Although known fungi species total over 1 million, your body can play host to about 400, according to Doug Kaufmann, host of the cable television series "Know The Cause" and an expert on fungi. You may knowingly eat some of them. Others make their way into your body more surreptitiously, carried in through various foods or beverages.
Mushrooms
Mushrooms are fungi in and of themselves. The basidiomycotina species includes the white button mushrooms commonly found in United States supermarkets as well as shiitake, oyster and straw mushrooms. The ascomycotina species includes truffles and morels. The content of mushrooms is mostly water and the mushrooms cultivated for food usually pass directly through after your digestive system absorbs the nutrients. However, mushrooms found in the wild can be unsafe to eat; these fungi can cause serious, immediate health problems such as poisoning in some cases.
Sweets
Fungi can enter your body through food, skin or even the air, according to Kaufmann. Once inside, then certain foods can help them multiply. Kaufmann indicates that sugar is fungi's favorite food source. Although sugar is not an original source of fungi, if you eat a diet high in simple carbohydrates, you help the fungi thrive and multiply. As their numbers increase, they demand more food and can make you crave even more sweets.
Sweet Potatoes
Scratches on the skins of sweet potatoes, as well as other damage to their surfaces, can turn the potatoes into hosts for fusarium solani. This fungus can enter the potato through the weak spots on the skin so when you eat the potato, it is carried into your body. The chemical interaction between the fungus and the potato meat creates toxins which can affect your health, including ipomeanol and aspergillus.
Grains
Some grains can carry fungi, such as trichothecium, cephalosporium and fusaria. Cereal grains, in particular, can be good food sources for fungi that produce a mycotoxin called ergot; the fungi enter your body when you eat the cereal. Ergot alkaloids can cause disease in animals but its primary effect on human beings is as a hallucinogen in high doses, most notably LSD.
Beverages
Both alcoholic beverages and coffee can carry fungi into your body. The fermentation and distillation processes used to create liquors and the fermentation of coffee beans produce the saccharomyces species. In malt beverages such as beer, the species results from germinated grain. Fungi are specifically common to whisky, rum, vodka and tequila and the fermentation of grapes for wine and brandy also creates them.
Tips
Some fungi, such as penicillum, claviceps and aspergillus, can also grow on your food after purchase, if you store it for an extended time, even in your refrigerator.
In addition to beverages, some foods undergo fermentation in the production process and this may be a source of fungi. These include sausage, sauerkraut, pickles, cheese, yogurt and soy sauce.
References
- Knowthecause: Frequently Asked Questions
- Nutremed: Fungi and Disease -- Fungi in Food
- School of Biological Sciences at the University of Texas-Austin; Beverages and Food From Fungi: Distillation, Fungi as Food (PDF)
- Austin Community College: Fungi Used in Food and Beverage Production (PDF)
- Northern Ireland Fungus Group: Edible Fungi
- KnowTheCause: Why a Phase 1 Diet?
