Fall is the best time to eat mushrooms.
These small foods have two important qualities: they flavor even the simplest dish and represent a precious source of nutrients, especially minerals. However, we must be careful.
A mushroom is enough to give a scent and an edge to a vegetable broth or a simple tomato sauce.
This marked ability to give a characteristic flavor depends on the concentration of mineral salts and the aromatic molecules of the soils in which they grow.
In part this is good why mushrooms contain minerals that are important for the proper functioning of the organism but there is also the downside: mushrooms, in fact, may contain high quantities of substances which, in quantities exceeding certain thresholds, are harmful to health, for example mercury, cadmium and nickel.
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The remineralizing power of mushrooms
Mushrooms, therefore, contain good minerals and less good minerals and it is generally recommended to consume them occasionally and to limit the portions, to give the body time to dispose of any negative elements accumulated.
However, these are valuable products that they bring minerals that are difficult to find in other foods, for example cobalt, which promotes the transport of oxygen, and chromium, which activates the metabolism of carbohydrates. They are also low in calories, fat-free and contain a fair amount of good quality protein.
All these properties make it a good side dish, or a good condiment for a first course, to be consumed from time to time, especially in autumn.
Il protein content varies by species and is higher in younger mushrooms.
Mushrooms, if purchased fresh, they must be consumed within a short time because they deteriorate easily, moreover they must never be stored in plastic bags as these accelerate their decomposition.
They contain a fair amount of iron. As with all plant foods, however, it is a type of iron that is hardly metabolized by the body; it is necessary to favor its absorption include at least one food rich in vitamin C in the meal, for example citrus or kiwi.
Other nutrients that contribute to the remineralizing power of mushrooms are phosphorus, manganese, potassium and calcium.
According to the guidelines of the Ministry of Health, mushrooms they should not be consumed by children and pregnant women.
Beware of mushrooms
When it comes to mushrooms, one cannot fail to mention that some species are lethal to humans.
The advice is always the same: buy only certified mushrooms and for sale in shops, avoid going to the woods to pick them if you are not perfect connoisseurs and do not eat mushrooms offered by relatives and friends whose actual experience you do not know well.
Before consuming mushrooms collected in the woods it is always advisable to have them checked at the local ASL.
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