MUSHROOMS have become the latest weapon in winning the battle of the bulge.Research has revealed that those who ditched meat for the popular fungus shed the pounds.A group of volunteers ate mushrooms instead of meat in four meals a week as part of a balanced diet.The 10 people lost an average of 12.71 pounds over five weeks, with the top dieter shedding a stone-and-a-half.Nutritionists think it could be a new way to tackle Britain’s obesity problem.One in four men and women are now classed as obese and there have been warnings that the NHS faces a health time-bomb with a fifth of children overweight by the time they start primary school.The research saw the one man and nine women, aged between 25 and 61, shed a combined total of 127 pounds or just over nine stones.It came after a study earlier this year, led by Dr Lawrence Cheskin and published in the journal Appetite, in which 54 volunteers ate four different lean ground beef recipes over four days.They then ate the same meals over another four days, but substituted the beef with white button mushrooms.It was found that the volunteers consumed on average 420 fewer calories and 30g less fat.The research concluded that under 10 mushroom meal swaps would cut one pound in body fat.If one substitution was made each week, this would amount to a saving of nearly 20,000 calories in a year, or more than five pounds in body fat.Leading UK dietician Sarah Schenker, who led the diet trial in London, said: “Mushrooms make a fantastic low-density meat substitute and can assist dieters without them having to radically change their eating patterns.“Mushrooms are also great value for money.”Mother-of-two Margaret Hill, 25, from Dagenham, Essex, who took part in the trial, went from 13.6 to 11.13 stone in five weeks.She said: “I was amazed by my weight loss – it’s the most I have ever managed to lose. I never thought I’d get my body back after I had my kids so I am over the moon. I look and feel fantastic.”The diet trial was commissioned by the Mushroom Bureau, the marketing body for mushroom growers in the UK.Mushrooms are also known to be a good source of Vitamin D, which makes them a good substitute for meat.A standard serving, combined with five minutes of sunlight, could supply all of the daily requirement for Vitamin D.Mushrooms are also an excellent source of minerals and B vitamins, including the antioxidant selenium.They have long been used in China for medicinal purposes.
