Supercharge This Bone-Builder 50,000% (Simple Light Trick)
If you’re over 50…chances are bone loss is already on your radar.
And with good reason.
After midlife, 1 in 2 women and 1 in 4 men will suffer an osteoporosis-related fracture.
Doctors usually respond with a familiar playbook: calcium tablets or prescription bone-building drugs that come with truly horrifying side effects.
They’ve actually been linked to spontaneous fractures (the very thing you’re trying to avoid) – and even deterioration of your jaw bone!
If you’re ready to try something different, I don’t blame you…
The good news is, researchers have uncovered something surprisingly powerful hiding in a food you’ve probably seen dozens of times at the grocery store…
But scientists say one simple step—done before you eat it—transforms it into a bone-strengthening powerhouse by 50,000%.
First, it’s important to know that vitamin D is essential for absorbing calcium.
Without it, much of the calcium you consume simply passes through the body unused – or ends up in your arteries.
That’s one reason osteoporosis risk climbs with age, many older adults (up to 99%) are chronically low in vitamin D.
Now, scientists have long known that mushrooms serve as a good natural vitamin D source.
But they just found a way to supercharge them.
Researchers exposed edible mushrooms to ultraviolet light, mimicking sunlight to see if they could make them even more powerful.
The result?
The mushrooms produced dramatically higher concentrations of vitamin D₂, the same nutrient your body makes when skin is exposed to sunlight.
In one experiment, UV treatment boosted vitamin D₂ levels from less than 1 microgram per 100 grams to nearly 491 micrograms—that’s a 50,000% increase.
That’s the equivalent of tens of thousands of IU of vitamin D created naturally inside the mushroom.
When these vitamin-D-enhanced mushrooms were tested in osteoporosis mice, they helped slow bone loss in long bones and improved bone density, the key to preventing osteoporosis.
Now, we know that some mushrooms in particular are especially effective at strengthening bones.
For example, studies on oyster mushrooms suggest they may help reduce osteoporosis risk by supporting bone mineral density, while compounds in shiitake mushrooms appear to support bone metabolism without the side effects associated with some medications.
In simple terms…
These humble fungi may help support the very biological processes that keep bones strong as we age.
But here’s the most fascinating part.
You don’t need some expensive, laboratory-engineered mushroom to tap into this effect.
Researchers say sunlight does the same thing.
Simply placing fresh mushrooms in direct sunlight for 15 to 60 minutes before eating them can naturally boost their vitamin D content.
It’s essentially a way to “charge” your mushrooms with vitamin D, right in your own kitchen.
And if you’re not crazy about mushrooms, supplement companies now offer capsules made from UV-treated mushrooms specifically designed to deliver concentrated vitamin D from whole fungi.
Either way, the message from this research is encouraging.
Sometimes the most powerful health discoveries aren’t hidden in expensive pharmaceuticals…
They’re quietly waiting in the produce aisle.
To stronger bones and brighter days,
Ray Thatcher
Research Director, Health Sciences Institute
Sources:
- Chen, S.-Y., Yu, H.-T., Kao, J.-P., Yang, C.-C., Chiang, S.-S., Mishchuk, D. O., Mau, J.-L., & Slupsky, C. M. (2015). Consumption of vitamin D₂–enhanced mushrooms is associated with improved bone health. The Journal of Nutritional Biochemistry, 26(7), 696–703. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jnutbio.2015.01.006
- Urbain, P., Singler, F., Ihorst, G., Biesalski, H. K., & Bertz, H. (2011). Bioavailability of vitamin D₂ from UV-B-irradiated button mushrooms in healthy adults deficient in serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D: a randomized controlled trial. European journal of clinical nutrition, 65(8), 965–971. https://doi.org/10.1038/ejcn.2011.53
