In the classic tale, ‘Alice in Wonderland,’ there’s a hilarious scenario that repeats itself over and over again. Who doesn’t remember it?
Alice, finding some type of food or drink in front of her, can’t resist the urge to put it in her mouth. And every time she does, she either grows or shrinks, causing all kinds of complications for herself.
In one of those scenes, the food she finds – actually, the food she’s sitting on – is a mushroom, and it has double the power of the other foods…
It can make her grow OR shrink, depending on which part she eats.
Recognizing the benefits this will give her as she continues her travels, she takes a piece from each side of the mushroom and carries them around in her pockets. Now, she has what she needs to be just the right size for whatever crazy thing happens next.
It’s a funny portrayal that makes everyone laugh, but it has an interesting parallel to mushrooms in the real world, where mushrooms pack a uniquely powerful nutritional punch.
The mushroom is a complex organism that contains a balance of several thousand enzymes, nutrients and proteins in a uniquely beneficial ratio. It’s loaded with vitamins, minerals, glucosamine, antioxidants and immune-supporting glycans.
These nutrients provide a powerful balance of support for all kinds of body systems.
As a holistic veterinarian, I believe mushrooms hold important potential value for cats' and dogs' health in the areas of immune and digestive health, normal cell growth, promoting the normal detoxification process, helping to protect against environmental stressors, and even joint and respiratory health.
In fact, I believe so firmly in the value of certain mushrooms, I use them regularly in my practice...
Mushrooms – What You Don’t See Might Be the Best Part
First, to fully appreciate the benefits that mushrooms might offer your pet, let's define how mushrooms differ from other fungi...
Mushrooms are part of a special group of fungi that form a fleshy, above-ground reproductive structure called the "mushroom fruit body" – that’s the part we love to eat.
In contrast, fungi that are not mushrooms do not form fleshy fruit bodies.
However, the "mushroom fruit body," or the part that you can see – the stem and cap – is less than 10% of a mushroom's total biomass.
The mycelium is the part of the mushroom you don't typically see or eat. It lies beneath the surface of the soil and…
It's the part that may hold the most important nutritional benefits of mushrooms.
The Secret Behind What May Be Mushrooms' Greatest Value to Mammals
Mycelium is a vast network of living cells covering much of the earth's surface. The largest biological entities on the planet, these "fungal mats" can live for decades and even centuries.
In fact, one of these gigantic mycelium "mats" currently covers over 2200 acres in a forest in Oregon.
Mycelium is essential to a healthy forest's ecosystem – it's what nourishes and replenishes the soil.
And the job isn't always easy... Mycelium cells are constantly battling against hostile environments. To aid their survival, mushrooms have developed highly efficient and proactive immune systems.
Many scientists believe that these protective capabilities that have evolved over the years – the mycelia's highly adept immune system – along with its ability to break down natural organic matter, are exactly what make mushrooms so valuable to mammals.
Unlocking the Mushroom's Immune Support Code
What makes mushroom mycelium so valuable for your pet's immune health?
Two biologically active compounds in the mushroom fruit bodies and mycelia top the list… beta-glucans and proteoglycans.
Beta-glucans are chains of polysaccharides, and proteoglycans are special proteins, often found in connective tissue. What makes mushroom-derived beta-glucans so unique in supporting health is their ability to support optimal immune function without over-stimulating the immune system.
The beta-glucans found in mushrooms are large and complex long-chain molecules. What sets certain beta-glucans apart are their unique side-branching patterns. Side-branching is one of the features that gives beta-glucans its immune-modulating ability.
Other Bioactive Compounds in Mushrooms May Also Provide Immune Support for Your Pet
While beta-glucans have been the most studied component of mushrooms and their mycelium, these amazing fungi also contain other bioactive compounds and proteins, including:
- Alpha-glucans
- Antioxidants
- Enzymes
- Pectins
- Ribonucleases
- Ubiquitin-like proteins
- Peptides
- Lectins
These beneficial substances help your pet by aiding his digestion, supporting cellular health and fighting free radicals in his body.
But that’s not all mushrooms and their mycelium can potentially do for your pet…
How Your Pet’s Gut Health and Digestion Affect Her Immune Function
Did you know your pet's gastrointestinal tract is her largest immune barrier?
When her gut lining is healthy, it provides a barrier through which only the nutrients from digestion can pass, while keeping out pathogens and undigested particles.
So, when you take measures to fully support your pet's immune system, it's important to pay attention to her digestion and gut health, too.
Mushrooms and their mycelium’s complex matrix of nutrients, dietary fiber, and fungal enzymes have been shown to support healthy digestion and gastrointestinal tract function.
The important enzymes produced by mushrooms include:
- Protease – helps digest proteins and, through its actions, helps cleanse your pet's bloodstream of excess undigested protein
- Lipase – helps digest fat
- Amylase – helps break down starch into sugar and supplies your pet's body with energy
- Cellulase – helps break down fiber, which in turn promotes bowel health and regularity
These digestive enzymes – that are part of the mushroom itself – are even capable of surviving the stomach's harsh, acidic conditions.
An Extraordinary Antioxidant Made Primarily by Mushrooms
Mushrooms are excellent sources of antioxidants in general, such as polyphenols and selenium, but they also contain antioxidants unique to mushrooms and their mycelium.
One such antioxidant is L-ergothioneine, which experts now describe as a "master antioxidant" because it is transported to cells throughout the body to fight damage from oxidative stress and free radicals.
Ergothioneine is a sulfur-containing amino acid that is synthesized only by mushrooms and by fungi and mycobacteria in the soil.
Plants can absorb ergothioneine through their roots, and grazing animals can consume ergothioneine-containing plants. But the mushrooms, fungi or mycobacteria must be present to make it in the first place.
Your pet's body can't make its own ergothioneine, so cats and dogs depend upon food sources, like plants and meat.
Modern farming practices, with their heavy use of chemical fertilizers, herbicides and fungicides, have dramatically reduced the healthy fungal communities in our soils, thus reducing the total amount of ergothioneine in our food supply.
Until recently, wheat germ was considered the best source for ergothioneine. But researchers from a major university, using a new, more sensitive testing approach they developed for fungi, have found that mushrooms are actually a much more potent source.
Researchers are currently not aware of any other food source that contains as much ergothioneine as mushrooms.
Remarkable in many ways, ergothioneine is a unique antioxidant that can:
- Concentrate where there's lots of oxidative stress – especially eye tissue, the liver and kidneys, and red blood cells
- Go straight to the cells' nuclei to help protect cellular DNA
- Gain access to the mitochondria, the “power plants” of cells, potentially protecting against free radical damage that can speed up the aging process
Here's what else is unique about ergothioneine… It exists a long time in the body – about 30 days as opposed to 30 minutes or less for most other antioxidants.
Finding the Company to Produce Mushrooms With These Kinds of Potential Benefits…
I've been using mushroom and mycelium blends in my practice for some time now, and although there have not been studies conducted in cats and dogs, I have observed many potential benefits mushroom blends can offer cats and dogs for immune support and overall well-being.
Just some of the favorable responses I've heard from owners after their pets tried different mushroom blends include:
- Older dogs appear to regain some of their youthful vigor and spark...
- Support of flexibility and ease of movement...
So I decided to ask our friends at Mushroom Matrix (M2) to help me develop a blend of mushroom mycelium for cats and dogs.
Before I tell you more about the mushroom varieties we've selected for my Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend, let me tell you a little about M2, the extraordinary company behind this unique blend.
M2 is led by an expert team of mycologists who have worked with mushroom species from around the world since the 1980s.
A true pioneer in the field, M2 developed a proprietary Solid State Fermentation (SSF) production methodology and equipment that allows for the production of health-promoting mushrooms on organic substrate (more about that in just a minute).
M2 obtained organic certification status for all their products in 2006, so today, they produce only organic mushrooms in their labs in San Marcos, California, just north of San Diego.
The 8 Species We Selected for My Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend
- Shiitake (Lentinula edodes)
Contains abundant l-ergothioneine and the immune system-supporting polysaccharide lentinan.
- Reishi (Ganoderma lucidum)
Known as a "three treasure" herb, it's thought by the Chinese to harmonize jung (life force), qi (energy), and shen (spirit).
- Maitake (Grifola frondosa)
The fruit bodies and mycelia of the Maitake contain high concentrations of immune-supporting beta-glucans.
- Lion's Mane (Hericium erinaceus)
Resembling a cheerleader's pom-pom more than a mushroom, this whitish mushroom supported memory and helped regain a sense of curiosity in a group of study mice. It is unknown whether the benefits in mice apply to cats and dogs.
- King Trumpet (Pleurotus eryngii)
A robust culinary mushroom with significant levels of l-ergothioneine, selenium, and beta-glucans. In animal studies, it helped maintain healthy cholesterol levels that were already within the normal range.
- Turkey Tail (Trametes versicolor)
Known for its rich supply of a particular type of polysaccharide – PSK – that may promote immune, digestive, urinary and respiratory health and normal cellular growth.
- Himematsutake (Agaricus blazei)
Related to the common button mushroom, the Agaricus is noted for its high content of immune-supporting polysaccharides and other important cellular growth-supporting compounds.
- Cordyceps (Cordyceps militaris)
Chinese herbalists believe that Cordyceps replenishes both Yin and Yang Jing and acts as a restorative tonic for extreme exertion, stress, or from normal aging. Also known for its ability to support energy, performance, circulation, respiratory health, and healthy cholesterol levels already in the normal range.
What to Look for in a Quality Mushroom Product
When you’re looking for an ideal supplement for your pet, it’s important to know that quality varies widely.
Here are five questions to ask about any mushroom product you’re considering for your cat or dog:
- What's the ratio of fruit body to mycelium?
- Is it produced using solid state fermentation or "submerged fermentation"?
- Does it contain mushroom isolates or whole-food mushrooms?
- What type of grain is used for the fermentation process?
- Are the mushrooms organically or conventionally grown?
Some of the potential answers to these questions might surprise you...
Fruit Body or Mycelium – Which Is Preferable?
Mushroom expert Steve Farrar of M2 has over 30 years’ experience growing mushrooms. He recommends choosing products that contain more of the mycelium. His reasons?
- There is more research on the mycelial stage of the mushroom, by far, than the fruit body stage.
- The mycelial stage of the mushroom is easier to standardize and keep contained.
- Mushrooms grown to the fruit body stage for harvesting risk environmental factors that can be more difficult to control, so there's more variation in the quality.
- Mushroom fruit bodies attract airborne contaminants, both biological and industrial, so there's greater risk for contamination.
Whole Food vs. Mushroom Extract Isolates: What's the Difference?
There are two primary types of mushroom supplements:
- Mushroom concentrate extracts
This is the type you commonly find on store shelves and online. Many are "hot water extracts," which means the mycelia or fruit body is boiled for extended periods to extract and concentrate the beta-glucans, but you typically lose the enzymes, protein, fiber and most of the antioxidants.
- Whole food mushrooms
With whole-food mushrooms, you get the benefits of enzymes, antioxidants, fiber, protein, co-enzymes and other important co-factors responsible for the nutrients' actions. The whole food form offers your pet diverse support for various systems instead of just beta-glucans.
Just as eating a fresh vegetable with its fiber and natural nutrients intact is the preferred way to get those nutrients, the same is true with mushrooms.
When you extract certain bioactive compounds from mushrooms, such as beta-glucans and polysaccharides, you leave behind the enzymes, coenzymes and chelated mineral activators. These valuable compounds support the mushrooms' bioactivity and the way in which your pet's body may receive benefits from the compound. The extraction process can also damage many of the bioactive enzymes and proteins.
And here's something else to consider... Highly concentrated mushroom extracts can potentially bring unintended consequences. As powerful as they have the potential to be, an overload of certain compounds in isolated extracts may shut down the important feedback your pet's body depends upon.
The Mycelium's Substrate – Why Our Supplier Chose Oats Over Rice
Mushrooms in the wild are typically found growing in places such as on dead trees or on forest floors covered by decaying leaves.
When mushrooms are grown on a commercial scale, the producer has to choose a substrate to recreate that environment.
One popular commercial substrate is hulled brown rice. Our supplier, however, believes oats make a better growing substrate than rice.
There are several reasons:
- The outer hull protects the oat seed from oxidizing and turning rancid.
- Oats' cellulose, hemicellulose, and lignin stimulate the mushroom to activate a more complete set of metabolic and enzymatic pathways, vital to the mycelia's bioactivity.
- Oats are easy for the mycelium to digest.
- Oats' plant beta-glucans complement the fungal beta-glucans.
Unlike many other mushroom products, the mycelium for my Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend is cultivated using 100% organic Whole Oats, complete with the outer hull intact.
How M2's Proprietary Solid State Fermentation Method Raises the Bar on Quality
As I mentioned earlier, M2 has developed a proprietary Solid State Fermentation (SSF) method to produce their mushrooms.
In the SSF process, the insoluble substrate – in this case, organic whole oats – is fermented with just the right amount of moisture. It results in higher quality production and yields, while degrading the starch and enhancing the resulting nutrients.
As part of this process, the team cooks the oats to hydrate them to 55% moisture and to help remove competing fungi, viruses, yeast and bacteria.
This substrate is now ready for the mycelium starter to be added.
At this point – and right before the biomass enters the erupting fruit body stage – the team members open the bags and slowly dehydrate the biomass to reduce the moisture content. The use of a controlled, low 118 degrees preserves live enzymes, protein structure and the many bioactivities of each mushroom species.
Grown in bags over the next 30 to 80 days, the mycelium gradually digests the oats until the grains vanish, leaving behind a solid white mass – the mycelium biomass. Due to this length of time, almost all the oats are digested, unlike mushroom spawn, which is harvested after about seven days.
Once the mushroom biomass reaches 5% moisture, it is milled into a fine powder and is ready for use.
For a more comprehensive beneficial effect from a mushroom supplement, look for a product using "solid state fermentation." SSF uses a whole food approach that yields a product containing more or most of the original compounds and co-factors.
100% Grown and Processed in the U.S.
With mushrooms, the growing environment matters, just as it does with other plants. Their intense ability to concentrate both minerals and metals in their tissues makes polluted environments a real threat to their purity… and to the animal consuming them.
When grown in a polluted environment, mushrooms can concentrate heavy metals, which can be toxic, depending on the levels.
Recently, Asian (and Chinese, in particular) mushroom products have been found to contain unhealthy levels of lead, cadmium, arsenic and chromium, most likely from widespread water, soil and air pollution.
Although M2 mycologists select strains of mushrooms from around the globe and carry home tissue cultures of these extraordinary species, they propagate and produce all of their own mushroom mycelium in their lab in San Marcos, California.
All critical points of quality control stay totally in their hands.
Further, they routinely test for toxic heavy metals in the tissue samples, the organic oat substrate and the finished mushroom ingredients, to ensure that there are no unhealthy levels of heavy metals.
My Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend Provides Exceptional Quality for Your Pet
I formulated my Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend to contain eight species of highly-valued, health-supporting mushroom mycelium that provide an array of enzymes, antioxidants and immune-supporting compounds.
This proprietary blend of eight mushrooms…
- Contains 100% organic, biologically active, whole food mushroom and mycelium (not isolated extracts) to optimize the life cycle of the mushroom.
- Is an excellent source of fermented foods for digestive and immune health, thanks to M2's breakthrough SSF processing methods.
- Is grown and produced entirely in the U.S.
- Uses oats instead of rice for its substrate, adding valuable plant beta-glucans and enhancing the mycelia's bioactivity.
- Retains its bioactivity through carefully controlled processing methods.
- Contains an array of beta-glucans.
- Free of additives, fillers, gluten, and unhealthy levels of heavy metals.
And it's considerably higher in l-ergothioneine than other mushroom supplements.
Outstanding Support for Immune Health… and More
Mushrooms offer a truly unique array of health benefits for mammals. They pack a powerful punch in a small little package, providing a rich supply of antioxidants and immune-supporting beta-glucans for your pet.
Produced to the highest of quality standards, my Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend can potentially help support your pet's:
- Immune Health
Help support your pet's immune system with beta- and alpha-glucans and polyphenols.
- Digestion
Naturally-occurring digestive enzymes, pre-biotics, and dietary fiber in mushrooms support your pet's digestive functions.
- Respiratory and Cardiovascular Health
Mushroom compounds promote circulation and oxygen production.
- Detoxification
L-ergothioneine and other mushroom compounds support your pet's normal heathy detoxification processes.
- Joint Health
Naturally-occurring vegetarian glucosamine and essential fatty acids help support your pet's joints.
- Skin Health
Natural biotin, methionine, protein, vitamins, and other unique mushroom properties help produce healthy skin.
- Longevity
Super-antioxidant L-ergothioneine and other unique and potent antioxidants help reduce oxidative stress and protect against free radical damage.
Your pet's immune system is one of his most precious assets. Feed and nourish it with the broad and potent range of in Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend.
No matter what you feed your pet – fresh, canned, or dry food – Bark & Whiskers® Organic Fermented Mushroom Blend provides a uniquely rich array of potential benefits to balance and support your pet’s good health. Order yours today.