By Dr. Royal Lee
Summary: Mushrooms and yeasts take center stage in this article. The high protein content of mushrooms (button mushrooms contain over ten amino acids) as well as their wealth of enzymes and fat-metabolizing compounds (betaine, choline, lecithin) make them an historically prized edible. Yeasts, of course, are responsible for the fermentation processes used to make bread, cheese, and the like, but they are also “superior food sources of valuable nutrients,” says Dr. Lee. “The Oriental food pattern differs from ours because…most of the protein they eat is from plants. They accomplish this largely by the use of molds and yeasts, which produce foods high in quality vegetable proteins.” From Let’s Live magazine, 1958.