Wild for mushrooms — but steer clear of wild ones

Chances are you heard about the 14 folks in California who recently grilled up some “death cap” wild mushrooms. Three of them needed liver transplants, including an 18-month-old girl. That was the latest in a spate of wild mushroom poisonings this year. Seems a bumper crop of the world’s deadliest fungus, Amanita phalloides, has fooled a lot of people with its “looks like one that’s good for you” disguise.

That’s why when it comes to wandering into the woods to do some mushroom picking, we think the National Capital Poison Center has got it right:

1. Never pick and eat wild mushrooms unless they’re identified by an expert in local fungi (even they can get fooled).

2. Cooking doesn’t make a poisonous mushroom safe; even breathing in cooking fumes from some can poison you.

3. Remember: There are old mushroom hunters, and there are bold mushroom hunters. But there are no old, bold mushroom hunters!

But we don’t want that to turn you off to the nutrition and flavor packed into safe-eatin’ ‘shrooms. They’re the only vegan source of vitamin D. Plus every cup of chopped mushrooms delivers a slew of polyphenols, B vitamins (riboflavin, folate, thiamine, pantothenic acid and niacin) and some potassium, copper, iron, choline and phosphorus. Reishi, shiitake and maitake mushrooms contain beta-glucan that helps lower insulin resistance and boosts the immune system in fighting cancer.

So pick up some mushrooms in the grocery store. Add them to sauces, every salad (they mix well with walnuts), brown rice or whole-wheat pasta dishes. Go ahead, be bold.

Email questions for Mehmet Oz and Mike Roizen to youdocsdaily @sharecare.com.