The most popular type of mushroom available, closed cup or button mushrooms have creamy white caps with pink gills which darken to beige as they grow.
When it comes to selenium content, mushrooms surpass all other items in the produce category. A serving of crimini (baby portabella) mushrooms provides almost one-third the RDA for selenium, according to the USDA National Nutrient Database.
With a significant amount of selenium in every serving, mushrooms could turn out to be important ingredients in a cancer-fighting diet, especially in lowering the risk of prostate cancer. Selenium came to the forefront of prostate cancer research when, in 1996, skin cancer patients were given selenium to learn whether it would prevent recurrence. It had no effect on skin cancer, but researchers noticed that it did decrease prostate cancer by more than 60%.
Mushrooms are an under-recognized source of potassium, an element that helps regulate blood pressure, helps keep the right balance of water in fat and muscle tissues, and helps ensure the proper functioning of cells. A 3-ounce portabella mushroom cap provides more potassium than a banana or an orange.
This product was added to our catalog on Thursday 17 January, 2008.
