A great way to nourish your stomach? Hericium erinaceus: Thanks for the invitation, it’s cute and delicious enough

As people's pace of life and work accelerates, gastrointestinal health issues have become increasingly prominent, and stomach care has become a concern for many people. Therefore, foods related to protecting gastrointestinal health will naturally attract everyone's attention, which also gives Hericium erinaceus foods an opportunity to "create momentum". Some businesses claim in advertisements that the foods they produce with Hericium erinaceus as the main raw material have the effect of nourishing the stomach. However, is this the truth?

01

The name of Hericium erinaceus is very direct

A mushroom that looks like a monkey head

Although there are many advertisements for related foods, many people may not have seen the real Hericium erinaceus. It is an edible fungus, which is commonly known as mushrooms. It is called "Hericium erinaceus" just because it is furry and round, and resembles a monkey's head.

Fresh Hericium erinaceus is off-white in color and is very delicious when used to make soup. However, what we usually buy is almost always dried Hericium erinaceus, which is more yellow in color. The nutritional value of Hericium erinaceus is relatively high among fungi. The protein content of 100g of dried Hericium erinaceus is 26.3g/100g, which is higher than the content of dried black fungus, dried white fungus, dried yellow mushroom, dried shiitake mushroom, dried tea tree mushroom, etc. that we often eat. [1, 2]

If the diet is deficient in vitamin B2, problems such as conjunctival congestion, angular cheilitis, and glossitis may occur. In severe cases, seborrheic dermatitis may occur, with increased skin sebum, mild erythema, greasy yellow scales, and even severe hair loss. [3] The vitamin B2 content in dried Hericium erinaceus is also very high, at 1.89 mg/100 g, ranking first among the above-mentioned fungi.

02

Does Hericium erinaceus have miraculous effects on nourishing the stomach?

Rational view

So, is Hericium erinaceus really so "magical" in terms of nourishing the stomach? Some people have conducted pharmacological experiments on various extracts of Hericium erinaceus, and the results are as follows:

1) In terms of the digestive tract, Hericium erinaceus polysaccharides can relieve the symptoms of acute/chronic gastric ulcers in rats, inhibit gastric acid, and reduce the activity of pepsin;

2) Hericium erinaceus ethanol extract can significantly inhibit Helicobacter pylori, and experiments on rats have shown that the extract can protect the intestinal mucosal epithelium;

3) Hericium erinaceus mycelium polysaccharide extract can prevent chronic atrophic gastritis [1];

4) Animal experiments on mice also showed that Hericium erinaceus extract has the effects of regulating immunity, anti-oxidation, anti-dementia and preventing atherosclerosis.

However, although the experimental results of Hericium erinaceus extract and Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide seem to be very powerful, it does not mean that eating Hericium erinaceus can also have the same effect, because it is often difficult to reach the effective threshold when eating Hericium erinaceus directly. In other words, although Hericium erinaceus polysaccharide has a certain effect of strengthening the spleen and nourishing the stomach, it does not mean that eating Hericium erinaceus foods can also achieve the effect of nourishing the stomach.

What's more, the Hericium erinaceus content in many Hericium erinaceus biscuits on the market is not high. After being diluted layer by layer, it is even more difficult to achieve the desired stomach-nourishing effect. In comparison, eating regularly, quitting smoking and limiting alcohol, drinking less strong tea and coffee, not overeating, staying up late less, and reducing mental stress may be more helpful in improving gastrointestinal function.

03

Grasp the key words: biscuit food

Eating a lot may cause obesity

After talking about Hericium erinaceus, let's talk about the biscuits themselves. In addition to containing a small amount of Hericium erinaceus ingredients, as biscuits, they also contain a lot of sugar and oil, so the total calories are not low, it is easy to not nourish the stomach, but to grow meat.

According to the provisions of our country's "Standards for the Use of Food Additives", the higher the ingredient is in the ingredient list, the higher the content of the ingredient is. Let's take a look at the picture below of a certain brand of Hericium erinaceus biscuits. In addition to wheat flour, the highest content of ingredients is white sugar and oil, and Hericium erinaceus is only ranked fifth in the ingredient list.

▲Photo: Ingredients list of a certain brand of Hericium erinaceus biscuits

Let’s take a look at the nutritional information table. It’s not difficult for an average person to eat a 100g bag of biscuits at one time. However, this 100g of Hericium erinaceus biscuits will help your body take in 488kcal (2045÷4.184), which is equivalent to eating about 4 small bowls of rice and requires 2.5 hours of jogging to burn it off [4]. The fat intake is equivalent to drinking 2 tablespoons of oil (1 tablespoon is about 10g of oil).

▲Picture: Nutritional composition of a certain brand of Hericium erinaceus biscuits

Therefore, when we eat Hericium erinaceus cookies with the purpose of nourishing our stomachs, the first effect may be... weight.

Summarize:

Whether it is Hericium erinaceus foods or Hericium erinaceus itself, the hope of nourishing the stomach by relying solely on them is quite slim.

If you really want to protect your stomach, it is recommended that you focus on regulating your eating and living habits, eat regularly, quit smoking and limit alcohol, drink less strong tea and coffee, do not overeat, and stay up late less.

References:

[1] Liu Youjia, Long Chengxing, He Lu, et al. Research progress on the effects of Sijun tea and Hericium erinaceus on strengthening spleen and stomach[J]. Chinese Journal of Microecology, 2017(4).

[2] Yang Yuexin. Chinese Food Composition Table 6th Edition Volume 1[M]. Peking University Medical Press, 2018

[3] Yang Yuexin, Ge Keyou. Chinese Nutrition Science Encyclopedia 2nd Edition (Volume 1)[M]. People's Medical Publishing House, 2019.210

[4] Obesity Group of the Endocrinology Branch of the Chinese Medical Association. Expert consensus on the prevention and treatment of obesity in Chinese adults[J]. Chinese Journal of Endocrinology and Metabolism, 2011, 027(009):711-717.

Author | Xue Qingxin, member of Chinese Nutrition Society, registered dietitian, registered nutrition technician, health manager, public nutritionist

Review | Song Shuang, Associate Researcher, Institute of Nutrition and Health, Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention

This article was first published on the "Science Rumor Refutation Platform"