I have always loved mushrooms, especially fresh ones – shiitake, enoki, oyster, portabella, ear wood, cloud wood and just about any type of edible mushrooms. Of course not all mushrooms are edible. Most mushrooms you find growing in the jungle or in your garden are poisonous. Of my 3 gals, Alycia is the only one whom I can never force her swallow any type of mushroom for she will puke!  Baby the health freak baby takes on mushrooms very well.  Sherilyn is really mushy over mushrooms and she polished off almost the entire plate of this fresh mushrooms, which I had cooked with tofu pok, minced garlic and fermented soy bean paste:

When we stopped her from eating further mushrooms, she made sure that I reserved that plate of mushrooms for her the following day! The next day over dinner, I thought she had forgotten all about this plate of mushrooms but I was wrong. She asked for it!

Next time you are in the produce aisle of the supermarket, pick up an immune booster—the mushroom. The health benefits associated with this edible fungus are numerous and wide-ranging. Mushrooms are high in antioxidants, selenium, riboflavin and other healthful substances that protect the immune system and may even fight cancer, according to a session at the Institute of Food Technologists Annual Meeting and Food Expo in New Orleans this past July.

Mushrooms are low in carbohydrates, calories and sodium and are cholesterol and fat free! They are high in riboflavin and contain as much fiber as 1 medium tomato. They are also a good source of niacin, pantothenate and copper.

Shiitake mushrooms have been used for centuries by the Chinese and Japanese to treat colds and flu. Lentinan, a beta-glucan isolated from the fruiting body of shiitake mushrooms, appears to stimulate the immune system, help fight infection, and demonstrates anti-tumor activity.

While medicinal mushrooms have been used in China and Japan for more than 3,000 years to boost immunity and fight diseases such as cancer, only in the last decade has their power begun to be recognized in the United States. In more scientific terms, a number of compounds in fungi have been found to stimulate the function of the immune system, inhibit tumor growth and boost intestinal flora. Particularly, mushroom substances called terpenoids help kill bacteria and viruses and exert anti-inflammatory effects, while complex chain-like sugars called polysaccharides have been shown to exert antitumor and immuno-stimulating properties. – The Natural Foods Merchandiser, March 2005