I had one of those “hang on… what?” moments with Linda this week.
Did you know mushrooms can produce Vitamin D when they’re exposed to sunlight?
If I’d read that on the internet, I’d have raised an eyebrow. But Linda’s the real deal — evidence-led, practical, and always focused on what actually helps real people.
So here’s your little kitchen experiment for the week: leave your mushrooms in the sun for 15 minutes before cooking. Small habit. Big upside.
Read more about ‘tanning your mushrooms’ here
Linda’s full blog is below — it’s a great reference piece, so take it in bite-sized chunks.
Chef Ian
We all are aware that we need vitamins and minerals in order to stay healthy. Vitamins and minerals are essential micronutrients from food. Vitamins are organic as they are derived from plants/animals and are fragile, whereas minerals are inorganic as they come from soil/water, are stable, absorbed by plants/animals and eaten. However, both micronutrients are vital for body functions such as energy, immunity, and cell health, with each having specific roles.
Vitamins have different jobs, similar to a factory production line. If you are missing an essential worker, the production line slows down or halts. There are 13 essential vitamins – vitamins A,C,D,E,K and the B Group of vitamins (B1 thiamine, B2 riboflavin, B3 niacin, B5 pantothenic acid, B6 Pyridoxine, B7 biotin, B9 Folate and B12 Cobalamin), all have specific roles in the body.
Minerals, are elements that our body needs to function effectively. These maybe required in small amounts (such as iodine, copper, fluoride) or in larger amounts due to the essential role it plays in the body’s function. Calcium, sodium, potassium and magnesium are important and deficiency is rarer due to their abundance in a well-balanced diet.
There is a common belief that supplementing the diet with a multivitamin is necessary as the diet is poor. This maybe true if you eat lots of ultra-processed foods, but if you eat nutrient dense foods, you get all the micronutrients you require. If you are unsure, then talk with your Doctor or a Dietitian to find out if you are missing any important vitamin and minerals. A blood test will give you this information.
Research shows that certain micronutrients are vital for aging. We will discuss key micronutrients to consider as we age.
Vitamin D
Vitamin D is important for bone health , nervous system, muscle function and assistance with calcium and phosphorous absorption. You can get vitamin D by eating certain foods or spending time in the sun. Only 15 -30 minutes of sunlight 2-3 times a week is enough. Many people with a vitamin D deficiency have no obvious symptoms in the early stages. When symptoms do appear, they are often subtle and include fatigue, muscle weakness, and bone pain.
Good sources of Vitamin D in food are egg, oily fish such as salmon, fortified dairy products and cod liver oil. Mushrooms naturally contain ergosterol, a precursor to vitamin D, which converts to vitamin D2 when exposed to UV light (sunlight or lamps), making them a unique non-animal source for vegans/vegetarians to boost their intake. We now know that exposing store-bought mushrooms to sun light for 15 minutes or buying specifically labelled "vitamin D mushrooms" can provide 100% of daily needs in just a few servings, with levels remaining stable through cooking and storage. So don’t put your mushrooms straight in the fridge - put it in the windowsill for 15 minutes so that you can eat the vitamin D later.
Calcium
Calcium is important for bone strength, nerve health, and cardiac function. Low calcium in the blood, can cause muscle cramps, tingling (especially hands/mouth), fatigue, brittle nails , dry skin, and osteoporosis (weak, brittle bones)which puts you at risk of fractures . Low calcium is often due to poor diet, lack of Vitamin D (needed for absorption), hormonal issues, kidney problems, or certain medications, and requires addressing dietary intake (dairy, leafy greens) and potentially supplements. Dietary sources of Calcium are all dairy foods (milk, yoghurt, cheese), green leafy vegetables (spinach, broccoli, kale) and fortified foods ( such as fortified soy milk, fortified almond milk).
The recommended amount of calcium is high at around 1300mg per day. One cup of milk (Full cream, Trim and skim) or 200g tub of yoghurt offers around 300 mg Calcium. Cheese is an excellent source of calcium with 30g of hard cheese(Parmesan, Cheddar, Edam and Gouda) offering 300 mg calcium. Soft and fresh cheeses such as Brie, Camembert, Mozzarella, cottage cheese, ricotta, and mascarpone have less calcium – between 80 – 150 mg per 30 g serve.
So, to meet requirements aim for 3 glasses milk (in beverages, on cereal, as a pudding, as custard) 200g yoghurt and 30g Cheese per day. Although ice cream is made from milk, each scoop contains only 23–50 mg of calcium, so it isn't considered a significant source of calcium. The bulk of ice cream is sugars and fat ( cream is a fat), making it a discretionary food and not a source of calcium.
Folate
Folate (Vitamin B9) supports brain health, and may prevent cognitive decline, and depression. It aids red blood cell formation, DNA synthesis, and nerve function. Deficiencies are common as we age due to reduced intake or absorption, linking to increased risks of Alzheimer's, impaired memory, macrocytic anaemia, and neurological issues. Alcohol and digestive disorders can reduce absorption of folate.
Folate is a B vitamin that dissolves in water and is present in a wide variety of foods, including vegetables, fruits, nuts, beans, seafood, eggs, dairy products, meat, poultry, and grains. Each of the five food groups contains it. Spinach, liver, asparagus, and brussels sprouts are among the foods with the highest folate levels. Folate is added to cereals and breads in Australia through a process known as fortification. It is easy to consume sufficient Folate if you eat a varied diet.
Magnesium
You may have heard of magnesium and used supplements for relieving muscle cramps. Magnesium plays a role in hundreds of enzyme reactions throughout the body. It plays a role in regulating glucose metabolism, repairing DNA, and influencing both mood and sleep. For older people, getting enough magnesium can help improve both quality and quantity of sleep.
This is one micronutrient that is crucial to support energy levels and overall wellness. Magnesium supplements are widely used, but taking more than 350mg can cause diarrhoea.
Leafy green vegetables, legumes such as chickpeas, seafood, nuts and seeds, wholegrains and chicken or beef are all reliable sources of magnesium. Using ground nuts and seeds in baking is a terrific way of boosting magnesium. Incorporating the recommended five serves of vegetables is another way of ensuring sufficient magnesium in the diet.
Zinc
Zinc is important for a healthy immune system and for wound healing. Zinc is important for smell and taste and for hormone production. Since our bodies are unable to produce zinc naturally, we need to get it consistently from the foods we eat.
Zinc-rich foods include oysters, red meat (beef, lamb), poultry, and seafood. Plant-based options with zinc are legumes (beans, lentils, chickpeas), nuts (cashews, almonds, peanuts), seeds (pumpkin, hemp, chia), whole grains, and dairy products like yoghurt and cheese. Zinc from plants is not always as easily absorbed, so those on a plant-based diet need to consume a balanced and varied diet.
These are the most common micronutrient issues as we age. That is not to mention that the other vitamins and minerals are just as important. The take home message is to eat a wide variety of foods from the five food groups. Aim for the recommended serves per day and maybe , if you have room, one discretionary item (foods and drinks that are energy - dense and nutrient poor such as sweets, alcohol, processed foods) each day.
If there’s one takeaway from this, it’s this: you don’t need to “perfect” your diet — you just need to make it more nutrient-dense, more often.
More from Linda coming soon — designed to keep things practical, realistic, and supportive as we age well and stay strong.
(General information only — always check with your health professional for advice tailored to you.)
Linda