Mushrooms
Mushrooms are safe throughout pregnancy and provide a useful source of vitamin D, B vitamins, and potassium. All common supermarket varieties are safe to eat raw or cooked.
Mushrooms are completely safe to eat during pregnancy and are genuinely nutritious. All common cultivated varieties — button, chestnut, portobello, shiitake, oyster, king oyster, and enoki — are safe. Mushrooms are one of very few plant foods that naturally contain vitamin D (particularly if they have been exposed to UV light or sunlight during growth — some products are sold as 'UV-exposed' and are a meaningful vitamin D source). They also provide B vitamins including riboflavin (B2), niacin (B3), pantothenic acid (B5), and biotin, as well as potassium, copper, and selenium. Mushrooms can be eaten raw or cooked — cooking makes them easier to digest and allows more of their nutrients to be absorbed. Cooking also removes some naturally occurring toxins present in trace amounts in raw mushrooms. If you are buying from a supermarket or greengrocer, there is nothing to worry about. Wild or foraged mushrooms should only be eaten if you are completely certain of the identification — a small number of wild mushroom species are highly toxic, and misidentification is possible even for experienced foragers. During pregnancy, if in doubt, stick to shop-bought mushrooms.
What to be aware of
- All common supermarket mushrooms (button, chestnut, portobello, shiitake, oyster) are safe raw or cooked.
- Wild or foraged mushrooms should only be eaten if you are certain of the identification — some wild species are highly toxic.
- UV-exposed mushrooms are a good dietary source of vitamin D — useful during pregnancy when deficiency is common.
NHS guidance: https://www.nhs.uk/pregnancy/keeping-well/vitamins-supplements-and-nutrition/