---by Billy Graham
Posted via email from Religion
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Friday, May 27, 2011
Has God Forgiven My Rebellious Ways?
Thursday, May 26, 2011
Wednesday, May 25, 2011
Open Letter To Bob L. from Lady Gaga's Mgr.
I'm going to start calling you Charles Barkley! On second thought, Charles Barkley was at least a player in the game before he was a commentator. With all due respect, it's very easy to sit on the sideline and call plays. It's a totally different story to be in the game and have to deal with the obstacles and hurdles that we face on a minute by minute basis in our business. I'm sure that 300 million people don't read your blog, the same way that I'm sure that 300 million people aren't interested in one particular genre of music or one particular artist. The reality is that it's going to take time for the marriage of music and technology to work. The tech community and the music community speak different languages and we're working on finding the Rosetta Stone. In the meantime partnerships will be tested. Some will work and others won't. Although we weren't aware of Amazon's deal that they were offering, I applaud them for their efforts. Anytime we can get people to purchase music legally, it's a good thing for the business. I'm sure they'll be better prepared the next time they do such an offering. We've partnered with over 27,000 non-traditional retailers worldwide on this release. No one prayed to a particular retailer. We tried something different, we'll see if it works. As you praise Groupon, do your research and see how well they did on the Def Jam releases that they worked on. It FAILED. They aborted music for now. It's all trial and error. No one can predict what's next. No one can predict a shelf life. If we left it up to the cynics there wouldn't have been an Elvis, Beatles, Timberlake, or Bieber. It's not fair to the hard work and effort that artists and their teams have to put in. Anybody that can make people fall in love with music is a friend of mine and anyone who can support the business of music keeps it alive for the next generation. I'm just as frustrated as you are, as we both see the potential for music to scale. It's going to take time, trial, and error for this to happen. I'm sure that the Born This Way launch will be successful in our eyes. It has already exceeded my personal expectations. We sold 27,000 copies in the first week on The Fame. I'm proud to say that we're up 11% on that album over 150 weeks later. YOU CAN'T BAKE A CAKE IN THE MICROWAVE. All of this takes time, Bob. Lighten up a bit, it's just music.
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Allegra Warning!!
From Daniel More, MD, your Guide to Allergies
Allegra (fexofenadine), is a non-sedating antihistamine that has recently become available over-the-counter (OTC) without a prescription. Since becoming available OTC, as well as being approved for young children, Allegra will likely become even more popular for people with allergy symptoms. For this reason, it is important for people to know that taking Allegra along with various fruit juices, especially orange and grapefruit juice, reduces the absorption of Allegra by more than one-third, therefore making the medicine less effective. Allegra depends on specialized receptors on cells within the small intestines, called organic anion transporting polypeptides (OATPs), to absorb the medicine into the body. When various fruit juices are present in the small intestines, especially grapefruit, apple or orange juice, these OATPs are unable to absorb Allegra into the body. This effect seems to occur with soft drinks with as little as 5% fruit juice. Taking Allegra with fruit juice may decrease the absorption by nearly 40% or more, making the medicine far less effective against the treatment of allergy symptoms. It is important for a person taking Allegra to avoid fresh fruit or fruit juices for an hour or 2 before or after taking Allegra. Otherwise, the effective of Allegra will be significantly reduced, and allergy symptoms will likely be left uncontrolled.
Other Uses for Peanut Butter
According to the National Peanut Board, Dr. George Washington Carver developed more than 300 products from the humble peanut. They include face powder, shampoo, paper, shaving cream, hand lotion, insecticides, glue, charcoal, rubber, nitroglycerin, plastics, and axle grease.
Today’s peanut butter, a staple in most pantries, can serve an astonishing variety of household purposes. Try these:
- Use a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth to rub off label adhesives.
- Massage a bit of peanut butter into hair to remove a wad of chewing gum.
- Use a thin coat as a substitute for shaving cream. (Really! Hydrates and moisturizes.)
- Polish leather and vinyl items using a bit of peanut butter on a cotton cloth. Buffs up wooden items, too.
- Hang pine cones stuffed with a mixture of peanut butter and coarse cornmeal as a treat for winter birds.
- Smear it on garden tools (including wooden handles) as a winter preservative and on lawn-mower blades as a lubricant.
- Spread some on a slice of apple or a scrap of bread for a good mousetrap bait.
- Encourage your dog to swallow a pill by sticking it into the center of a little gob of peanut butter.
Note: Smooth peanut butter works best for these uses.
Is it Alright to Wear a Gold Cross if One is Not a Christian?
---by Billy Graham
Posted via email from Religion
Health Care for All or The Lack of It!
--by John C. Goodman
Cookbook Medicine???
Would you like the government to tell your doctor how to take care of you? That possibility is not as remote as you may think.
Cookbook Medicine???
Would you like the government to tell your doctor how to take care of you? That possibility is not as remote as you may think.
Medicare recently announced it will start paying more to hospitals that follow a dozen procedures, including administering antibiotics prior to surgery and anti-clotting medication to heart attack patients. It will pay less to hospitals that don’t comply. The same thing is about to happen to doctors. Those who comply on up to 194 different metrics - including adopting electronic medical records — will get higher fees. Those who resist will get lower ones. These are examples of a much larger trend: Washington telling the medical community how to practice medicine. Even though a recent study finds little relationship between the inputs Medicare wants to pay for and such outputs as patient survival, and even though the latest pilot programs show that paying doctors and hospitals for performance doesn’t improve the quality, we are about to usher in the era of big brother medical care.
To its advocates, care that follows medical treatment guidelines and protocols developed by experts, based on the scientific literature — as reported in medical journals and scholarly reports — is “evidence-based.” If all doctors follow the same protocols, they argue, patients with similar conditions will be treated the same way. Wide variations in the practice of medicine would be replaced by uniform, standardized treatments. This view is about to dominate the entire health care system.
Ultimately, if you are elderly or disabled, Medicare will probably refuse to pay for any procedures that do not conform to the government-approved protocols. If you get health insurance at work, your employer will probably do the same. If you buy your own insurance, you won’t have much choice about the matter. The only health insurers that will be allowed in the new (ObamaCare) health insurance exchanges — certainly the only ones that survive — will be those that limit coverage to officially sanctioned, evidence-based care.
Before long, virtually all doctors will be practicing only the kind of medicine the health plans cover. After all, most doctors like to get paid for what they do. If that’s not incentive enough, the Obama administration has a medical malpractice carrot and stick it wants to try out. If doctors follow protocols and guidelines developed by committees of experts, they will be immune from lawsuits. If they don’t, they will have to take their chances.
Don’t you want your doctor's advice to be based on scientific evidence? Don’t you want her to follow guidelines that have been written by reputable scholars who have surveyed all the relevant literature?
So what’s not to like? A lot, it turns out.
Think about the calendar you keep on your laptop or your cell phone. It’s probably an invaluable aide to help you organize your life. Now suppose that instead of being your servant, the calendar becomes your master. What if there were a rule that says you can’t do anything during the week unless it is on the calendar by Sunday. Call this “calendar-based scheduling.” Instead of being an aide, the calendar would quickly become an oppressive barrier to your freedom of action.
The same principle applies in medicine. Protocols and guidelines can be helpful or harmful, depending on how they are used. And there are several reasons why such guidelines — in the wrong hands — can reduce the quality of care you receive.
First, in most areas of medicine, there are no treatment guidelines; and where there are, they are often unreliable, conflicting and incomplete. Even for something as straightforward as deciding when women should get mammograms there is conflicting advice. (See here, here, here and here.) If insurers have to choose among conflicting and inconsistent guidelines, which ones do you think they will choose? The ones that cost them less money, of course.
Second, guidelines inevitably focus on some parameters and ignore others – often because of inconsistent and incomplete information. When doctors respond only to the metrics on which they are paid – while ignoring other factors – the patient may be the loser. In education, teachers all too often “teach to the test,” trying to get their students to perform well on what is being measured to the exclusion of everything else we want students to know. Do you want doctors to practice medicine to the test? When the Veteran’s Administration began grading itself, it scored well on metrics that were measured and poorly on the ones that weren’t measured.
Third, even where there are well established and widely accepted guidelines, they are inevitably written for the average patient. But suppose you are not average. Is your doctor free to step outside the protocols and give you care based on her training, knowledge and experience? Or will she be pressured to stick to the cookbook, regardless of how the patient fares? Health plans always say that doctors are free to step outside the guidelines if they have good reason for doing so. But if the doctor is forced to fill out multiple forms and jump through lots of hoops, many will conform to the guidelines even if that's bad for you.
Finally, the whole idea behind guidelines and protocols is that it is appropriate to treat patients with similar conditions the same way. But individuals are individuals. They don't always respond to treatments the same way. For substance abuse, for example, there apparently is no such thing as a protocol that works for diverse groups of patients.
Like electronic medical records and computerized protocols, evidence-based guidelines could be a boon to medical practice, helping doctors do their jobs. But when these tools substitute for the doctors’ judgments, patients are likely to be the losers.
Your Music: Great, Good, or Sucks!
Are you really an artist that appeals to many? Or, are you a wannabe trying to make a career where there will never be one?As for those who tell those who suck that they're doing it right, to keep at it... They don't want to rain on your parade, be the first person to tell you you suck. That's why we loved Simon Cowell, he spoke the truth we all knew. As for those encouraging the wannabes, they're just parasites, trying to make a buck off your dream. There's very little great stuff out there. But if you can deliver greatness, people will find you, they'll notice, you'll make it. Next time you're wondering whether you should tweet, or mail more CDs, or work your Facebook page, frustrated that you're nowhere, look in the mirror and ask yourself HOW GOOD AM I? In most cases, not that good.
Monday, May 23, 2011
How to Easily Backup Your Facebook Data
You've posted your life on Facebook. It's time to back that thing up.
Photo: Getty Images Can you count the number of funny cat videos, Charlie Sheen inspired Haiku poems, and LOLs you've posted on Facebook over the years? I'm going to guess the answer is no.
Where is all your Facebook stuff kept? You don't really know do you? It could be in some giant server farm on an island somewhere attached to the same computer that has been repeating a distress signal with the numbers 4, 8, 15, 16, 23, and 32 for the last 17 years. The point is: if you don't have your Facebook data backed up and your account is hacked, disabled, or deleted, then you could potentially lose a lot of stuff that is important to you (minus the Charlie Sheen inspired Haiku poetry of course).
You may have some of it backed up, such as your pictures, but there is a lot of historical (and likely hysterical) posts that you may want to keep for posterity. It's also good to have a backup of your Facebook data for legal reasons, in case you are ever involved in a dispute where someone posted something defamatory on your wall and then deleted it. If you made a backup before they removed the post to cover their tracks, then they will only have the ability to delete what is on the live site, and not what you have backed up.
The wizards at Facebook have provided a way to archive all of the stuff that you, and in many cases, your friends, have ever posted to your Facebook. According to Facebook, this content includes:
- Your profile information
- Wall posts and content that you and your friends have posted to your profile
- Photos and videos that you have uploaded to your account
- Your friend list
- Notes you have created
- Events to which you have RSVP’d
- Your sent and received messages
- Any comments that you and your friends have made on your Wall posts, photos, and other profile content
So how do you backup all your Facebook data? Here is a quick and easy procedure to backup all the items mentioned above:
1. Login to your Facebook account.
2. Click the "Account" drop-down menu located in the top-right corner of your Facebook page.
3. Click on "Account Settings".
4. From the "Settings" tab, Look for the line that says "Download Your Information" and click the link to the right of it that says: "learn more".
5. Click the "Download" button on the page that follows.
After you click "Download", you will receive a Facebook pop-up message stating that they are "gathering" all your information into a ZIP formatted file for you to download. The message says it may take awhile and that they will send you an e-mail when the file is ready to be downloaded.
The length of time it takes to build the archive file will depend on how much data (videos, pictures, etc) that you have posted to your account. For people who have been using facebook for several years, this could take a few hours or more. Mine took about 3 hours before it said it was ready for download. Make sure you have ample room on your computer's hard drive to store the data file that you are about to download.
Before you can download you Facebook data file, Facebook will force you to prove your identity through a couple of security measures such as inputting your password and having you identify some of your friends by their pictures. These security measures help to prevent hackers from obtaining the backup file which would basically provide them with a digital dossier of your Facebook life to take with them offline.
Add the Facebook backup process to your regular backup routine. It's a good idea to backup your Facebook content every few weeks or months because you never know when the island that your Facebook data may be residing on might decide to implode or travel back in time to 1977. Good luck getting your funny cat videos back if that happens.
Shitake Mushroom
Long a symbol of longevity in Asia because of their health-promoting properties, shiitake mushrooms have been used medicinally by the Chinese for more than 6,000 years. More recently, their rich, smoky flavor has endeared them to American taste buds. These exotic hearty mushrooms can now be found in supermarket shelves across the U.S. throughout the year.
Like other mushrooms, these specialty mushrooms are as mysteriously unique as they are delicious. While often thought of as a vegetable and prepared like one, mushrooms are actually a fungus, a special type of living organism that has no roots, leaves, flowers or seeds.
What's New and Beneficial about Shiitake Mushrooms
- Although immune system support has often received much of the spotlight in shiitake mushroom research, recent study results involving support of the cardiovascular system have caught the attention of many researchers. In particular, recent studies have shown the ability of shiitake mushrooms to help protect us against cardiovascular diseases (including atherosclerosis) by preventing too much immune cell binding to the lining of our blood vessels. In order for immune cells and other materials to bind onto our blood vessel linings, certain protein molecules - called adhesion molecules - must be produced and sent into action. By helping to block the adhesion molecule production process, substances in shiitake mushrooms can help protect our blood vessels. (The adhesion molecule production that is partially blocked by shiitake mushroom components includes the adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin.)
- Shiitake mushrooms have long been recognized as a very good, non-animal food source of iron. But a recent preliminary study has determined that the bioavailability of iron from shiitake mushrooms may be even better than we thought. Although conducted on laboratory animals (female rats) rather than humans, this study found the iron in dried shiitake mushroom to be equally as bioavailable as supplemental iron in the form of ferrous gluconate. (Ferrous gluconate is a very commonly used low-dose iron supplement.) While we don't usually spotlight research on laboratory animals, we found this result to be especially promising for individuals who consume little or no animal products and are often looking for foods that can supply valuable amounts of bioavailable iron.
- Shiitake mushrooms can be one of the most sustainable foods in your diet! While the majority of shiitake mushrooms produced worldwide have been grown on sawdust block in a non-natural setting, it is fully possible for shiitake mushrooms to be produced on natural hardwood logs in a forest setting. This approach to shiitake mushroom production is called "forest farming" and it has become an especially popular way of growing shiitake mushrooms in the U.S, where there are now more than 200 shiitake mushroom growers. Unfortunately, forest farming is not a requirement for organic certification of shiitake mushrooms. However, all of the plant crop standards in the National Organics Program regulations apply to shiitake mushroom production, and so the combination of these two features - certified organic shiitake mushrooms that have also been forest farmed - can make a great food choice in terms of sustainable agriculture. Just look for the USDA's organic logo on your shiitake mushrooms to determine if they are certified organic. Then check for information about forest farming on the packaging. If no information is provided, there is a good chance that your shiitake mushrooms were not forest farmed. For this reason, we encourage you to ask your store staff or contact the product manufacturer to determine if your shiitake mushrooms were grown on hardwood logs in a natural forest environment.
People do not usually consider including mushrooms as part of their meals for their nutritional content. However, shiitake mushrooms are an excellent source of three B vitamins (vitamins B2, B5 and B6); a very good source of one additional B vitamin (B2); a very good source of six minerals (manganese, phosphorus, potassium, selenium, copper and zinc); a very good source of dietary fiber; and a good source of protein, magnesium, and vitamin D (in the D2 form). They also provide a wide variety of unique phytonutrients. To maximize their flavor and the retention of their nutrients it is important to not to overcook them. That's why we recommend Healthy Sauteeing shiitake mushrooms for just 7 minutes to bring out their best flavor while maximizing their nutrient retention. For more on our Healthiest Way of Cooking shiitake mushrooms see the How to Enjoy section below.
Shiitake, maitake, and reishi mushrooms are widely referred to as "medicinal mushrooms" due to their long history of medical use, particularly in oriental medicine traditions. It's important to distinguish, however, between extracts and medicinal preparations made from these mushrooms and their appearance as whole foods in an everyday diet. Most of the medicinal research on shiitake mushrooms has been conducted on laboratory animals or on individual cells studied in a laboratory setting. There are hundreds of lab and animal studies that clearly document the medicinal properties of shiitake mushroom extracts. As important as these studies are in a medical context, they are still very different from studies that examine shiitake mushroom as a common and beloved food.
In contrast to the wealth of medicinal research on shiitake mushrooms, there are very few studies on shiitake mushrooms in the human diet. Among the human dietary studies that do exist, however, there is a clear message about shiitake mushrooms: they can provide us with some fantastic health benefits. Below are areas of health support that make the top of our list for shiitake mushrooms when enjoyed as a whole food.
Immune Support
No health benefit is better documented for shiitake mushroom than immune support. In fact, the immune support track record for this mushroom is fascinating. On the one hand, numerous studies have shown the ability of whole shiitake mushrooms to help prevent excessive immune system activity. On the other hand, an equal number of studies have shown the ability of shiitake mushrooms to help stimulate immune system responses under certain circumstances. In other words, from a dietary perspective, shiitake mushrooms appear able to enhance immune function in both directions, giving it a boost when needed, and cutting back on its activity when needed. It's important to note that dietary shiitake mushroom intake - unlike intake of medicinal shiitake extracts - has not been shown to be strongly suppressive of the immune system or strongly activating. From our perspective, this finding makes sense. We wouldn't want our everyday foods to strongly suppress or strongly activate any body system. What we would want from our foods is support of body systems under a variety of circumstances - and that is exactly what we get from shiitake mushrooms with respect to our immune system.
One especially interesting area of immune system support involves the impact of shiitake mushrooms on immune cells called macrophages. Among their many important activities, macrophage cells are responsible for identifying and clearing potentially cancerous cells from the body. In order to carry out this task, they need to be "activated" in a particular way. (In more scientific terms, their activated phenotype needs to reflect a higher level of interleukin 1-beta and tumor necrosis factor alpha, and a lower level of interleukin 10.) Shiitake mushrooms are able to help macrophage cells achieve this activated profile so that they can do a better job clearing potentially cancerous cells. Researchers refer to this result as an "anti-cancer immunity" that is enhanced by shiitake mushroom intake.
The most famous immune-supportive components in shiitake mushrooms are its polysaccharides. (Polysaccharides are large-sized carbohydrate molecules composed of many different sugars arranged in chains and branches.) Although many fungi are well-known for their polysaccharides, no single fungus has been more carefully studied than the shiitake mushroom. We know that this fungus is unique in its variety of polysaccharides, and especially its polysaccharide glucans. (Glucans are polysaccharides in which all of the sugar components involve the simple sugar glucose.) Among the glucans contained in shiitake mushroom are alpha-1,6 glucan, alpha-1,4 glucan, beta-1,3 glucan, beta-1,6 glucan, 1,4-D-glucans, 1,6-D-glucans, glucan phosphate, laminarin, and lentinan. Shiitake mushrooms also contain some important non-glucan polysaccharides, including fucoidans and galactomannins. The immune-related effects of polysaccharides in shiitake mushrooms have been studied on laboratory animals under a wide variety of circumstances, including exercise stress, exposure to inflammation-producing toxins, radiation exposure, and immunodeficiency. Under all of these circumstances, the polysaccharides in shiitake mushrooms have been shown to lessen problems. There is also some evidence that shiitake mushrooms' polysaccharides can help lower total cholesterol levels.
Cardiovascular Benefits
The cardiovascular benefits of shiitake mushrooms have been documented in three basic areas of research. The first of these areas is cholesterol reduction. d-Eritadenine (also called lentinacin, or lentsine, and sometimes abbreviated as DEA) is one of the most unusual naturally occurring nutrients in shiitake mushrooms that has repeatedly been shown to help lower total blood cholesterol. This nutrient is actually derived from adenine - one of the building blocks (nucleotides) in the mushroom's genetic material (DNA). The beta-glucans in shiitake mushrooms are also very likely to contribute to its cholesterol-lowering impact.
Another basic area of cardiovascular support involves the interaction between our cardiovascular system and our immune system. Recent studies have shown that shiitake mushrooms can help protect us against cardiovascular diseases (including atherosclerosis) by preventing too much immune cell binding to the lining of our blood vessels. In order for immune cells and other materials to bind onto our blood vessel linings, certain protein molecules - called adhesion molecules - must be produced and sent into action. By helping to block the adhesion molecule production process, substances in shiitake mushrooms can help protect our blood vessels. (The adhesion molecule production which is partially blocked by shiitake mushroom components includes the adhesion molecules ICAM-1, VCAM-1, and E-selectin.)
A final basic area of cardiovascular benefits involves antioxidant support. Chronic oxidative stress in our cardiovascular system (ongoing, oxygen-based damage to our blood vessel linings) is a critical factor in the development of clogged arteries (atherosclerosis) and other blood vessel problems. One of the best ways for us to reduce our risk of chronic oxidative stress is consumption of a diet rich in antioxidant nutrients. Shiitake mushrooms are a very good source of three key antioxidant minerals: manganese, selenium, and zinc. They also contain some unusual phytonutrient antioxidants. One of the best studied is ergothioneine (ET). This unique antioxidant is derived from the amino acid histidine, although it's unusual since it contains a sulfur group of molecules that are not present in histidine itself. In studies on ET and our cells' oxidative stress levels, one fascinating finding has been the special benefits of ET for cell components called mitochondria. Mitochondria use oxygen to produce energy for the cell. Heart cells have greater concentrations of mitochondria than most any other cell type in the body. For this reason, researchers believe that ET may be one of the key nutrients from shiitake mushrooms that provide us with cardiovascular support.
Anti-Cancer Benefits
Most of the research on shiitake mushrooms and cancer has been conducted on laboratory animals or on individual cells in a laboratory setting and has involved mushroom extracts rather than whole mushrooms in food form. For this reason, our understanding of the anti-cancer benefits of shiitake mushrooms as a whole, natural food is still preliminary. But based on research to date, we believe that adding shiitake mushrooms to your diet is likely to offer you anti-cancer benefits, especially with respect to prevention of prostate cancer, breast cancer, and colon cancer.
Medicinal extracts from shiitake mushrooms have been studied much more extensively than the whole food itself. In cell and laboratory animal experiments, numerous components of shiitake mushrooms have been show to help block tumor growth, sometimes by triggering programmed cell death (apoptosis) in the cancer cells. These components have been collectively referred to as "anti-tumor mycochemicals" provided by shiitake mushrooms. Researchers have speculated that more than 100 different types of compounds in shiitake mushrooms may work together to accomplish these anti-tumor results. While the unique polysaccharides in shiitake mushrooms were first thought to be its primary anti-cancer compounds, scientists are now convinced that shiitake provides many non-polysaccharide substances that have anti-tumor effects.
Other Benefits
The special combination of antioxidants found in shiitake mushrooms together with their highly flexible support for immune system function make them a natural candidate for providing us with protection from a variety of problems involving oxidative stress and immune function. This includes rheumatoid arthritis (RA), an area that has begun to interest shiitake mushroom researchers. Although research in this area is preliminary, we expect to see large-scale human studies confirming the benefits of shiitake mushrooms for prevention of RA.
Medicinal extracts from shiitake mushrooms have well-documented effects on a variety of micro-organisms, including bacteria, fungi, and viruses (including human immunodeficiency virus-1, or HIV-1). While we have yet to see large-scale human studies on whole food intake of shiitake mushrooms and decreased susceptibility to colds, flu or other problems related to unwanted activity of micro-organisms, this is a very likely area for future food research and discovery of health benefits.
Shiitake mushrooms have brown, slightly convex caps that range in diameter from about two to four inches in diameter. They belong to the basidiomycete family of fungi. Until the early 1990's, they were widely known by their scientific genus-species name of Lentinus edodes. However, during the late 1980's and early 1990's this genus-species name for shiitake mushrooms was largely phased out and replaced by a new genus-species name, Lentinula edodes.
The common name for this mushroom, "shiitake," comes from the Japanese language. "Shii" in Japanese refers to wood belonging to the Pasania species of tree on which shiitake mushrooms naturally grow. "Take" simply translates as "mushroom." You may sometimes also hear shiitake mushroom being referred to as the "Black Forest mushroom," and they do indeed grow naturally in that German mountain range.
Other mushrooms with Asian roots that are also becoming more popular are reishi (Ganoderma lucidum) and maitake (Grifola frondosa). Reishi mushrooms usually have an antler or rounded, fan shape; the most popular type of reishi is red in color, although that is just one of the six colors in which they grow. Maitake mushrooms grow in a formation of clustered brownish fronds of fan-shaped petals and are commonly known as "Hen of the Woods." These types of mushrooms are available in food markets specializing in Asian foods.
Shiitake (as well as reishi and maitake) mushrooms have grown wild since prehistoric times. Their therapeutic value has been prized in Asian countries, where they originated, for thousands of years. They play a critical role in Asian medicinal traditions and were noted in some of the first books on herbal medicine written thousands of years ago. In the past few decades, these mushrooms have become more popular in the United States as a result of an expanding body of scientific research supporting their numerous health benefits. The U.S. is currently home to approximately 200 commercial growers of shiitake mushrooms, and nearly half of those growers use forest farming to produce shiitake mushrooms in a natural forest setting using downed hardwood trees as the cultivation medium.
Although Japan was at one time the world's largest producer of shiitake mushrooms, that distinction now goes to China, which produces over 80% of all commercially sold shiitake mushrooms. Japan, Korea and Taiwan also produce shiitake mushrooms, as does the United States. One quickly growing market for shiitake mushrooms is Brazil, which currently produces more shiitake mushrooms than any other South American country.
Shiitake mushrooms are available in many grocery stores throughout the country. If your local store does not carry fresh reishi or maitake mushrooms, investigate the Asian food stores in your area as they oftentimes carry these specialty mushrooms.
Look for mushrooms that are firm, plump and clean. Those that are wrinkled or have wet slimy spots should be avoided.
The best way to store loose shiitake mushrooms (as well as maitake or reishi mushrooms) is to keep them in the refrigerator in a loosely closed paper bag. They will keep fresh for about one week. Dried mushrooms should be stored in a tightly sealed container in either the refrigerator or freezer where they will stay fresh for six months to one year.
Tips for Preparing Shiitake Mushrooms
Mushrooms are very porous, so if they are exposed to too much water they will quickly absorb it and become soggy. Therefore, the best way to clean mushrooms without sacrificing their texture and taste is to clean them using minimal, if any, water. To do this, simply wipe them with a slightly damp paper towel or kitchen cloth. You could also use a mushroom brush, available at most kitchenware stores.
If the fresh mushrooms become dried out because of being stored for too long, soak them in water for thirty minutes.
Healthiest Way of Cooking Shiitake Mushrooms
We recommend Healthy Sautéeing shiitake mushrooms for maximum flavor and nutrition. Heat 3 TBS of broth over medium heat in a stainless steel skilled. When broth begins to steam add sliced mushrooms and Healthy Sauté for 7 minutes. It is best to stir constantly for the last 4 minutes of cooking. Toss with our Mediterranean Dressing and your favorite optional ingredients. For details see, Healthy Sauteed Shiitake MushroomsA Few Quick Serving Ideas
- Shiitake mushrooms are traditionally added to miso soup.
- Healthy saute mushrooms with onions and garlic. Serve as a side dish or as a topping for chicken, beef, lamb or venison.
- To give your vegetable stock an extra depth, add dried shiitake mushrooms.
- For a quick and easy Asian pasta dish, healthy saute shiitake mushrooms with snap peas and tofu. Season to taste and serve over buckwheat soba noodles (or your favorite type of pasta).
WHFoods Recipes That Feature Shiitake Mushrooms
- Poached Eggs Over Collard Greens & Shiitake Mushrooms
- 5 Spice Onion Soup
- Shiitake Mushroom Seaweed Soup
- 15-Minute Steamed Halibut with Bok Choy
- 15 Minute Stir Fried Chicken & Bok Choy
- 5-Spice Chicken in a Bowl
- Miso Stir-Fry
- Spicy Healthy Sautéed Tofu
- Spicy Vegetable Tart
- Asian Mushroom Saute
- Healthy Sautéed Shiitake Mushrooms
Shiitake Mushrooms and Purines
Shiitake mushrooms contain naturally-occurring substances called purines. Purines are commonly found in plants, animals, and humans. In some individuals who are susceptible to purine-related problems, excessive intake of these substances can cause health problems. Since purines can be broken down to form uric acid, excess accumulation of purines in the body can lead to excess accumulation of uric acid. The health condition called "gout" and the formation of kidney stones from uric acid are two examples of uric acid-related problems that can be related to excessive intake of purine-containing foods. For this reason, individuals with kidney problems or gout may want to limit or avoid intake of purine-containing foods such as shiitake mushrooms. For more on this subject, please see "What are purines and in which foods are they found?"Introduction to Food Rating System Chart
The following chart shows the nutrients for which this food is either an excellent, very good or good source. Next to the nutrient name you will find the following information: the amount of the nutrient that is included in the noted serving of this food; the %Daily Value (DV) that that amount represents (similar to other information presented in the website, this DV is calculated for 25-50 year old healthy woman); the nutrient density rating; and, the food's World's Healthiest Foods Rating. Underneath the chart is a table that summarizes how the ratings were devised. Read detailed information on our Food and Recipe Rating System.| Shiitake Mushrooms, raw 145.00 g 145.00 grams 49.30 calories | ||||
| Nutrient | Amount | DV (%) | Nutrient Density | World's Healthiest Foods Rating |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| vitamin B3 (niacin) | 5.62 mg | 28.1 | 10.3 | excellent |
| vitamin B5 (pantothenic acid) | 2.17 mg | 21.7 | 7.9 | excellent |
| vitamin B6 (pyridoxine) | 0.42 mg | 21.0 | 7.7 | excellent |
| vitamin B2 (riboflavin) | 0.31 mg | 18.2 | 6.7 | very good |
| manganese | 0.33 mg | 16.5 | 6.0 | very good |
| phosphorus | 162.40 mg | 16.2 | 5.9 | very good |
| dietary fiber | 3.62 g | 14.5 | 5.3 | very good |
| potassium | 440.80 mg | 12.6 | 4.6 | very good |
| selenium | 8.26 mcg | 11.8 | 4.3 | very good |
| copper | 0.21 mg | 10.5 | 3.8 | very good |
| zinc | 1.49 mg | 9.9 | 3.6 | very good |
| vitamin D | 29.00 IU | 7.2 | 2.6 | good |
| magnesium | 29.00 mg | 7.2 | 2.6 | good |
| protein | 3.25 g | 6.5 | 2.4 | good |
| World's Healthiest Foods Rating | Rule | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| excellent | DV>=75% | OR | Density>=7.6 | AND | DV>=10% |
| very good | DV>=50% | OR | Density>=3.4 | AND | DV>=5% |
| good | DV>=25% | OR | Density>=1.5 | AND | DV>=2.5% |
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