Boost your Vitamin D with Mushrooms

The increasing sunshine that comes with spring weather isn’t just good for the soul – it’s super important for our vitamin D levels too!

As a fat-soluble vitamin we can get vitamin D through some foods, but most of our vitamin D is made in the body when UV rays from the sun hit our skin. With the gloomy winter weather, we tend to have much less sun exposure and can often end up with low levels of vitamin D by the end of winter.

Vitamin D helps our bodies to absorb calcium, so plays a key role in bone health, but it also supports our immune system, glucose metabolism, and inflammation levels in the body – so a very important vitamin to have enough of! The time we need in sunshine for optimal levels will vary depending on what season and location we are in, but recommendations usually range from a few minutes per day in summer to 2-3 hours per week in winter.

Similar to how our bodies can absorb sun rays and convert them to vitamin D, mushrooms can do the same! Laying your mushies out in the sun for as a little as 15 minutes can increase their vitamin D levels so much that you can reach your daily needs with one serve!

Best tips for sunning your mushrooms:

- Oyster and enoki are generally best for converting the most vitamin D, followed by portobello and shiitake, then button mushrooms

- Lay them underside up for best sun absorption

- Aim for sun in the middle of the day as the UV rays are generally strongest at this time

- Leave in the sun for around 15 minutes on a hot sunny day, or up to an hour on a cloudier day

- The vitamin D levels will remain in the mushrooms once stored in the fridge.

Happy mushroom sunning!