Would you eat a mushroom called Lion’s Mane? Why not.

Lion’s mane mushrooms look exactly what they sound like. A big shaggy beautiful mane of mushroom. They are also called hou tou gu or yamabushitake and are used more in Asia than Australia but that is changing. Mushrooms are a good source of vitamins B and C, protein, potassium, a small amount of fibre, antioxidants and choline.

Lion’s mane mushrooms are used for all sorts of cooking, eating and drinking. You may have seen that you can now buy kits and grow your own at home. This is the perfect time to do that. If you live in Tasmania try the FB page of West Tamar Fungi for their great kits.

https://www.facebook.com/pages/category/Urban-Farm/West-Tamar-Fungi-1747903041926004/

Photo credit: <a href="https://visualhunt.co/a4/2b80b40c">Outdoor Alabama Photos

The research on lion’s mane mushrooms shows that they can have beneficial effects for our health especially our brain, heart and gut. Mushrooms are the highest dietary source for some unique antioxidants that may have anti-inflammatory properties which may help with anxiety and depression. Everything we eat matters so why not eat

References

Kalaras, M. D., Richie, J. P., Calcagnotto, A., & Beelman, R. B. (2017). Mushrooms: A rich source of the antioxidants ergothioneine and glutathione. Food Chem, 233, 429-433. doi:10.1016/j.foodchem.2017.04.109

Money, N. P. (2016). Are mushrooms medicinal? Fungal Biol, 120(4), 449-453. doi:10.1016/j.funbio.2016.01.006