Culinary mushrooms and the 'three-day' rule

I'm curious to know more about this.

If I remember correctly, Paul Stamets recommended NOT eating culinary mushrooms more than three days in a row.
I think it was in a video where he was preparing wine caps. I'm guessing it has something to do with our ability to properly digest mushrooms (digestive enzymes, perhaps?).

I typically eat some form of culinary mushroom just about every day, shiitaki being my favorite.

I'm wondering if this is this specific to winecaps only (probably not). I have to imagine that it also factors in how much 'volume' are we talking about (ie: 1/4 cup per day vs 1 cup per day)?

Thoughts, anyone?

I know that some types of mushrooms can only be eaten cooked, rather than being edible either way, but I haven't heard of this guideline before about how many days in a row one can eat them.

A review of 17 cancer studies from 1966 to 2020 shows that eating just 18 grams of mushrooms (equal to about a 1/8-cup or two medium mushrooms) a day may lower your risk of cancer by as much as 45%. Mushrooms are a powerful source of ergothioneine, an amino acid and antioxidant that prevents or slows cellular damage

https://www.uclahealth.org/news/article/7-health-benefits-of-mushrooms

Researchers have found that incorporating any variety of mushrooms into your daily diet will lower your risk of cancer by as much as 45%. How many mushrooms do you need to eat? The recommended amount is as few as two medium per day

https://www.mayoclinichealthsystem.org/hometown-health/speaking-of-health/mushrooms-make-healthy-meal-magic

Paul Stamets says:

   No, absolutely not! Raw mushrooms are largely indigestible because of their tough cell walls, mainly composed of chitin. Eating raw mushrooms can provide flavor, but not nutritional or health benefits. In some cases, eating raw mushrooms could be dangerous.
   Dr. Andrew Weil advises, in agreement with other experts, that mushrooms must be cooked!  “Mushrooms have very tough cell walls and are essentially indigestible if you don't cook them. Thoroughly heating them releases the nutrients they contain, including protein, B vitamins, and minerals, as well as a wide range of novel compounds not found in other foods,”  (Prevention, Feb 1, 2013).
   Raw mushrooms and raw mycelium may pose health hazards from harmful pathogens and heat-sensitive toxins—potentially causing red blood cell damage, gastrointestinal irritation and allergic reactions, such as skin rashes.  

https://paulstamets.com/news/raw-edible-mushrooms

What are wine caps in this situation?

John C Daley wrote:What are wine caps in this situation?

Stropharia_rugosoannulata (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stropharia_rugosoannulata)

I have read/seen the same consumption warning regarding Stropharia Rugosa (wine caps), that they can cause gastro issues if consumed multiple days in a row, and I understood it to apply to that species in particular (not all mushrooms in general).  

I don't particularly love the green bean flavor of wine caps, so I have not tested the warning associated with them.  I can tell you that all mushrooms, regardless of species, will at some point fruit in prolific quantities, and those of us who hunt them will end up with masses and masses delicious edible fungi that we absolutely do eat for days on end, with no ill effect.  I have consumed chanterelles, porcini, morels, honeys, lion's mane, and so many more until 'they are coming out our ears', as my husband likes to say, and feel only nourished.

I would also say that everyone is different - when it comes to mushrooms and species that are new to you, go easy at first, until you know if they are friend or foe to your particular gastro setup. Good luck in your myco-adventures!

Chris, thanks but that link has nothing.

"Wikipedia does not have an article with this exact name. Please search for Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stropharia rugosoannulata in Wikipedia to check for alternative titles or spellings.
This page is template-protected from creation, so only template editors can create it.
Search for "Https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stropharia rugosoannulata" in existing articles.
Look for pages within Wikipedia that link to this title."

But I found this
,"Free Shipping
Mushroom Spawn Bag 1.7kg – Wine Cap Mushroom (Stropharia rugosoannulata) EASY TO GROW –  NO shipping to WA $44.95"

Its a mushroom variety!

I can testify that overdoing it on Wine Caps made me very ill.
They are going off like crazy in my garden right now, but I'm drying them all. Wary of eating anymore right now after the serious digestive upset I just experienced.

For what it's worth, I have ate various kinds of wild mushrooms every day for long strings of days and in varying large quantities, with no obvious issues so far.  

I haven't had wine caps though.

Pete Podurgiel wrote:I'm wondering if this is this specific to winecaps only (probably not). I have to imagine that it also factors in how much 'volume' are we talking about (ie: 1/4 cup per day vs 1 cup per day)?

I believe eating any type of mushroom is effective.

From the link I posted above;

A review of 17 cancer studies from 1966 to 2020 shows that eating just 18 grams of mushrooms (equal to about a 1/8-cup or two medium mushrooms) a day may lower your risk of cancer by as much as 45%.

This article on the healthiest types of mushrooms does not mention wine caps:

https://www.health.com/types-of-mushrooms-8621726

I wonder if boiling the wine caps and pouring off the water would help?

I haven’t tried them yet but they should be fruiting for the first time this year.

M Ljin wrote:I wonder if boiling the wine caps and pouring off the water would help?

I haven’t tried them yet but they should be fruiting for the first time this year.

Hope you get some winecaps this year!  They are pretty tasty when fresh, but I find they don't keep very well in the fridge.  

My guess was that it had something to do with our digestive enzymes, but not sure on that.  

If I recall correctly, Paul Stamets happened to be sauteing wine caps in the video when he mentioned the "3-day rule".  Unsure if it applied to all mushrooms or winecaps in particular.  I like to eat some variety of mushroom every day, but wondering if it might not be a bad idea to give it a rest once in a while.

Pete Podurgiel wrote:I like to eat some variety of mushroom every day, but wondering if it might not be a bad idea to give it a rest once in a while.

Agreed.  I don't worry about it too much but I imagine there is a benefit to taking a break from almost any category of food occasionally.  It seems natural to have seasonal changes in diet which effectively would do this, and also humans have always done various kinds of fasting which is known to allow the body to do things it doesn't get to do while digesting food, including some aspects of healing.  

Who knows what the "optimal" rhythm would be, but it might be wise when I notice I've eaten the same thing every day for weeks to take a break from it for a couple days.  Fasting would be the simple (but not easy ;) way.