Mushrooms are a source of vitamin D. eating mushrooms can boost Vitamin D levels. Vitamin D helps fight infection and supports bone health.
Our bodies use vitamin D to fight infection and to help the body absorb calcium from the intestine. This in turn means our body has access to more calcium for strong bones and teeth. Most of our vitamin D is made by our body through a reaction in our skin which is triggered by UV light from sunshine. In cold and wintery months, when we cover our skin and we have little sunshine, we need to try and keep our Vitamin D levels up. So how can we add more vitamin D to our diet to help boost our nutrition?
Vitamin D is unfortunately not found in that many foods, which makes it even more important that we try and eat as many of the following foods as we possibly can to boost our levels, particularly in winter. Foods such as oily fish like salmon, herring or mackerel, liver, eggs, dairy, mushrooms are good sources of vitamin D.
To maximise the Vitamin D we get from food did you know that Vitamin D is absorbed best by our body when we consume it with a little healthy fat.
You probably don't generally eat liver as the protein part of the main meal, most people eat liver when they have pate. Chicken, duck liver pates are popular. If you don’t eat meat or would like to choose vegetarian foods high in Vitamin D then eggs are a great source. Milk , cheese and butter are reasonable sources, but not as good as eggs . For vegans, there is only plant based source, mushrooms. Mushrooms are amazing! Did you know that they have this really clever way of increasing the amount of vitamin D they contain? All you need to do, and it doesn't matter what kind of mushroom this is, you need to pop it on the windowsill in the sunshine For about 15 minutes, preferably midday sun, so when it's really, really sunny and the sun is high in winter.
And in those 15 minutes, the amount of vitamin D can double. So, my top tip for preparing food to boost vitamin D in winter is to add mushroom! And, if you can, pop your mushrooms. on the windowsill before you prepare them. That way you'll be maximising the amount of vitamin D in your mushrooms.
So what kind of recipes do we have for increasing vitamin D in our diet? Well, one of my favourites is mushrooms on toast. I like mushrooms on toast because it's fun to boost the amount of vitamin D in your mushrooms by popping them on the windowsill. And secondly, because they're really versatile. Try mushrooms on toast for breakfast, or a quick easy lunch with a poached egg on top, or you could even have it instead of garlic bread when you're having pasta in the evening.
Here is a very simple recipe for mushrooms on toast. Have a go! Try it with different types of mushrooms and different types of bread and work out which way you like to have your mushrooms on toast. We would love to see your version! Why not share it in a post on our Facebook page www.facebook.com/How2EatWell
Mushrooms on toast adapted from recipe by Dr Pippa Gibson
Serves 1
Ingredients
10g rapeseed oil
100g vitamin D mushrooms
1 tbsp plain flour
1 tbsp mushroom ketchup substitute with Worcester sauce or soy sauce (adjust for taste)
150ml unsweetened fortified soya plant-based alternative to milk (because this is fortified with more Vit D) you can just use cows milk.
1 slice of toast
Method
In a saucepan, heat the oil and fry the mushrooms until they release all their juices and they evaporate off
Add the flour and mix into the mushrooms before adding the mushroom ketchup (or substitute). Add the soya plant-based alternative to milk ( or milk) in a little bit at a time, stirring continuously to get a smooth sauce
Once all the soya plant-based alternative to milk ( or milk) has been added, cook for a couple of minutes before serving piled high on a slice of toast
Per serving: 409kcal/ 14g fat/ 1.6g saturated fat/ 56g carbohydrates/ 3.8g fibre/ 15g protein/ 6.2μg vitamin D2
Or keep it simple, just fry some mushrooms and pop them on a slice of toast!