The human body is designed to get vitamin D from sunshine, but in the winter months this is much harder to achieve, certainly in the UK. With more local lockdowns rapidly being introduced, thousands of Brits will be spending less time in the sunlight than usual this winter. The UK & Ireland Mushroom Producers, a partnership between key mushroom farmers across the UK & Ireland, have commissioned specific research into this.

Via World Vitamin D Day -the 2nd November- people should have become aware of the importance of strengthening the immune system in the current climate. However, nutritionist Rob Hobson has revealed a surprising way for Brits to get that vital vitamin D boost. He has revealed that the humble mushroom, when exposed to the sun, can provide as much vitamin D as a health supplement.

Mushrooms transform ultraviolet light from the sun into the vitamin and continue to do so even after they have been harvested. Hobson explains why mushrooms are now qualified to join the ranks of other so-called ‘superfoods’:

It is quoted Hobson as saying: “Mushrooms often go unnoticed in the fruit and veg rainbow that we’re advised to eat. They are commonly overlooked as a significant source of the sunshine vitamin D. As we prepare to spend less time in the daylight winter, we need to explore different ways of finding how to best get what our bodies need. A readily available and easily-forgotten source is mushrooms, which can be bought specially enriched with vitamin D.”

Hobson explains that eating just eight vitamin D- enriched mushrooms a day would provide the daily recommended amount. Hobson also shares a useful tip, saying, “If you can’t get your hands on vitamin D enriched mushrooms and can only find regular mushrooms, place them outside on the window sill when the sun is out and they become a source of vitamin D.”