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These fungi pack a range of compounds that can help balance blood sugar, fight free radicals, and lower cholesterol.

Foods we love: Mushrooms

These fungi pack a range of compounds that can help balance blood sugar, fight free radicals, and lower cholesterol.

Stephanie Eckelkamp
WRITTEN BY
Stephanie Eckelkamp
UPDATED: 30 Aug 2024
PUBLISHED: 16 Mar 2022
đź•— 7 MIN READ

With a meaty texture, umami flavor, and slew of nutrients, mushrooms make a great addition to any meal and can even stand-in for some or all of the meat in a recipe.

Technically an edible fungus and not a vegetable, mushrooms have been a prominent part of the human diet for thousands of years, eaten from ancient China to Greece.

Today, mushrooms are an often-overlooked source of nutrition that can support overall and metabolic health. First, mushrooms are low-calorie and low-carb (around 8 grams per cooked cup of white button mushrooms), so they’re unlikely to spike blood sugar. They also contain fiber and a range of vitamins and minerals, including vitamin B2 (riboflavin), vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), folate, selenium, potassium, and phosphorus.

What’s more, mushrooms are full of bioactive compounds—those that provide health benefits beyond basic nutritional value—like polyphenols, carotenoids, and polysaccharides. Many of these appear to improve blood glucose regulation, counter insulin resistance, and tame oxidative stress and inflammation. All of this can help reduce the risks of metabolic dysfunction and the development of metabolic diseases like Type 2 diabetes.

Why Polysaccharides Matter

Research suggests the polysaccharide compounds in mushrooms are particularly beneficial for metabolic health. Mushroom polysaccharides (a type of carbohydrate) act as prebiotics, which means your gut bacteria break them down to produce beneficial compounds called short-chain fatty acids (SCFAs).

These SCFAs help shift the gut microflora to a healthier balance, which can reduce insulin resistance—likely, in part, by countering chronic, low-grade inflammation that interferes with proper insulin signaling. Additionally, research suggests that SCFAs may help maintain stable blood glucose by promoting the balance of the hormones insulin and glucagon—which work in tandem to raise or lower blood glucose concentrations. They may also reduce appetite via several proposed mechanisms, including by stimulating the release of gut hormones such as glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), which act on central appetite centers in the brain.

Most of the polysaccharides in mushrooms are a specific type called beta-glucans, which helps lower cholesterol. It does this, in part, by stimulating the production of SCFAs that interfere with the body’s main cholesterol-producing enzyme (HMG-CoA reductase) and by increasing the breakdown of LDL cholesterol.

Mushrooms may aid in weight loss, improving insulin sensitivity and supporting metabolic health. Numerous compounds in mushrooms may contribute anti-obesity benefits via a variety of mechanisms. For example, flavonoids may activate the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which, in turn, promotes fatty acid oxidation (aka fat burning) and glucose uptake into cells. Mushrooms can also serve as a low-calorie alternative to meat in popular dishes like burgers and pasta sauces. Other than the caloric reduction that this swap provides, research suggests that various compounds in mushrooms may contribute anti-obesity benefits via a variety of mechanisms. For example, flavonoids may activate the enzyme AMP-activated protein kinase (AMPK), which, in turn, promotes fatty acid oxidation (aka fat burning) and glucose uptake into cells.

Finally, while metabolic disorders and metabolic syndrome are driven by inflammation, research shows that mushrooms can reduce inflammation by inhibiting a protein that turns on pro-inflammatory genes called NF-κB (nuclear factor kappa B). Mushrooms also contain various antioxidant compounds such as glutathione, ergothioneine, and carotenoids that help protect cells and counteract oxidative stress—a process that contributes to the cellular damage that underlies metabolic dysfunction.

Mushrooms Buying Advice

Unless you’re a mushroom expert, skip foraging and stick to farmed mushrooms. Many wild mushrooms are poisonous, and every year they land about 1,400 people in the emergency room.

Most culinary mushrooms contain similar quantities of the same vitamins and minerals. So buy any varieties that you’ll eat and enjoy. White button, cremini, and portobello are the most widely available and affordable. Not sure where to start? Let flavor and texture guide your choice—here’s what you can expect from some popular mushroom varieties:

When shopping for fresh mushrooms, choose firm, well-shaped ones free of spots and slime. If possible, inspect the underside of mushrooms—ones with visible gills tend to have a richer flavor than less mature mushrooms whose gills aren’t yet exposed. (Opting for loose mushrooms instead of packaged allows for easier inspection.)

If the idea of mushroom prep is daunting, consider buying pre-sliced mushrooms, frozen mushrooms (without sauces and marinades, which may contain low-quality fats and excess sodium) from brands like Woodstock or Great Value, and dried mushrooms that can be rehydrated and cooked or used to flavor broths and stocks.

Lastly, mushroom coffees and supplements are a different category from culinary mushrooms. Many of these products contain powdered versions or extracts of medicinal mushrooms such as chaga, reishi, cordyceps, and lion’s mane, used in Eastern medicine for centuries. Promising research suggests that extracts of some of these medicinal mushrooms may offer more significant benefits related to immunity, cognition and mood, and energy (at least in mice models) than most culinary mushrooms—but it’s not always clear how much you’d need to consume (or in what form) to experience these results. Based on their traditional use over many years, these products are widely assumed to be safe. However, more research is still needed to determine the optimal dosage of medicinal mushrooms and whether they might interact with certain medications.

Tips for Using Mushrooms

Proper storage, cleaning, and preparation of mushrooms will keep them fresher longer and lend to tastier meals:

Ideas for Eating Mushrooms

Mushrooms are most satisfying when cooked. Use them to lighten up meat dishes, add depth to broths, or even make a crunchy snack.



Want to learn more about your metabolic health?

Levels, the health tech company behind this blog, helps people improve their metabolic health by showing how food and lifestyle impact your blood sugar, using continuous glucose monitoring (CGM), along with an app that offers personalized guidance and helps you build healthy habits. Click here to learn more about Levels.

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