Our products use 100% Organic Whole Oats with the husk intact. The hull not only protects the grain and inhibits oxidation and rancidity, but also presents the mushroom mycelium with a digestive “challenge” before it can access the more nutritious and easily digested grain. Most mushroom sold based on their health-promoting properties are wood-decaying species, thus the cellulose, hemicellulose and lignin in the husk are compounds the mushroom mycelium is well-adapted to utilizing as a food source via powerful, extracellular digestive enzymes. Many health-promoting benefits have been attributed to extracellular mycelial enzymes.
Oats are recognized as being a health food with a beta glucan content that has been reported to be useful in cholesterol management and immune system support. Oat beta glucans have different chemical structures and linkages than the beta glucans in mushrooms and thus have different health-promoting functionalities. Oats are also good sources of silica and silicic acid that have been shown to have significant health promoting properties and that may be deficient in diets comprised of processed foods. Oat grain does not contain gluten and thus is acceptable in most gluten-free diets.
Currently, oats have not yet been genetically engineered so GMO contamination is not an issue. Additionally, oats are in many ways a very “green” crop. They are very deep-rooted crop that does not generally require irrigation in the regions where it is cultivated. Oats produce such a dense plant canopy that weeds are generally out-competed and smothered thus eliminating the need for herbicides. Oats have a higher total nutrient value, higher protein content and higher dietary fibre content than brown rice.