Mushrooms with more

This past month marks the first time that Monterey Mushrooms has participated in the FNRE ADA conference. The ADA (American Dietetic Association) and FNRE (Food and Nutrition Conference and Expo) annual meeting, conference and exhibition were held in Denver Colorado and had over 5500 registered attendees. Monterey participated in the exhibition with the hope that we could expand on the awareness for our vitamin D enhanced mushrooms. In addition, we were joined by the U.S. Mushroom Council who was promoting mushrooms in general, and the USDA – ARS who was also promoting our products as we had done our initial research with them on enhancing vitamin D levels in mushrooms.
It is truly an understatement to say we were excited about the reaction we met with at the ADA exhibition. Almost everyone that stopped by our booth engaged us in conversation in addition to having some mushroom soup. This may not sound like much to get excited about, but compared to a lot of the trade shows we see, this was a major change.
Thanks to everyone that stopped by our booth and shared their thoughts relative to mushrooms and vitamin D or just the love of mushrooms!
During the show we promised to follow up with more information on mushrooms and vitamin D. We also would like to expand on some of the information that was distributed at the show.
Monterey is currently the only mushroom company anywhere that is treating both white and brown button and portabella mushrooms with Ultraviolet light (UV-B) to enhance the levels of vitamin D. However, not all of our button mushrooms are treated. While all mushrooms have some level of vitamin D in them, unless we treat them with UV-B, this level can be extremely low. Because we grow them indoors and out of natural sunlight, they only have about 16 IU’s of vitamin D per serving which is only 4 percent of the RDA. After only 15 to 20 seconds of exposure, our mushrooms contain over 400 IU’s of vitamin D per 3 ounce serving.
The process by which we expose the mushrooms is very gentle and similar to what the mushrooms would be exposed to if they were grown outside under natural lighting. We utilize very low powered fluorescent lamps that do not tan or discolor the mushrooms. We have also gone through extensive laboratory analysis to verify that none of the other nutrients within the mushroom have in any way been altered by this process. In addition we have also screened for any other chemical reaction and validated it as not having any impact
While we are the only company offering this product and we are also producing at locations across the U.S., not all of our products feature enhanced levels of vitamin D. To be certain that you are getting our 100% vitamin D product, you must look for the banner on the label proclaiming it as being 100% vitamin D. All of our washed bagged mushrooms are treated and prominently display the vitamin D label.
This past week has also been really active in terms of new information relevant to vitamin D and D2 in particular. There continues to be some concern over whether D2 is as effective as D3 in raising blood serum levels of vitamin D and in particular addressing long term vitamin D levels.

• Dr. Michael Holick of Boston University published a report showing that D2 was effective in treating vitamin D deficiency. This article is especially interesting in the connections it makes between vitamin D deficiency and major illnesses such as heart disease, cancer, and influenza. This paper was the result of a six year long program of treatment with D2 demonstrating stable results and a lack of toxicity. http://newstrackindia.com/newsdetails/130266
• Finnish researchers at the Finnish National Institute of Health published the results of a study that tracked people over a 27 year period. The study involved both men and women and related vitamin D levels in both groups to a 25% higher incidence of death due to heart disease and twice the risk of stroke. http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUSTRE59S4JB20091029
• Dr. Jonathan Mansbach and researchers at the Children’s Hospital in Boston published results showing that at least 20% of children in the U.S. between the age s of 1 and 11 may be deficient in vitamin D. They also called into question the targeted blood serum levels of vitamin D. Current recommended minimums start at 20 ng/ml for children. But using the higher level of 30 ng/ml which is accepted for adults, over 80% of the children were deficient. http://www.laboratoryequipment.com/News-children-vitamin-d-deficiency-103009.aspx
A lot of pretty exciting things going on with vitamin D in general and at Monterey Mushrooms. We continue to expand our vitamin D mushroom presence. As of this week, we have our mushrooms with elevated levels of vitamin D in even more stores across the country. Monterey’s 100% vitamin D mushrooms can be found at the following retailers:

Safeway Northern California Dominick’s Tom Thumb Supermarkets
Hy Vee Schnucks Save Mart
Lucky’s Supermarkets Food Max Ralph’s
Fred Meyer Smiths Winco
Raley’s Whole Foods

Thanks for allowing us to share with you our excitement over mushrooms, vitamin D, and the healthy benefits of mushrooms. We hope to make this a regular newsletter with new issues coming out once a month. If you are not receiving this directly, check our website or click below to add your name to our distribution list. You can also remove yourself by clicking the unsubscribe button.

Thanks,

John Kidder
Vice President
Monterey Mushrooms, Inc.