Vitamin D Mushrooms

Vitamin D is critical to your overall health, and is a major contributor to the immune system. And while receiving the right amount of vitamin D comes with a fair share of benefits, a lack of this important nutrient can mean bad things for your body.

At Monterey Mushrooms, we expose our “high vitamin D” mushrooms to a precise wavelength of ultraviolet light within the UV spectrum. Naturally occurring ergosterol (previtamin-D) within the mushrooms is converted to ergocalciferol (vitamin D2) once exposed to UV light. Monterey Mushrooms high vitamin D mushrooms provide 400 IUs (10 mcg), which is 50% DV per serving.

A mushroom serving is about 5 medium mushrooms - so eating just 10 mushrooms a day gives you 100% of the FDA’s daily value recommendation of vitamin D.

Cooking with mushrooms specially labeled as “High Vitamin D” is one of the easiest ways to add this important vitamin to your customer’s diet. Mushrooms make a terrific complement to many meals, like adding them to dishes you eat every day. Add sautéed mushrooms to avocado toast, burgers, steaks, salads, and eggs!

All Monterey sliced White and Baby Bella Mushrooms in 8-ounce and 16-ounce packages are high in vitamin D as are packages of 8-ounce portabellas. So, get yours today and recommend them to everyone you talk to.

Mushrooms are a good source of B vitamins and the antioxidant selenium. And when exposed to light, they serve as the only source of vitamin D in the produce aisle.

Why Vitamin D Is So Important

Vitamin D is essential for absorption in the body of calcium, phosphorus and magnesium, which helps to maintain bone strength.

Beyond being essential for bone health, vitamin D deficiency has been implicated in diabetes, colon, prostate, and breast cancer, hypertension, depression, multiple sclerosis, and arthritis. In general, vitamin D is critical to overall health and is a major contributor to the immune system.

Unfortunately, standard food sources of vitamin D are limited to certain types of fish, animal livers, eggs, and fortified foods. Mushrooms are the only commercially available fruit or vegetable that naturally contain vitamin D. Until now, that has been at very low levels of less than 2% of the daily value per serving for commercially grown mushrooms.

Now, through exposure to ultraviolet (UV) light, Monterey Mushrooms can naturally increase the stable level of vitamin D within mushrooms to well above 50 percent of the FDA’s recommended daily value.

What is Vitamin D?

Vitamin D is a fat-soluble vitamin. It is the only vitamin that our body can make when exposed to sunlight. There are two primary types of natural vitamin D:

Vitamin D2 (ergocalciferol) found in fungi, including edible mushrooms
Vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) from animal or algal sources

Vitamin D is produced from cholesterol in the skin when it is exposed to rays from the sun, which is why it is sometimes referred to as “the sunshine vitamin.” * Nearly 42% of Americans lack adequate vitamin D due to modern indoor lifestyles and the use of sunscreen, sunglasses, and protective clothing.** Similar to humans, mushrooms can make vitamin D when exposed to sunshine. Commercially grown mushrooms are typically grown in the dark, but Monterey Mushrooms has developed a process that mimics sun exposure and results in mushrooms that are high in vitamin D.

Available nationwide in 8 oz and 16 oz: