Foodie thoughts

M U S H RO O M W I T H A V I E W TO B E AT I N G V I R U S

An email pings in from the magnificently titled Mushroom Bureau, telling me that fungi are packed with vitamin D and that Public Health officials have announced they are urgently reviewing how it could have the ability to reduce the risk of coronavirus. A study carried out by Anglia Ruskin University in Cambridge found that countries in Europe with lower vitamin D levels had more Covid-19 fatalities.

Apparently one in four of us aren’t getting our daily recommended vitamin intake, with a further quarter having “no clue” on what the recommended daily amount even is (puts hand up: guilty as charged).

We get most of our vitamin D naturally from being out in the sun, and, along with mushrooms, it’s found in oily fish, particularly herring, salmon and tinned tuna, and in egg yolks and liver. We need it to keep bones, teeth and muscles healthy, and a lack of it can lead to bone deformities, such as rickets in children, and bone pain caused by a condition called osteomalacia in adults.

The Mushroom Bureau is a partnership between British and

Irish mushroom farmers and growers designed to educate the nation on the booming benefits that fungi can provide and why shopping for locally sourced produce is not only good for the environment, but our health too.

Nutritionist Lily Soutter has joined forces with the bureau and has unveiled a simple at-home hack that can give our bodies a much-needed vitamin D boost: buy home-grown mushrooms and put them in sunlight before eating them. “By checking the label and seeking out mushrooms from Britain and Ireland, we can enjoy nutrient-dense fresh mushrooms with a lower carbon footprint, all whilst supporting local farmers – it really is a win-win for all,” says Lily.