Cholesterol Lowering Mushrooms Three cholesterol-lowering mushrooms you need to know. High cholesterol is a frightening specter for some people because it causes various health problems, including dangerous diseases. Cholesterol itself can be interpreted as a fat-like substance produced by the liver.
These substances flow into the body’s stream with the help of particles called lipoproteins. As a form of prevention, someone who has indicated high cholesterol levels can include several types of food that can lower these levels.
One of them is mushroom. As is known, mushrooms are versatile organisms. Mushrooms are inherently useful for lowering cholesterol with their high fiber and protein content. In addition, mushrooms also have phytochemicals that can help reduce high cholesterol.
Here are some types of mushrooms that can help lower cholesterol:
1. Oyster Mushroom
Generally, high mushrooms are very delicious to eat. In addition, this type of mushroom is also proven to be healthy and can lower cholesterol levels. This happens because mushrooms naturally contain small amounts of lovastatin, a cholesterol-lowering chemical and is widely used in the treatment of sufferers. Oyster mushroom also has various anti-inflammatory and hepatoprotective effects as well as lowering blood glucose levels. This is what makes oyster mushrooms one of the foods that can protect against the bad effects of high cholesterol.
2. Shitake Mushroom
The ability of shitake mushrooms to lower cholesterol is caused by eritadenine, one of the components of shitake. Eritadenine helps increase cholesterol excretion which can reduce circulating levels in the blood. In one study, 9 grams of dried shitake mushrooms eaten daily reduced total cholesterol by 9-12 percent. In addition, Triglycerides also reduced by around 6-7 percent. Shitake mushroom also has very high protein and strong taste. So that it can be a substitute for meat in the daily food intake of cholesterol sufferers.
3. Reishi Mushroom
The next cholesterol-lowering mushroom is Reishi. Lingzhi or commonly known as reishi mushroom is a type of mushroom that is often praised for its medicinal properties. Reishi mushrooms can increase levels of good cholesterol or HDL and lower triglycerides. In that study, subjects received 1.44 g of reishi mushroom daily for 12 weeks. As a result, the researchers concluded that triacylglycerol decreased and levels of good cholesterol (HDL) increased.