Shocking news often cannot express the whole truth, and this rule has been proved again and again: let’s uncover the net heat transfer article < < Shocked: Mushrooms-the first killer of kidneys, did you eat mushrooms today? > > the truth.
This article said: Although mushrooms are good,… they are extremely rich in heavy metals,… almost all heavy metals,… mushrooms will be rich. However, our human body has no mechanism to expel heavy metals. Over time, these heavy metals will accumulate in renal tubules and even cause necrosis of renal tubules in severe cases.
This is also too scary. General knowledge thinks mushrooms are rich in amino acids, vitamins and minerals. They are not only delicious but also nutritious. However, they are referred to here as rich in heavy metals and will be poisoned if eaten. Is this true?
Can mushrooms enrich heavy metals?
Mushroom is an edible fungus. Compared with green plants, some mushroom varieties are indeed more capable of enriching heavy metals. So, is it because of this that we can no longer eat mushrooms?
Xing Zengtao, a researcher at the Institute of Edible Fungi Technology of the Shanghai Academy of Agricultural Sciences, pointed out that individual macrofungi (such as Agaricus bisporus) can indeed enrich some heavy metals during their growth, but this does not mean that common edible fungi in the market have strong heavy metal enrichment ability, and the two cannot be confused.
Most mushrooms often eaten by Chinese residents do not have the characteristics of enriching heavy metals.
Even for individual mushroom varieties [good at] enriching heavy metals, the enrichment process depends on the environment polluted by heavy metals-in other words, even if mushrooms have the ability to enrich heavy metals, if you don’t [feed] heavy metals, they won’t be able to change heavy metals by themselves.
Most edible mushrooms in the market are artificially cultivated in greenhouses using medium, and the medium does not contain heavy metal components, because heavy metals are not necessary nutrients in the growth process of mushrooms, so merchants cannot add them [kindly].
In 2009, the Department of Food Science and Nutrition of Zhejiang University tested common mushroom varieties on the market. The heavy metal content of mushrooms was indeed higher than that of ordinary vegetables, but did not exceed the standard.
In 2010, China sampled nearly 2,000 fresh artificially cultivated edible fungi (including more than 10 kinds of Lentinus edodes, Pleurotus ostreatus, Agaricus bisporus, etc.) from 220 urban markets, and tested the content of heavy metal lead. The average lead content was about 0.065 mg/kg, far lower than the national standard of 1 mg/kg.
Can’t the human body metabolize heavy metals?
It is too absolute to say that [the human body has no mechanism to expel heavy metals].
Heavy metals are widely distributed in the soil. Human beings located at the top of the food chain can continuously enrich heavy metals from the downstream food chain through [bioaccumulation], which naturally evolves [detoxification] against heavy metals.
The human body has two main ways to participate in the detoxification of heavy metals. One is the glutathione system, The other is metallothionein mechanism. However, the metabolic cycle of heavy metals in the human body is relatively long. If one-time large amount or long-term continuous intake of food containing heavy metals exceeds the metabolic capacity of the human body itself, it will endanger health. Therefore, it is necessary to try to avoid long-term large amount of food rich in heavy metals.
However, even if mushrooms or other edible fungi contain trace amounts of heavy metals, they are also organic states bound to metallothionein, and their toxicity and metabolic excretion mechanisms are completely different from inorganic heavy metal elements. Therefore, there is no need to worry too much.
Are mushrooms more dangerous than other foods?
Indeed, there have been articles reporting that heavy metals in mushrooms exceed the standard. < < Journal of Chongqing Normal University (Natural Science Edition) > > > A 2007 article investigated the heavy metal content of edible fungi in Beibei District of Chongqing.
The average content of heavy metals in edible mushrooms, lead > cadmium > mercury > arsenic, is lower than the national standard. However, the content of lead in 10% samples and mercury in 2% samples exceed the national standard, and the content of arsenic in all samples is lower than the national standard. Although some heavy metals exceed the standard, they are still safe on the whole.
Some experts also pointed out that due to the serious soil pollution and water pollution in our country, some mushroom farmers use polluted river water to cultivate edible mushrooms, which does have potential safety hazards.
Although studies have confirmed that some mushrooms contain excessive levels of heavy metals, absolutely safe food does not exist. Due to the diversity of the natural environment, any plant that needs soil and water cultivation may be contaminated. However, there is no evidence that mushrooms are more dangerous than other crops or vegetables.
However, as consumers, it is difficult for us to judge the pollution situation of different kinds of food. In order to truly realize food safety, environmental supervision departments and food safety management departments also need to shoulder their responsibilities.
Editor: Liu Yinghui
Author: He Bin
This article is exclusively authorized by the author to be used by Clove Garden and refuses any other form of reprinting.