Hi everyone this is Monica Reinagel and you're listening to the nutrition

diva quick and dirty tips for eating well and feeling fabulous and today I'm

going to be talking about the nutritional and the culinary aspects of

mushrooms. A mushroom is neither a fruit nor a vegetable. Technically, mushrooms aren't even

plants. They're a special type of fungus. And that's a notion that puts some people off. But if you don't mind the fungus part,

mushrooms are a great addition to a healthy diet, not to mention totally delicious.

There are many different types of edible

mushrooms everything from Japanese chitaki to Italian porcini to the ever popular

portobella also known as criminie. The various kinds of mushrooms all have different

flavors and shapes and textures and that's fun if you like to cook.

Although the nutrient profiles vary from type to type, most mushrooms are good

sources of B vitamins, selenium, iron, and other minerals. Most mushrooms,

selenium, iron, and other minerals.

Mushrooms are also really good at neutralizing free radicals.

Those are those renegade molecules that can otherwise get up to no good in your body.

In fact, you might be surprised, as I was,

to learn that when it comes to anti-oxidant power,

the plain old white button mushroom

beats out even colorful veggies like green peppers, carrots, green beans, and tomatoes.

And best of all, mushrooms contain anti-accidents that aren't deactivated or destroyed by

cooking.

In addition to being anti-accident powerhouses,

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