Why are chestnut mushrooms so healthy?
Because of their amazing nutritional value. Chestnut mushrooms are a super-dense source of nutritious phytochemicals, vitamins, and minerals. Surprisingly, they have even more of these copper, selenium, protein, and potassium than medicinal shiitake mushrooms.
In addition to being a super-dense source of vitamins and minerals, Chestnut mushrooms are anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and antifungal.
Research has shown that Chestnut mushrooms slow down osteoporosis, as well!
Along with vitamins B3 and B5, chestnut mushrooms contain more vitamin B2 than most garden vegetables!
Besides lending a unique taste to your meal, chestnut mushrooms also provide various health and medicinal benefits.
Health Benefits of Chestnut Mushrooms
- anti-tumor properties
- anti-inflammatory properties
- anti-fungal properties
- slows down osteoporosis
- contains high amounts of vitamins and minerals
The anti-tumor properties of the chestnut mushroom can make for a very promising medicine that can be used to reduce the development of stomach and breast diseases.
Studies have shown that some of the properties of the fruiting bodies of chestnut mushrooms were able to inhibit the proliferation of these human disease cells by up to 26% for stomach diseases and 23% for breast diseases.
Further studies are still being done as most of the tests are only done in laboratory testing facilities.
This antitumor property of the chestnut mushroom is especially important since it’s not usually found in other plant or animal species.
Another benefit of the chestnut mushroom is its anti-inflammatory properties. The cyclooxygenase enzymes COX-1 and COX-2 are responsible for 2 very important bodily functions.
The COX-1 is the one regulating the body’s homeostatic functions, while the COX-2 handles the formation of prostaglandins that mediate pain and inflammation.
Compounds contained within chestnut mushrooms have been found to be able to safely regulate inflammation by inhibiting the COX-2 enzyme without affecting other important bodily functions.
Some modern painkillers are able to stop inflammation, but the potential side effects make their use prohibitive to some. Replacing these medicines with chestnut mushrooms can give some of the painkilling abilities without the unwanted side effects.
The fruiting bodies of chestnut mushrooms also contain huge amounts of vitamins and minerals, including vitamins B2, B3, and B5. It also contains biotin, potassium, selenium, copper, and folate.
The vitamin B2 content of most mushrooms is generally greater than those found in some vegetables. Chestnut mushrooms also contain high levels of antioxidant properties that fight free radicals in the body.
They also help lower cholesterol as they contain very little fat and have high amounts of fiber. Adding chestnut mushrooms to your daily diet can considerably lower your cholesterol and prevent cardiovascular diseases from advancing.
The chestnut mushroom has a lot of promising medicinal properties that can potentially cure the toughest diseases. Scientists have been continuously studying and discovering how chestnut mushrooms could help fight several diseases and they still have a long way to go.
This should not stop you from adding a few slices of this delicious mushroom to your meal. The health benefits of the fruiting bodies of chestnut mushrooms are not limited to disease-fighting alone. It is a good source of fiber, vitamins, and minerals too.
What do chestnut mushrooms taste like?
Chestnut mushrooms are exactly the same as standard White Button mushrooms, only brown. The taste is commonly described as very similar to cremini or Portobello and better than plain white mushrooms.
Which mushroom can I use instead of chestnut mushrooms?
Since chestnut mushrooms are rare and hard to find, if you have a recipe that calls for them, feel free to substitute them with Portobello, Cremini (sometimes spelled Cremini) or for that matter, any brown mushroom in the grocery store with a good flavor.
