Prof Tim Noakes’s The Real Meal Revolution has garnered all sorts of heated media attention, so if you’re South African and currently don’t hold an opinion on the subject, you’ve clearly been in a coma for the last few months. We wish you a speedy recovery! Let me bring you up to speed. Prof Noakes advocates eating a diet low in carbohydrates and high in fat. Mistakenly people are saying it’s a high protein diet, but he calls for only moderate amounts of protein – “The size and thickness of your palm without fingers is a good measure for a serving of animal protein,” is the guideline laid out in The Real Meal Revolution (https://bit.ly/WFqQ3o). Why animal proteins? Because, says the Prof, they’re the only readily available source of “complete” proteins. This makes things a little difficult for vegetarians wanting to follow Banting (that’s what the diet is called!), which is why I’d like to make a case for the mushroom here. Its protein content, although modest, is rather unique. According to Australian Mushroom Growers, “One example is lectins that have anti-cancer properties in the laboratory. Other mushroom proteins appear to have both anti-viral and anti-bacterial properties (Xu 2011). Certain proteins, called hydrophobins, are found only in mushrooms, and these proteins contribute to the texture of the mushroom, making eating them so enjoyable.” So, veggie or not, mushrooms have earned their Green “all-you-can-eat” listing in Banting … of course always heeding Prof Noakes’s warning to “only eat when hungry, stop when full and do not overeat!”