Which Mushroom Is Most Nutrient-Dense?

Which Mushroom Is Most Nutrient-Dense?

Wondering which mushroom is the healthiest mushroom? Short answer – all types of mushrooms are healthy mushrooms and great for your health! All mushrooms are super nutrient-dense and full of nutritional benefits. They contain an extremely impressive amount of essential vitamins (especially B vitamins, including vitamin B2 (riboflavin) vitamin B3 (niacin), vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid), and vitamin B7 (biotin)) and minerals (copper, selenium) per calorie, while containing unique dietary fiber types not available in other foods (chitin, and polysaccharides chitosan and beta-glucan), plus phenolics, triterpenes, and the non-proteinogenic amino acid ergothioneine (a.k.a. the longevity vitamin). Another one of mushrooms’ many unique features is their ability to produce vitamin D in response to UV exposure. In fact, mushrooms are the only non-animal food with notable amounts of bioavailable vitamin D!

Studies show that edible mushrooms have numerous health benefits which can include: anticancer, antidiabetic (lowering blood sugar levels), anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial effects, anti-obesity, antioxidant (decreasing oxidative stress), antiviral, blood pressure lowering, cholesterol-lowering, immunomodulatory (meaning they affect the immune system), and liver-protective, as well as being great for gut health.

A 2019 study showed that eating 100-grams of of mushrooms daily reduces all-cause mortality risk by an impressive 26%, while a 2021 study showed that eating any amount of mushrooms reduces all-cause mortality risk by 16% compared to eating no mushrooms at all! All this is to say, eating three or more servings of mushrooms per week is a great target!

Even though there are ~ 14,000 species of mushrooms, there are only 9 varieties we have enough data to calculate Nutrivore Scores for. This list focuses on edible mushrooms including those typically found at most grocery stores and some that you can forage for in the wild. Medicinal mushrooms, such as lion’s mane mushrooms, reishi mushrooms, chaga mushrooms, turkey tail mushrooms, and cordyceps are more commonly consumed in supplements as mushroom extracts.

Let’s take a look at how different edible varieties rank in terms of nutrient-density, keeping in mind that whatever mushroom you like the most and will eat is the best choice for you! There are countless ways to enjoy their umami flavor – whether you like them grilled, roasted, sauteed, stuffed, or in salads, soups, stews, or stir-fries, eating mushrooms is well worth it!

Want to hear more on how I feel about mushrooms? Check out my video! You can also learn more about mushrooms here or grab my Nutrivore Guide to Mushrooms E-book that explains everything you need to know about this healthy food and also includes 12 mushroom-focused recipes!