The popularity of mushrooms is due to their taste. They can be used to prepare many dishes that will come in handy on the festive table and in the usual diet. What are the benefits of mushrooms and can their use be harmful? Many people are interested in the answers to these questions.

What are mushrooms?

People used to think that mushrooms were ordinary plants. But in the middle of the 20th century, scientists conducted a deep study and found that they are fundamentally different in their structure from trees and grasses. Therefore, the product was allocated to a special kingdom of living nature, which also includes lichens.

What is the uniqueness of these representatives of living nature?

• The main difference from plants is that the process of photosynthesis does not take place in them. They do not contain chlorophyll, they are not able to process carbon dioxide and extract organic matter from it for life. Therefore, it is impossible to find green mushrooms in the forest. They are mostly brown, red or white.
• Scientists have found that chitin is involved in the structure of the cells of the product, that they can only assimilate ready-made organic substances and multiply by spores.

Most often, mushrooms are composed of whitish filaments, which are called mycelium. It penetrates the soil or other substrate and provides the entire colony with nutrients. In the cold and dry season, the mycelium's vital activity stops, but under favorable conditions, such as heat and rain, it begins to grow actively. Mushrooms appear on the surface. They mature and release spores. Further, a new mycelium appears from them.

Mushrooms have brought many benefits to humans. The first antibiotic was isolated from the mold, which belongs to this kingdom. This is penicillin. Subsequently, antibiotic properties were found in more than 500 species of representatives of this kingdom.

Chemical composition

The ability to eat mushrooms, their benefits and harms are determined by the chemical composition of the product. But our ancestors also included it in the diet. They fermented, marinated, dried the product and feasted on such dishes during the winter.

Now biologists have carefully studied the composition of the dish. It turned out that in terms of the amount of trace elements, mushrooms can be equated to fruits, and in terms of carbohydrate content - to vegetables.

They are high in protein and practically no fat. Therefore, dishes made from them are deservedly considered low-calorie, but at the same time, they satisfy hunger for a long time.

It turned out that the younger the individuals, the more nutrients, enzymes and amino acids they contain. In large old bodies, harmful inorganic compounds accumulate, and the percentage of vitamins and minerals decreases.

• The benefit of mushrooms for the human body lies in the balanced amount of vitamins A, group B, C, PP, D and vegetable sugars.
• Minerals are represented by phosphorus, potassium and iron.
• For cellular metabolism, magnesium, copper, iodine and zinc are needed, they are also present in the composition.
• The product contains 18 amino acids, including arginine, leucine, glutamine, and antioxidants.

These elements make mushrooms incredibly healthy. Dishes made from them improve the condition of hair and skin, stabilize the work of the heart, and remove harmful cholesterol from the blood. The substances in their composition enhance the metabolism, support the immune system, calm the nerves and relieve feelings of anxiety.

Due to the fact that the product consists mainly of water and is practically free of starch and sodium, it helps to cleanse the body of excess fluid, removes edema and promotes weight loss.

Potential harm

Despite the beneficial properties of mushrooms, they can significantly harm the body. They contain many substances that are difficult for the human digestive system to process. Entering the stomach, mushrooms slow down the production of juice.

They impair the process of digesting food. Therefore, the product is considered difficult for the stomach, it is not recommended to often include it in the diet, even for completely healthy people.

Chitin is especially difficult for the stomach to break down. Its high concentration is found in the legs. To minimize unpleasant consequences, it is recommended to cook only the caps, or, as a last resort, thoroughly clean the legs and remove the top layer.

• Scientists have discovered a dangerous property of mushrooms. They easily accumulate harmful substances.
• For nature, this feature is useful. Mushrooms, like a sponge, absorb heavy metals, radiation, and poisons from the soil, cleaning the environment.
• But for a person it is destructive. Gathering mushrooms along the side of the road or near a chemical warehouse can lead to serious poisoning.
• In order to prevent such a development of events, you need to collect the product in ecologically clean areas, far from the homes of people and factories.

Poisoning with canned mushrooms often occurs. If the cooking technology is slightly violated, dangerous bacteria that cause botulism develop in the jars. Therefore, you should not procure a product like that. It is better to dry it and store it in a glass container with a tight-fitting lid.

Caution - danger!

When picking or buying mushrooms on the market, you need to be extremely careful. In nature, there are many poisonous representatives of the species. Harmful mushrooms are often similar to edible ones, so it is important to study common signs and know what differences are characteristic of dangerous individuals.

It is necessary to eat only proven, well-known types of mushrooms and, at the slightest doubt, refuse to cook. The most dangerous are:

• fly agarics;
• pale and spring toadstools;
• whitish talker;
• bile mushroom, which is confused with birch;
• false chanterelle;
• false raincoat;
• false honey;
• pepper mushroom, reminiscent of butter.

The harm to mushrooms that are poisonous, and those that have absorbed toxic substances, is very high. Poisoning with them can pose a serious threat to life. At the slightest suspicion, you need to urgently call an ambulance. While she is driving, you should put the patient to bed and give him plenty of water to drink, trying to induce vomiting.

Precautions

Since mushrooms are a heavy food for the stomach, you do not need to get carried away with them. It is enough for healthy people to diversify their diet with such dishes no more than 2 times a week.

If a person suffers from disorders in the work of the gastrointestinal tract, liver and kidneys, they must be completely abandoned. High amounts of protein and other substances hinder the functioning of organs and can lead to exacerbation of diseases.

Never give mushrooms to children. Even young delicate hats are strictly forbidden to them. Children's stomach is not able to cope with their processing. Therefore, even a small piece can cause upset and poisoning.

To exclude negative factors, you must wait until the child's digestive system is fully formed. Doctors do not recommend giving the product until children are ten years old.

Product benefits

Do not think about whether mushrooms are good for you. The rich chemical composition and taste do not give rise to doubt about this. So that they do not harm, they need to be eaten a little, collected in ecologically clean areas and eaten young, clean and not wormy.

The healthiest mushrooms with high nutritional properties can be easily picked from the nearby forest.

• The first place in terms of the content of valuable substances is occupied by a white mushroom. It contains a lot of dietary fiber, enzymes, polysaccharides that block the development of foreign cells and strengthen the immune system. Boletus has a beneficial effect on the thyroid gland, improves the condition of hair and skin.
• Aspen mushrooms are not only incredibly tasty, but also very healthy. They have a high percentage of amino acids, vitamins, fiber and protein. Included in the diet, they are able to purify the blood, lower cholesterol levels and improve overall well-being.
• Ryzhiks have an original aroma and taste. Dishes prepared from them can decorate any festive table and be of great benefit. In addition to a set of vitamins, fiber, iron and mineral salts, these mushrooms contain lactoryoviolin, a substance with antibiotic properties. Gentle mushrooms destroy pathogenic bacteria and improve metabolic processes.

The usefulness of mushrooms is known in many countries. All over the world, housewives prepare wonderful dishes from them, and pharmacists make valuable medicines. To extract from this gift of nature all the benefits that they can give, scientists need to discover many more mysteries that are fraught with ordinary forest mushrooms.

At the festive table, few people think about how useful mushrooms are, and when it is better to refuse this product. Both adults and children lean on salted mushrooms, pickled mushrooms, boletus julienne. Sometimes after such a feast you have to swallow pills or see a doctor. So that delicious dishes do not cause illness, treat the gifts of the forest with great care.

What is a mushroom made of?

How useful mushrooms are for humans can be understood by considering their composition. Like many living organisms, they mainly consist of water - they contain up to 92% liquid. The second place is occupied by proteins - 5%. Fats in the gifts of the forest are in very small quantities, in a form that is poorly absorbed by the human body. At a young age, forest mushrooms contain polysaccharides, which are gradually converted to mannitol and glucose. Because of these two compounds, mucus is formed on the caps of old specimens.

Women who want to lose weight are very concerned about the calorie content of the foods they eat. Here, a lot depends on the way the mushrooms are prepared. In fresh fruits, the energy value depends on the species. Truffles are considered the most nutritious - there are 51 calories per 100 g. The species familiar to our forests give significantly less energy:

• - 38 kcal;
• white and boletus mushrooms - about 30 kcal;
• morels and - 27 kcal;
• aspen mushrooms - 22 kcal;
• - 20 kcal;
• , and - 17 kcal;
• russula - 15 kcal.

Mushrooms contain vitamins and minerals. The population of our country suffers from a selenium deficiency - boletus will supply the body with this valuable substance. A lot of mushroom bodies and melanin, which promotes tissue regeneration. Riboflavin normalizes the thyroid gland, glucan helps the body get rid of free radicals.

Useful properties of mushrooms

Meat and fish are essential for humans, they contain proteins and amino acids that are absent in plant foods. Vegetarianism and prolonged fasts weaken the body, but our ancestors found a solution to this problem. When animal products were banned, they ate nuts and mushrooms. If you observe religious traditions, prepare dried boletus, boletus and aspen mushrooms for the winter, and even a forty-day fast will pass without prejudice to strength and health.

When using the gifts of the forest, a lot of vitamins and microelements enter the body. At the same time, the composition of the blood improves, the blood vessels are strengthened.

There is an interesting compound in boletus - antabuse, which reduces the craving for alcohol and partially neutralizes its effect. If a noisy feast is planned, cook julienne or put a frying pan with fried in front of the guests - and the holiday will pass peacefully.

Sick animals are forced by a natural instinct to find and eat a mushroom that is healing for them. Traditional medicine knows the beneficial properties of representatives of the mushroom world and uses caps and legs in various medicinal drugs. Healers use both edible and poisonous species, but it is very dangerous to make and take tincture of fly agarics on your own. If you want to be treated with a dangerous compound, contact a herbal therapist with a medical education and an official certificate. The pharmaceutical industry uses different types to make antibiotics.

It is not necessary to prepare medicinal preparations from mushrooms, just eat them once a week. Such a menu will be an excellent prevention of cardiovascular, nervous and oncological diseases, and will strengthen the immune system. The unique composition will relieve stress and depression, improve mental performance. Thanks to their low calorie content and scanty amount of fat, nutritious mushrooms contribute to weight loss, while a person does not suffer from hunger. The correct proportion of vitamin D, phosphorus and calcium strengthens teeth, bones, nails and hair. A delicious dish will make a woman healthy and beautiful.

Caution, Dangerous!

In the supermarket, you can purchase certain types of mushrooms that have passed safety checks. Only not everyone likes boletus and mushrooms grown in the garden; it is much more pleasant to pick them up in the forest on your own. If you are unsure of your ability to distinguish edible species from toadstools, go with a knowledgeable person. Before returning home, pour all the prey from the basket onto the grass or jacket, let an experienced mushroom picker carefully check each specimen. At the slightest doubt, leave the mushroom in the forest: one poisonous cap can poison the whole dish.

Never identify an unfamiliar copy by reference books, descriptions or photographs on sites! You may not notice minor differences and mistake the toadstool for an edible mushroom.

If you want to pick mushrooms in an unfamiliar area, join the people who have lived there for many years. Each region has poisonous species very similar to edible ones. Boletus grow all over Russia, but the poisonous satanic mushroom very similar to them is not found everywhere. Boletus, chanterelle and other species can have the same dangerous twins.

In every region, rare species of forest mushrooms grow, information about which is very difficult to find, but local residents have collected and ate them for centuries - and have never heard about the harm of unknown products to health. It is not recommended to use such mushrooms, perhaps their composition and properties have not even been studied. If you want to enjoy an exotic dish, prepare it for yourself and healthy adult family members. Do not treat guests, elderly people, or children. Be sure to learn all the ins and outs of cooking and do not deviate from traditional recipes. If you are using only dried soup hats, do not try to salt the fresh stems - the food can be poisonous.

Can edible mushrooms be harmful?

For lunch, you ate vegetable salad, mushroom soup, pasta cutlet, and tea and biscuits. Once in the digestive system, the mushrooms help to slow down the secretion of gastric juice. At the same time, the digestion of all products that have entered the digestive tract worsens. Fiber and chitin contained in mushroom tissues prevent proteins from being fully absorbed. To make food easier to digest, prepare dishes from hats, and try to avoid legs.

To reduce the strain on the digestive system, cut the mushrooms into very small pieces and chew thoroughly. Large, unmilled chunks are difficult to digest, and can leave the intestines unprocessed.

Everyone has heard that old mushrooms are unhealthy. The reason is that the concentration of choline in the tissues increases with age. This poisonous compound causes intestinal upset, has a bad effect on the respiratory system and cardiac activity. Perhaps the assertion that mushrooms in the intestines do not live long and immediately ask to go to the toilet comes from people who simply adore frying giants the size of a soup plate. Collect only young and strong specimens. If the hat falls apart in your hands, leave it in the forest to settle the spores.

At the market, an unfamiliar seller laid out mounds of strong, beautiful boletus, which they just ask for in a frying pan. Avoid them, you do not know where the mushrooms grew and what poisons they have absorbed. These plants are distinguished by their ability to accumulate toxic and radioactive compounds in tissues. Mushrooms collected near highways, landfills, industrial plants are oversaturated with harmful substances.

For whom are mushroom dishes contraindicated?

It is difficult for the children's digestive system to digest heavy proteins. Therefore, mushrooms are categorically contraindicated for babies, with great care and little by little, you can introduce them into the diet from 10-12 years old. This product is also not recommended for nursing mothers.

Pregnant women can sometimes pamper themselves with boiled or stewed mushrooms in small quantities. For cooking, take only reliable types: white, mushrooms, mushrooms. Avoid pickles and marinades, and never eat mushrooms raw. If you notice signs of allergies, indigestion and other painful phenomena, completely exclude this product from the diet. It is better to exaggerate contraindications than to risk the health of the unborn baby.

Be careful if you have liver, kidney, or digestive problems. In this case, it is better to eat mushrooms in the morning, so that by the evening the dish is digested and at night the heaviness in the stomach is not felt. It is useful to adhere to the same rule for elderly people. In case of severe illness, high fever, inflammation of the digestive system, eat only those foods that are easy to digest. The body is already weakened by the fight against the disease, it no longer has enough strength to process heavy proteins.

With mushrooms all year round

In summer, we enjoy eating fried, boiled and stewed mushrooms, but the season is over, and we really want to pamper the body with a delicious product. Some housewives put the roast in sterile jars right from the frying pan, fill it with fat and leave it for the winter. It is very dangerous to do this: microorganisms that cause botulism can develop in the container. You won't notice any bloating, bad smell, or taste change, and a strong toxin will send you to a hospital bed.

Dried mushrooms are best kept. For this purpose, you can use only those instances of which you are completely sure of the quality. If the pulp contains harmful substances, their concentration in the dry product will be ten times higher than in the fresh one. Before cooking, soak the slices overnight in cold water, then boil - and you can crush the pulp into salads, soups, or main courses. The caps are also kept well in the freezer, but the mushrooms for this purpose need to be selected young and strong.

Salted and pickled mushrooms will decorate any festive table. Unfortunately, not everyone can eat such delicacies: they contain a lot of salt and vinegar. When making preparations for the winter, do not roll up the cans with tin lids. Under the influence of salt and acid, the metal can oxidize, and poisonous compounds get into the brine. Use plastic covers. Try to put your preserves in small containers that you can eat quickly. If air gets in, the product starts to deteriorate, and mold may appear on it.

Mushrooms in Russia have always been one of the main products of the national cuisine. Add a small amount of dried boletus powder to any dish and it tastes immediately better. If for the second only boiled potatoes, open a jar of salted milk mushrooms or pickled butter, the lunch will turn out wonderful. Fry, boil and stew the gifts of the forest - if you use them with care, the benefits of mushrooms for the body will be enormous.

Since ancient times, in Russia, forest mushrooms have been considered an exquisite food.

They were prepared and served in a variety of ways, from boiled and fried, to salted and pickled. Mushroom filling was also used in baked goods, in pies or dumplings, and more intricate dishes were made from mushrooms - rolls, roasts, cutlets and casseroles.

Forest mushrooms are popular in our time.

During the mushroom season, there are more people in the forest searching for and collecting mushrooms, especially in the suburban forests, than on the “market day” in the square.

Forest mushrooms are undoubtedly a product with many beneficial properties. Nevertheless, mushrooms can bring both benefits and harm to the human body.

What forest mushrooms are made of

Let's start with the fact that mushrooms are plants. However, due to their chemical composition, forest mushrooms can be safely attributed to the animal world. In particular, the presence of glycogen in them, an animal starch contained in the liver and muscles of animals, brings mushrooms closer to the animal composition.

The figure shows the main chemical composition of the most popular forest mushrooms. Clicking on the picture will enlarge it.

All forest mushrooms are almost 90% water. You can easily verify this - when frying forest mushrooms in a pan, water first appears and evaporates, after which the direct process of frying occurs.

Precisely because mushrooms are rich in water, some of them, especially tubular ones, such as boletus, boletus, flywheels, etc., are not recommended to be washed before cooking. In mushrooms, there is already too much water, and if they are also soaked, then the mushroom runs the risk of turning into a liquid mush. Of course, if there is soil or sand on the mushroom, it must be washed.

Forest mushrooms are rich in protein substances. At the same time, the protein found in the composition of mushrooms is considered complete, containing the most important amino acids - leucine, arginine, histidine, tyrosine, etc. Protein substances of fungi almost do not require digestive juices for splitting and are easily absorbed into the blood.

However, mushrooms are heavy, difficult to digest food. But it is not the protein that is "to blame" for this, but chitin, which is part of the cell structure of any fungus. By the way, the outer cover of crustacean insects consists of chitin - it is clear that it can be difficult for the human stomach to digest this. Especially if the stomach is damaged or exposed to certain diseases.

The calorie content of mushrooms is also not high, it is no more than 40 calories per hundred grams of fresh product.

Positive properties and benefits of mushrooms for humans

The benefits of mushrooms for the human body directly depend on their chemical composition. So, any forest mushroom contains a rich set of minerals, such as phosphorus, zinc, vitamins B and C, carotene.

The phosphorus salts found in mushrooms provide an invaluable service to the human body. In particular, phosphorus is involved in metabolism, has a positive effect on the functions of the nervous system, brain tissue, the formation of muscle tissue, liver and kidney function, the formation of bone tissue, etc.

On our site you can find a lot of useful information about proper nutrition, useful properties of food, as well as how to rationally compose your menu to maintain a healthy lifestyle.

Zinc, which is part of forest mushrooms, is essential for the normal functioning of the endocrine system. It has lipotropic and hematopoietic properties and is part of the enzymes that ensure the respiratory process. Zinc is also needed for the synthesis of other enzymes in the human body, as well as the male hormone testosterone.

Mushrooms contain a large amount of vitamins of group B, C, carotene, especially a lot of vitamin B2 (niacin or niacin). For example, 100 grams of Moss mushrooms contains about 320 mg of niacin. This amount of acid in Mokwicks corresponds to the amount of acid in beef liver. And it seems to me that any housewife knows about the beneficial properties of beef liver.

By the way, nicotinic acid is involved in the breakdown of fats and saturation of the body with energy. Nicotinic acid also lowers blood cholesterol levels, and is also recommended for the prevention of heart disease.

The low calorie content of mushrooms, which is no more than 40 calories per hundred grams of the product, allows them to be consumed without risk for weight gain.

However, the consumption of mushrooms, especially in large quantities, can cause irreparable harm to the human body.

Harmful properties of mushrooms for humans and in what cases mushrooms should not be eaten

For some diseases, the use of mushrooms must be limited to small quantities, or completely abandon their use.

Before you eat dishes and mushrooms, even if you really feel like it, talk to your doctor, ask if you can eat them. Although, a normal doctor, when detecting the first signs of a disease of the gastrointestinal tract, immediately stipulates the diet, and gives recommendations on the necessary menu.

Also, due to the presence in mushrooms of a large number of so-called purine bases (organic natural compounds in the form of colorless crystals), mushroom dishes are contraindicated for gout and rheumatism.

You can not use forest mushrooms for people with poor health and children under 5 years old. In a weak and childish body, as a rule, there is a lack of enzymes, that is, the necessary substances for the proper digestion of mushroom people.

In particular, as I already wrote at the beginning of the article, mushrooms contain a large amount of chitin (a solid substance from which the hard outer cover of arthropods is formed), which is not only not digested by the human body, but in some cases also makes it difficult to access digestible substances digestive juices in our stomach. It is thanks to chitin that after eating mushrooms we can feel heaviness in the stomach, painful sensations, or ultimately indigestion.

It is possible to reduce the amount of chitin in mushrooms by cooking, as a result of which chitin is decomposed and partially leached out.

I don’t want to scare you with such information. Mushrooms are a very tasty and healthy dish, which must be consumed within reasonable limits. However, like any food that we eat.

Of no small importance for health is what kind of mushrooms we eat. According to Roskomnadzor, annually about 30 thousand people across the country, after eating mushrooms, seek help from medical institutions. This is due to the use of poisonous mushrooms, taken for edible, and improper preparation of mushrooms. Poisoning with poisonous mushrooms is considered the most difficult and intractable types of poisoning.

How to pick forest mushrooms correctly

There are several grafts for collecting forest mushrooms, the observance of which will allow you to avoid mushroom poisoning:

1. It is necessary to pick mushrooms as far as possible from cities, highways, railways and factories and factories outside the city, especially with harmful production. Mushrooms - they are like a sponge, they absorb both good and bad properties. Heavy metals, which are "stuffed" with mushrooms growing near roads, can cause poisoning.
The best places to pick mushrooms are in ecologically clean areas far from the city.

2. Collect only those mushrooms that you know. If you have doubts about the edibility of a particular mushroom, it is better not to take it. Even if you really want to pick a lot of mushrooms. Health is more expensive.

3. Try to pick mushrooms in wicker baskets. So they will keep both freshness and their appearance longer. It is undesirable to collect mushrooms in plastic bags. Mushrooms in them quickly crumple, crumble and become unusable.

4. Try to cut mushrooms with a whole leg. So, when processing a mushroom at home, you can easily determine what kind of mushroom it is.

5. Do not pick wormy mushrooms. There is practically no chance of removing worms from the mushroom, even when soaked in salt water. And then eating such mushrooms is not only not advisable, but also not very pleasant. In addition, worms from one mushroom may well crawl into another while you get home.

6. Do not pick overgrown, old and damaged mushrooms. There are not many chances to take them home, and instead of neat mushrooms, you will bring home "mash", which you throw away during processing.

7. Do not pick poisonous mushrooms and inedible mushrooms. No methods and recipes for neutralizing poisonous mushrooms will work. Simply because poisonous mushrooms cannot be neutralized!

8. It is best to pick mushrooms in the morning, before the sun warms them up. Mushrooms collected on the "chill" are stored longer.

In order for mushroom dishes to bring us not only benefits, but also the pleasure of eating them, mushrooms must be properly collected, carefully processed and properly prepared. As a rule, mushroom dishes are delicious and easy to prepare.

Be careful, and then, any mushroom dish will only benefit our health.