Studies show mushrooms can help with depression and anxiety. Do you know what else can? Coloring.
So for your weekend pleasure, our illustrator and designer Alison Fulton created a mushroom coloring page for you to print out and color as an active meditation. Or, you know, just give it to your children to keep them occupied for 10 seconds.
The mushrooms you'll be filling in while zoning out: Maitake, white/brown button and shiitake.
What about that research? The latest is from Penn State University:
Penn State researchers used data on diet and mental health collected from 24,699 U.S. adults in 11 years. They found that people who ate mushrooms had lower odds of having depression.
Also, mushrooms can help with other mental disorders and complaints: “Mushrooms contain numerous bioactive compounds that may be associated with reduced anxiety, including vitamin B12, nerve growth factor, antioxidants and anti-inflammatory agents,” according to the U.S National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, published in November in the Journal of Affective Disorders.
White buttons, the most commonly purchased mushroom variety at supermarkets, contain potassium, which is believed to lower anxiety, according to a Penn State news release.
Other kinds of culinary mushrooms have been gaining more attention, too.
Lion's Mane, may stimulate the expression of neurotrophic factors such as nerve growth factor synthesis, which could have an impact on preventing neuropsychiatric disorders including depression.
Click to print your coloring page:
Happy weekend!