Mushrooms and their affect on weight loss
Illustrative photo (Freepik)
It's essential to create a calorie deficit when losing weight, meaning consuming fewer calories than you burn. It's well known that foods high in protein, water, and fiber but low in calories help promote satiety.
Coach and nutritionist Viktor Mandziak explained whether you can eat mushrooms while losing weight.
Benefits of mushrooms
Mushrooms are rich in water, contain sufficient fiber, provide some protein, and only have about 20-30 calories per 100 grams.
According to the expert, 100 grams of mushrooms contain 2-6 grams of fiber, which is quite decent. This fiber mainly consists of chitin, which cannot be broken down by our enzymes or those of gut bacteria.
"As a result, almost all the fiber in mushrooms is calorie-free for us. Moreover, chitin can bind water, forming gels that trap calories. It's known that, on average, one gram of fiber increases the caloric content of stool by 7 calories," Viktor explained.
Protein is crucial for weight loss because it promotes satiety, burns a significant number of calories during digestion, and helps maintain muscle mass.
Mushrooms contain protein, though only about 2-3 grams, which is 10 times less than in meat.
However, only 50-70% of mushroom protein is absorbed, and it has a suboptimal amino acid profile. The PDCAAS (Protein Digestibility-Corrected Amino Acid Score) for mushrooms is only 0.7-0.8, where 1 is the highest score, held by foods like eggs, milk, and, of course, meat.
Mandziak concluded that mushrooms are a highly dietary food. Considering their low-calorie count, as well as their protein and fiber content, they can be consumed in unlimited quantities when losing weight.
