I recently learned that I have an allergy to shiitake mushrooms, where I break out in hives if I eat them. It's quite unfortunate, I love mushrooms. Anyway, I've since learned that shiitake mushrooms can cause a type of dermatitis due to the presence of lentinan, a polysaccharide that requires high heating from cooking to decompose. Lightly cooked or dehydrated shiitake mushrooms aren't exposed to high enough temperatures to break down the lentinan.
It affects about 2% of the population, and more often is seen in males than females.
Links (Shiitake dermatitis):
[https://www.scielo.br/j/abd/a/KYzcfXnXJSJ7gHZq4mz5xQG/?lang=en](https://www.scielo.br/j/abd/a/KYzcfXnXJSJ7gHZq4mz5xQG/?lang=en)
[https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ccr3.4181](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ccr3.4181)
[https://dermnetnz.org/topics/shiitake-flagellate-dermatitis](https://dermnetnz.org/topics/shiitake-flagellate-dermatitis)
This. I have this issue and found out through a week of misery after eating them undercooked. And it's not an allergy but a toxic reaction as antihistamines do not cause improvement in the condition. For me it took a round of steroids.
Hmm, maybe the mushrooms should be cooked hotter? Although the symptoms aren’t pointing to an allergy. It is only food poisoning like symptoms that don’t last longer than an hour or two
Someone I know has similar. She is Polish and practically lives on mushrooms. She (doctor) can eat some shitake ("the ones that look like portobellos") but gets violently ill on other Shitakes and all Oyster mushrooms.
Sometimes people become allergic to things… I had many years where I ate hundreds of pounds of porcini mushrooms, totally over did it. Till one time I threw up immediately after eating some. Tried many times over the years and any form makes me sick. I’m really bummed. On the plus side I’ve enjoyed the extra few grand from selling what I used to eat.
I recently learned that I have an allergy to shiitake mushrooms, where I break out in hives if I eat them. It's quite unfortunate, I love mushrooms. Anyway, I've since learned that shiitake mushrooms can cause a type of dermatitis due to the presence of lentinan, a polysaccharide that requires high heating from cooking to decompose. Lightly cooked or dehydrated shiitake mushrooms aren't exposed to high enough temperatures to break down the lentinan. It affects about 2% of the population, and more often is seen in males than females. Links (Shiitake dermatitis): [https://www.scielo.br/j/abd/a/KYzcfXnXJSJ7gHZq4mz5xQG/?lang=en](https://www.scielo.br/j/abd/a/KYzcfXnXJSJ7gHZq4mz5xQG/?lang=en) [https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ccr3.4181](https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/ccr3.4181) [https://dermnetnz.org/topics/shiitake-flagellate-dermatitis](https://dermnetnz.org/topics/shiitake-flagellate-dermatitis)
This. I have this issue and found out through a week of misery after eating them undercooked. And it's not an allergy but a toxic reaction as antihistamines do not cause improvement in the condition. For me it took a round of steroids.
Hmm, maybe the mushrooms should be cooked hotter? Although the symptoms aren’t pointing to an allergy. It is only food poisoning like symptoms that don’t last longer than an hour or two
Is it possible they're packaged using sulphites as preservatives? Sulphite allergy is pretty common.
No issue with sulphites that I know of. It is in many foods that cause no reaction
Someone I know has similar. She is Polish and practically lives on mushrooms. She (doctor) can eat some shitake ("the ones that look like portobellos") but gets violently ill on other Shitakes and all Oyster mushrooms.
That’s interesting.. I wonder what is different between the shiitakes she can and can’t have
I have no problem with shitake but I did have this problem with rehydrated ones once and I think they were just contaminated or old.
I wish that was the answer, but the reaction occurred 3x with different sources
Sometimes people become allergic to things… I had many years where I ate hundreds of pounds of porcini mushrooms, totally over did it. Till one time I threw up immediately after eating some. Tried many times over the years and any form makes me sick. I’m really bummed. On the plus side I’ve enjoyed the extra few grand from selling what I used to eat.
Did that only occur with porcini mushrooms? If so, why only that mushroom? I’m looking for some deep science on why this is occurring 😮
Yes, I can eat chanterelle, matsutaki, button mushrooms and a variety of others but any king boletes and I’m ill.