Mushroom Magic

Can you remember that once your Doctor advised you to consume such types of diet which contains low fat, sugar, salt with zero cholesterol, but high fibre? We know you have difficulty in identifying food items with all these qualities…. There is only one magic food with all these qualities - Mushroom, called as Delight of diabetic and dieticians diet. Cultivated Mushroom has so many good qualities for health.

It is exciting to know that mushroom has very high quantity of quality protein, vitamins and minerals, at the same time very low fat and sugar. Mushroom is considered by The Vedas, The Upanishads, The Bible and The Koran as a good source of nutrition. Mushroom is 100% vegetarian and it is the national food of Bhutan and it is one of the secret behind the success of Chinese sportsmen. It has been recognized by F.A.O. as good contributing source of protein nutrition for the countries depending on cereals. We mainly eat rice, which contains mainly carbohydrates and for protein we have to depend on meat, fish, egg etc. But comparatively these food are more costly than mushroom. Mushroom is the cheapest source of protein, because the production cost of oyster mushroom is very low. On the other hand it is completely free from any inorganic chemical, so those who are vegetarian can add mushroom in their daily diet for protein food.

Mushroom cultivated are always be edible and can never be poisonous. It is best food for pregnant, lactating woman, diabetic and heart patient. Mushroom helps  to prevent malnutrition (Kwashiorkar, Marasmus, Anaemia), hypertension,rheumatism, constipation, hyperacidity etc. It has vitamin B - Thiamine (B1), Riboflavin (B2), Nicotinic and Panthothenic acid. As little as 3 gm fresh mushroom per day will keep away anaemia.

Inspite of all these good qualities, mushroom consuming habit is not yet popular in our society.

In Assam mainly oyster mushroom is cultivated. The climate is good for oyster Mushroom cultivation in this region. The main raw material required for oyster Mushroom cultivation is paddy straw and it is abundant in almost all rural households. We can easily cultivate this magic food for own consumption and business purpose also.

In Dhubri district of Assam, an NGO namely Chilarai Krishi Bikash Samity has started popularization of mushroom consuming habit among the people by cultivating oyster mushroom experimentally.