vegetable to UV light for a shorter amount of time and get them to provide a much more reasonable 75 to 100 percent of the sunshine vitamin.

In the meantime, don't fear fungus. Add it to salads, stir fries, or even as a topping on a soy burger (throw in some pesto, grilled onions and grilled peppers on that soy burger, too -- you'll thank me later.)