Mushrooms are a fleshy, spore-bearing fungus characterized by their shape of a domed cap on a stalk with gills on the underside of the cap. Mushrooms are the only plant source of vitamin D. There are many varieties of mushrooms, including:

• White button
• Crimini
• Portabella
• Shiitake
• Oyster
• Beech or Clamshell
• Elingi
• Enoki
• Wild Chanterelle etc.

All mushrooms purchased in a retail store are safe to use. Unless you are an experienced mushroom gatherer, do not use wild mushrooms because they can contain a deadly poison. The United States Department of Agriculture's Food Safety and Inspection Service inspects only meat, poultry and egg products. The United States Food and Drug Administration (FDA) inspects mushrooms.

Mushroom poisoning is due to the toxin produced by the fungi, which are in the same family as molds. Mushroom poisoning is caused by the consumption of raw or cooked mushrooms, which are higher-species of fungi. The term toadstool (from the German Todesstuhl -- death's stool) is commonly given to poisonous mushrooms, but there is no general rule of thumb for distinguishing edible mushrooms from poisonous toadstools. The toxins that cause mushroom poisoning are produced naturally by the fungi. Most mushrooms that cause human poisoning cannot be made safe by cooking, canning, freezing, or any other processing. The only way to avoid poisoning is not to eat poisonous mushrooms.      

Medicinal mushrooms are mushrooms that are used as medicine. They have been used to treat infection for hundreds of years, mostly in Asia. Today, medicinal mushrooms are also used to treat lung diseases and cancer. For more than 30 years, medicinal mushrooms have been approved as an addition to standard cancer treatments in Japan and China. In these countries, mushrooms have been used safely for a long time, either alone or combined with radiation or chemotherapy.

In Asia, there are more than 100 types of mushrooms used to treat cancer. Some of the more common ones are Ganoderma lucidum (reishi), Trametes versicolor or Coriolus versicolor (turkey tail), Lentinus edodes (shiitake), and Grifola frondosa (maitake).

Mushrooms are being studied to find out how they affect the immune system and if they stop or slow the growth of tumors or kill tumor cells. It is thought that certain chemical compounds, such as polysaccharides (beta-glucans) in turkey tail mushrooms, strengthen the immune system to fight cancer.

Mushrooms are the only plant source of vitamin D. They are a good source of B vitamins such as riboflavin, niacin, and pantothenic acid. these B vitamins aid the body in providing energy with the breakdown of protein, fat, and carbohydrates.

• It takes 17 to 25 days to produce mature mushroom.
• Mushrooms are the only plant source of vitamin D.
• According to hieroglyphics of 4600 years ago, ancient Egyptians believed mushrooms to be a plant of immortality.
• First formally cultivated in France, mushrooms were grown in special caves outside of Paris.