Health Benefits Of Truffles 

Although truffles are very expensive, there are more reasons to eat it aside from the fact that it is very exciting to eat a delicacy. One of these reasons is you are eating truffles because these may bring you health benefits. 

Through the years, contentions have been hounding the health benefits and nutritional value of truffles and mushrooms, in general. People say that edible mushrooms such as truffles have no nutritional value at all and these are used just to add flavor to a variety of staple dishes. 

However, more recent studies show that truffles and other types of mushrooms can bring a lot of health benefits especially to vegetarians, people who don’t eat meat and only consume vegetables. 

Technically, truffles are mushrooms that don’t have stems and are usually found under the ground—usually under oak, pine, beech, and pecan trees mostly in Europe including various parts of Italy, France, Slovenia and Croatia. In Asia, some varieties are found in China as well as in Middle East while there are also some types native to North Africa. 

So far, truffles are used only in the culinary field—as main ingredient to various dishes or as flavoring and garnishes to different specialties. The most common gourmet edible truffles that are being used in various restaurants include the French Black Truffles, the Italian White Truffles, the Chinese Truffles, and the Summer Truffles.  

If you are fond of eating truffles and mushrooms in general, here are the some of the health benefits that you can expect:

1. It is a good source of high protein. Truffles have high protein content ranging from 20 to 30 percent for every serving. Experts say that truffles are excellent sources of high protein content which it very ideal because these contain all the amino acids essential to good nutrition for humans. For people who don’t consume fats and carbohydrates—especially to those who are having Western diets—truffles are very ideal since it is an excellent source of protein. 

2. It is also a moderate source of carbohydrates. The main component of truffles and mushrooms in general is carbohydrates composed of glycogen and chitin or also called the “fungus cellulose” which is a structural component of the fungal cell wall.  However, compared to other vegetables, truffles have lower proportions of carbohydrates. This is also very good for people suffering from diabetes because truffles have low value of energy. 

3. It is low in fat. Since it is vegetable, truffles are perfect for people who cannot and don’t want to consume too much fat. When dried, it has only about two to eight percent of fat which are mostly crude fat and lipid compounds such as fatty acids, sterols, phospholipids, glycerides and linoleic acid. 

4. It is cholesterol free. This is probably the biggest health benefit of truffles. Through the years, cholesterol has been considered as of the risk factors of coronary heart conditions and other related diseases. If you are prone to stroke or heart attack or you have a family history any heart condition, it would be great to consume cholesterol free food such as truffles to help you lower your total cholesterol levels. 
