Mushroom in my college campus.

Beautiful gift from the nature

by

Dr. Nitish Priyadarshi

Yesterday I went to my college which opened after 15 days of festival holiday. After parking my scooter in the backyard of the college I saw some white things grown on the filed in few places in between the grass. When I reached near the white thing it was white mushroom. As the college was closed for fifteen days there was no movement on the field which helped the mushrooms to grow. One mushroom was of the size of golf ball. I took the photographs because I knew that these mushrooms are going to be destroyed as the college was reopened after the holidays.

We all know the many species of mushrooms seemingly appear overnight, growing or expanding rapidly. This phenomenon is the source of several common expressions in the English language including "to mushroom" or "mushrooming" (expanding rapidly in size or scope) and "to pop up like a mushroom" (to appear unexpectedly and quickly). In actuality all species of mushrooms take several days to form primordial mushroom fruit bodies, though they do expand rapidly by the absorption of fluids.

To know more about mushrooms I visited many blogs and web sites to gather information regarding its nutritional values. To my astonishment it is very rich in minerals. I am not sure about the nutritional values of mushroom grown in my college campus as I assume that it is wild. From my childhood I have heard that most of the wild mushrooms are toxic.

Mushrooms are the only natural fresh vegetable or fruit with vitamin D. Preliminary research suggests that the ultraviolet light found in sunlight may boost levels of vitamin D in mushrooms. The natural process of “enriching” mushrooms by briefly exposing mushrooms grown in the dark to light for 5 minutes may boost existing vitamin D levels.

Minerals in Mushrooms.

The focus on the nutritional value of brightly colored fruits and vegetables has unintentionally left mushrooms in the dark. Mushrooms provide a similar number of nutrients as brightly colored fruits and vegetables.

Selenium is a mineral that works as an antioxidant to protect body cells from damage that might lead to heart disease, some cancers and other diseases of aging. It also has been found to be important for the immune system and fertility in men. Many foods of animal origin and grains are good sources of selenium, but mushrooms are among the richest sources of selenium in the produce aisle and provide 8-22 mcg per serving1. This is good news for vegetarians, whose sources of selenium are limited.

Ergothioneine is a naturally occurring antioxidant that also may help protect the body’s cells. Mushrooms provide 2.8-4.9 mg of ergothioneine per serving of white, Portabella or crimini mushrooms.

Copper helps make red blood cells, which carry oxygen throughout the body. Copper also helps keep bones and nerves healthy.

Potassium is an important mineral many people do not get enough of. It aids in the maintenance of normal fluid and mineral balance, which helps control blood pressure. It also plays a role in making sure nerves and muscles, including the heart, function properly. Mushrooms have 267- 407 mg of potassium per serving, which is 9 percent of the Daily Value.