Why Mushrooms Are Good For You, Your Waistline, and So Much More

Why Mushrooms Are Good For You, Your Waistline, and So Much More

Mushrooms come in a wide assortment of shapes, sizes, and textures. Some are a rare delicacy, but many varieties are inexpensive and easily added to any grocery run. Since they are always in season and grow year-round, you can always include them in your diet. Yes, some of these fungal fruiting bodies can be deadly if you’re foraging in the woods. However, those that are cultivated or collected for human consumption have a common trait: mainly, mushrooms are good for you! Today I’m going to tell you why mushrooms are good for your health and your brain power. And if you’re looking for ways to improve your diet or otherwise control your appetite, I’ve got good news for you, too. That’s right: mushrooms can help you lose weight!

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Why Mushrooms Are Good For you

There are a multitude of reasons to make more room for mushrooms in your diet. To start, they are low in calories yet high in nutritional value. For example, they are fat-free and cholesterol-free; however, they contain useful portions of protein and fiber. Additionally, they provide an assortment of vitamins, minerals, and antioxidants. All these natural components make mushrooms a great guilt-free way to get all the macro- and micronutrients your body needs.

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Read: What Are Micronutrients, and Why Do We Need Them?

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The fiber (and other nutrients) in ‘fungal fruit’ may help manage conditions such as type 2 diabetes, and also support good cardiovascular health. The protein they contain help support our muscles, which include our heart, too.

Mushrooms are rich in B vitamins such as riboflavin (B-2), folate (B-9), thiamine (B-1), pantothenic acid (B-5), niacin (B-3). All of these help convert food to energy, and in the forming red blood cells, which keep your body oxygenated. B vitamins are also tied to a healthy brain in that they may help prevent dementia and other neurodegenerative diseases [1].

Fun fact: mushrooms are the only vegan, non-fortified dietary source of vitamin D. And as we know, vitamin D is important to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy [2].

Mushrooms also pack a powerful antioxidant punch. The most prevalent of these agents in mushrooms are ergothioneine, selenium, vitamin C, and choline. We should all be trying to increase the amount of antioxidants we consume because they help the body eliminate free radicals, thereby reducing oxidative stress and the various health conditions caused by it. This is huge, because a healthy dose of antioxidants like those found in mushrooms may help reduce the risk of many types of cancer [3].

Notably, mushrooms are also a staple of the Blue Zones diets. If they are so popular among these long-lived populations, then they must be good for us. In fact, these groups are likely harnessing some of the specific benefits of mushrooms that I’ll discuss more in-depth below.

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Read: How the Lowly Mushroom is Becoming a Nutritional Star

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Mushrooms for Your Mind

Some may say that a healthy brain is a key to staying youthful. Namely, a sharp mind is able to quickly recall memories and learn new things; traits often associated with younger people. As such, mushrooms may be considered a fountain of youth because they are particularly good for our brains. Impressively, some of the compounds in mushrooms behave as natural nootropics!

If you are not yet familiar with this term, nootropics are substances that can help improve cognitive functions, focus, memory, creativity, and motivation. So on top of just keeping the brain healthy, mushrooms can actually help enhance brain performance in many ways. For example:

• As stated, the various vitamin B varieties in mushrooms help provide the brain with food, oxygen, and overall health. But they also boost the production of neurotransmitters, thereby supporting cognitive function.
• Among the antioxidants found in mushrooms, two in particular -ergothioneine and glutathione- may also help prevent Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s [4]. So these help keep your mind and memory sharp today as well as in the future.
• Mushrooms are also a great source of choline. This compound assists in maintaining the structure of cellular membranes and plays a role in the transmission of nerve impulses. In turn, this also helps with learning new things and also with recalling memories.

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Learn About: Foods That Are Good For Your Brain

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But Can Mushrooms Help With Weight Loss?

Sometimes our health goals include losing a few pounds. Amazingly, in addition to the above, mushrooms can help you shed fat, too!

As hinted at earlier, mushrooms are extremely low in calories but are still packed with protein, fiber, and other vital nutrients. Therefore, you can get a good amount of what your body needs without having to eat a bunch of other foods which may not be as healthy for you. The dietary fiber in mushrooms is particularly helpful in this regard, as it can help you feel fuller for longer. In turn, this will help you avoid hunger pangs and possibly snacking on things that don’t belong in your weight-loss diet.

The versatility of mushrooms can also help you maintain your diet. Because they come in so many varieties and can be cooked in so many ways, these edible fungi can help provide variation in your meals. This prevents you from getting too bored while trying to to stick to a strict diet. Rather, you can maintain a diverse menu and still stay on-track with low-calorie, nutrient-dense foods.

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Make and Enjoy: Spinach-Stuffed Portobello Mushrooms

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Let’s also not forget that proper nutrition is necessary for effective workouts. Since the excellent nutritional value of mushrooms will keep you energized and allow you to workout for longer, you can expect to burn more calories and lose more weight. On top of this, the nutrients in mushrooms help to regulate glucose levels in the blood, which can also help to burn fat in the body [5].  

The weight-loss benefits of mushrooms don’t stop there, either! In addition to the fiber discussed above, many kinds of fungi also contain chemicals that actually work with your body to help you feel full. I’ll explain this hunger-reducing effect below.

Lose More Weight With LeptoConnect

I’ve already covered a bunch of the impressive effects and benefits of mushrooms, but I find this last one to be even more remarkable. Amazingly, mushrooms can help curb hunger by regulating leptin in our body, as well our brains’ sensitivity to this hormone. And lucky of us, the scientists behind LeptoConnect have developed a weight-loss pill based on these hunger-controlling properties of mushrooms.

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Read: Do These Mushroom-Based Weight-Loss Pills Actually Work?

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This may sound too good to be true, but there is proven scientific basis to their claims. In general it works like this:

• When we eat, our body produces leptin -the satiety hormone- to signal our brain: “We’re full, so we can stop eating now!”
• If our leptin balance is off or we’re not producing enough, our brain doesn’t get a clear, strong message… so we stay hungry and continue to eating.
• Similarly, if our leptin receptors are malfunctioning, our brain doesn’t receive the signal… so we stay hungry and continue to eating.
• LeptoConnect uses naturally-occurring compounds in mushrooms to help correct the leptin cycle, which effectively reduces hunger and the desire to overeat!

To get a bit more technical, this weight-loss promoter works by optimizing the leptin bonding to the receptors in the arcuate nucleus in the hypothalamus of the brain. But in simple terms, it helps us be appropriately sensitive to the satiety hormone. Ultimately, this allows us to eat only until we are full and satisfied. The really neat thing is, this effect also works when we’re not eating a meal. It actually helps to curb hunger all day, which can help you to avoid extra snacking. And since losing weight is all about creating a calorie deficit, the less we eat, the more we can expect to lose.

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Read: I Used LeptoConnect While Fasting for Phenomenal Results!

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I hope you find this information helpful in understanding why mushrooms make a great addition to your healthy diet. With so many health benefits, maybe mushrooms really are magical! Not only are they very nutritious, but they can also boost your brain and help you control a balanced low-calorie diet. So, plan them into your meals whenever you can, and enjoy a healthier you. And if you are looking to lose weight, I highly encourage you to give LeptoConnect a try.

If you have any questions or comments about anything above, please drop a note in the comments section below. Oh, and let us know how you like the soup, too!

References:

[1] B is for Brain Health. Cleveland Clinic – Healthy Brains. (2017, Jul 25).
[2] Vitamin D. NHS, UK.
[3] Ware, M. (2019, Nov 06). What is the nutritional value of mushrooms? Medical News Today.
[4] Swayne, M. (2017, Nov 09). Mushrooms are full of antioxidants that may have anti-aging potential. Penn State News.
[5] Rabins, I. (2020, Jan 01). How Mushrooms Can Help You Lose Weight While Still Eating Well. Forage.

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