14 DAY TRIAL // A study recently published in the journal Dermato-Endocrinology says that run-off-the-mill mushrooms can yield the same health benefits as dietary supplements do as far as increasing a person's daily intake of vitamin D is concerned.
The researchers who pieced together this study maintain that mushrooms are the healthiest when allowed to sit in the sunlight for at least half an hour before being eaten.
Apparently, sunlight compels the mushrooms into producing significant amounts of vitamin D. This happens regardless of whether the mushrooms have been harvested or are still in the ground. MedPage Today quotes specialist Michael Holick, who argued as follows: “These results provide evidence that ingesting mushrooms that have been exposed to ultraviolet light and contain vitamin D2 are a good source of vitamin D that can improve the vitamin D status of healthy adults.”
“Furthermore we found ingesting mushrooms containing vitamin D2 was as effective in raising and maintaining a healthy adult's vitamin D status as ingesting a supplement that contained either vitamin D2 or vitamin D3,” Michael Holick added.
Vitamin D encourages the absorption of calcium, thus helping a person grow healthy bones and teeth. It also helps improve on the efficiency of one's immune system.