Mushroom for Pets
The Benefits of Mushroom for Pets Friends
If you’re one of the 67% of Americans that has (and loves) a pet, you know the importance of keeping them healthy and active. Similar to us, our furry friends can benefit from medicinal mushrooms – especially senior pets, or those with health concerns. You may be struggling to find ways to give your furry companion as high a quality of life as possible.
Medicinal Mushroom for Pets are a natural and healthy way to ensure that your pet gets enough nutrients and antioxidants. When searching for the best mushroom supplements to give to your canine companion, you’ll want to keep in mind what his individual needs and health issues are.
We want to show you how mushroom extracts can help your furry companion live a long, active life and avoid the common health problems that require costly vet trips.
Let’s take a look at the best types of mushrooms that you can give your pets!
What Are Medicinal Mushroom for Pets?
Before deciding which medicinal mushroom supplements will best help your pet, it’s important to define “what exactly is a medicinal mushroom?”
There are a variety of edible fungi that are considered medicinal mushrooms because they contain antioxidants, and help the human body with various functions such as: stimulating cell production, repairing tissues, maintaining heart health, and supporting the immune system. Taking these mushrooms isn’t a new practice. People throughout the world have been using mushrooms medicinally for thousands of years.
For instance, 2000-year-old documents show us that the Reishi mushroom was venerated by the ancient Chinese for its remarkable healing and anti-aging properties. They called it Lingzhi, meaning “divine herb that energizes the chi or life force.” Mushroom drawings were found on ancient ceramics and artwork in Peru, suggesting regular use of and reverence for fungi in their lives.
Recently, mushroom extracts have seen a sharp increase in popularity as people increasingly turn to more natural health solutions.
Medicinal mushrooms are a comprehensive and plentiful source of natural, health-supporting compounds. You may be thinking, ‘that sounds great for humans! But does that mean they are safe for pets?’
How Are Mushrooms Helpful for Pet Health?
Medicinal mushrooms for dogs and cats are a great natural alternative for pets as high-quality mushroom supplements are powerful immunomodulators that do not carry the same risk of side effects as pharmaceuticals.
People rarely experience undesirable side effects from using medicinal mushrooms. The few side effects that humans have occasionally had from mushroom extracts are mild in severity and duration, such as drug interactions, upset stomach, itching and nausea. For more information about the safety of mushrooms for pets, read our article Can Dogs Eat Mushrooms? Facts About Mushroom for Pets Friend.
Increasingly, holistic veterinarians are turning to medicinal mushrooms to support the wellbeing of their animal patients. Not only are mushroom extracts safe for pets and supportive to their health, but they are easy to administer, as one of our Lions Mane Mushrooms veterinary clients can attest:
What’s in a Mushroom Extract for Pets?
If you choose a reputable source, such as Real Mushrooms, your medicinal mushroom extract should contain nothing but pure mushrooms. Some extracts will feature a single mushroom on its own, while others might be a blend of varieties. The important thing to look for is that the product is organic and free from fillers.
All of our mushroom powder extracts are organic and contain only the most potent medicinal parts of the fungi (the mushroom) and zero added fillers or starches. This is in contrast to the majority of mushroom supplements sold in North America which contain the fungi root-like structure, called mycelium, and the grain on which the mycelium is grown. In contrast to Real Mushrooms’ extract powders, this results in less effective product.
Since our mushroom extracts come in both capsules and powders, it is easy to give them to your pet based on their needs and preferences. Many of our customers simply sprinkle ½ tsp to 1 tsp of mushroom powder on their pet’s food once a day.
Sprinkle ½ to 1 tsp of mushroom powder on top of your pet’s food.
Benefits of Various Medicinal Mushrooms for Pets
Now that you know what medicinal mushrooms are and what they’re used for, let’s take a look at the various types of mushrooms and how they can specifically benefit our canine or feline companions. Read on to learn some of the most popular types of medicinal mushrooms for pets so you can decide which is right for your furry friend’s specific needs!
Reishi
Reishi is known as the ‘mushroom of immortality’ because of its protective, anti-aging, and rejuvenating properties. It also helps to modulate the immune system by increasing or decreasing certain immune system functions.
As animals age, like us humans, the immune system can become weaker and they can get ill more easily. Adding a medicinal mushroom such as Reishi to your pet’s daily mix can help keep them resilient, youthful, and healthy. Additionally, this mushrooms has been known to help with allergies!
Reishi also has the power to regulate the digestive system. So, If your pet has issues with bowel irritation, you can use Reishi mushroom capsules to help keep him regular, decrease intestinal discomfort, and modulate the microbiome.
Our beloved pets are all unique and expressive in their own ways. Some dogs experience separation anxiety, while young dogs may have excessive energy or be active at night. Reishi is known for its capacity to calm the nervous system and induce restful sleep. Older pets may have trouble moving and might experience sleep disturbances. Reishi can help to regulate the sleep cycle and relax your furry friend.
Maitake
As with the other mushrooms on this list, Maitake helps to maintain proper immune system function.
Maitake contains polysaccharides such as beta-glucans, compounds that encourage healthy immune function, blood sugar regulation, and modulate inflammation. This means that your pet’s immune system will be in tip-top shape to fend off sickness.
Additionally, maitake regulates blood pressure and can help support the cardiovascular health of your pet. Again, similar to Reishi, it also promotes relaxation. Thanks to our fungi friends your fur friend will have the support he needs to keep his heart and circulation strong for daytime activities.
Turkey Tail
Turkey tail’s primary function is to support the immune system of the person or pet who takes it. Essentially, this mushroom boosts the production of the cells our bodies rely on to kill invading microbes or abnormal cells, such as those that form tumors. This mushroom also stimulates the production of certain cytokines, which are important messenger signals for the immune system. Therefore, turkey tail helps support a healthy immune system and promotes longevity.
Back in 2012, vets were excited about a study out of Penn State University on a turkey tail based extract known as PSP. It looked at the effects on dogs with hemangiosarcoma, an aggressive and invasive dog cancer with few treatment options. The results showed that PSP can drastically extend the lifespan of a dog with hemangiosarcoma. Unfortunately, the extended lifespan is still relatively short because the average lifespan is less than a year for a dog with this disease.
Turkey tail is a mushroom that we recommend for the natural immunity boost it gives pets. It is also ideal for its anti-aging effects. No matter how young and healthy your pet is, they can always benefit from a little immune system strength.
Turkey tail, like all of our mushroom extracts, is certified organic. It has no added chemicals or starches either, as we use only the fruiting bodies of the mushrooms.
Medicinal mushrooms are the natural, comprehensive health support for pets.
SHOP MUSHROOMS FOR PETS!
Cordyceps
Cordyceps is another one of the medicinal mushrooms that we are super excited to share. This mushroom increases the production of ATP, the compound that promotes cellular energy. It will help your furry friend increase their stamina to run and play. Cordyceps stimulates the production of ATP with precursor compounds like cordycepin. If your pet is lethargic, introducing Cordyceps extracts into his daily life could improve your pet’s level of energy.
Additionally, Cordyceps supports the respiratory system. It can lessen the severity of lung problems and can help diminish the symptoms of breathing-related issues, such as allergies or chronic lung disease.
Shiitake
Using shiitake mushroom extracts is a great way to improve liver function and decrease inflammation.
Shiitake mushrooms are the most popular type of edible fungus in the world. Since the constitution of our canine friends is similar to that of our own, they can work well for them, too.
Additionally, it can keep the liver functioning properly and shiitake mushroom capsules can help keep your pet’s heartbeat regular and healthy.
Your little lion will love his daily mushrooms.
Lion’s Mane
Lion’s Mane is a mushroom that is rich in beta-glucans, which have antitumor properties. Furthermore, it contains antioxidants and neuroprotective chemical compounds that aid in supporting healthy brain and nervous system function.
The specific compounds in Lion’s Mane promote the growth of neurons and it’s taken by people to stave off cognitive decline. You can give Lion’s Mane mushroom extract to your pet to help them stay sharp, alert, and youthful. Over time, it can keep them living with vitality so you can both enjoy the activities that you love.
One of our clients uses Lion’s Mane in conjunction with other products to keep their aging dogs healthy and active:
Chaga
Chaga is a fungus that’s incredibly rich in antioxidants and grows on birch trees in colder regions like Canada, Maine, Finland and Russia. Similar to other mushrooms on this list, it supports a healthy immune function. However, it also has potent compounds to help with digestion and skin health as well as being a potent anti-oxidant.
How to Give Medicinal Mushrooms to Pets
Medicinal mushrooms are an accessible, safe, and remarkable source of whole-health support for humans and pets alike. Mushroom supplements are a multi-benefit add-on to create a better bowl of pet food. They will help your furry friends live a long life full of vitality and support their recovery from health challenges that may come up.
Each medicinal mushroom variety has a unique way of boosting your animal friend’s health. Conveniently, a mushroom blend like Defenders is a reliable and well-rounded supplement to choose if you are undecided or want the benefits of a combination of the mushrooms mentioned above. Whichever mushroom you decide on, the most important thing is selecting a quality organic product without fillers. Real Mushrooms has committed itself to produce some of the safest, purest, and most potent concentrations of mushroom extracts on the market.
Protecting your furry friend starts with selecting from our diverse variety of mushroom extracts. You can order online today to help your pet live the long, robust life you hope for.
Functional Mushrooms for Dogs & Cats
Like cannabis, functional mushrooms have been used for plant-based therapy for thousands of years. Every medicinal mushroom has unique healing properties, but nearly all share the ability to activate the body’s immune system. Benefits can be attributed to mushrooms because of their variety of full macro-nutrient profiles, polysaccharides (alpha/beta-glucans), and other detoxifying metabolites.
Mushrooms for Dogs & Cats serve as a catalyst in modulating the immune system by activating macrophages, neutrophils, basophils, and every other immune-system-cell in the body. They are also reported to lower cholesterol levels, improve blood-sugar levels, and inhibit the spread of weakened immune cells.
Functional Mushroom for Pets: Beyond Beta Glucans
Contrary to marketing from other functional mushroom supplements for dogs and cats, beta-glucans are not the only ingredient in mushrooms that provide immuno-modulating activity for our pets. Both the fruit body and mycelium have shown to produce immuno-modulating benefits in the same way other fermented foods do like kombucha or kimchi. Therefore, when considering natural remedies for dogs and cats, using the full-spectrum of medicinal mushrooms will always be the safest and optimal way to promote your Dog or Cat’s health.
Similar to fermented foods, many of the chemical compounds found in functional mushrooms can trigger a prebiotic response in the gut for dogs and cats. Gut health in pets is one of the primary ways to promote longevity and improve quality of life. For this reason, the combination of beta glucans and various chemical compounds found in both the mycelium and fruiting body of mushrooms can have profound effects on our pets’ health.
Beta Glucans are a pivotal part of the enhanced immune response dogs and cats benefit from when using a functional mushroom supplement. It is the current standard in which we show potency in all of our mushroom supplements by providing pet owners with our 3rd party lab tests. However, at Earth Buddy we feel beta glucans are simply one of the many important compounds the overall health benefits functional mushrooms can provide for our pets.
The five different species of Mushroom for Pets that Earth Buddy uses contain hundreds of chemical compounds that have shown to enhance the health of both humans and animals. Each species contains its own unique molecular treasure trove of immune enhancing, gut microbiome balancing, histamine modulating, and nootropic benefits for the brain.
Mushroom Mycelium & Additional Benefits of Mushroom Supplements
Mycelium is the living network or the roots living in the soil or substrate of the short lived fruiting body of the mushroom. In the wild, this mycelial network acts much like the internet to disseminate vital information throughout entire ecosystems. It communicates this information across ecosystems such as infectious parasites and acts quickly to eliminate the threat posed to the entire mycelial network. Mycelium can also transport vital nutrients to other living plant species and improve the fertility of soil. Many organic farms and lush forests have large living mycelial organisms, which a growing number of scientists and mycologists believe is a key marker in the health of that ecosystem.
So why is mushroom mycelium equally as important as the fruiting body of the mushroom? In many cases of mushroom species, the mushroom mycelium has equal, if not, more health benefits than its short-term counterpart of the fruiting mushroom. Most of the scientific research done on various mushroom supplements involves a mycelium extract or fermented substrate with little or no fruiting body.
Take Lion’s Mane mushrooms for example, in which a 2018 study showed that the neurological enhancing compounds were shown to be more prevalent and bioavailable in the mycelium versus the fruiting body of Lion’s Mane. This is just one of many examples showing that both the mycelium and fruiting body of mushrooms have immunological and longevity enhancing benefits. With this in mind, Earth Buddy uses both mycelium and fruiting body in our mushroom supplements for dogs and cats.
Sourcing of Functional Mushroom Supplements for Dogs & Cats
Pet parents also need to have clarity on the sourcing of their mushroom supplements, as most of the Mushroom for Pets are being sourced overseas. Many mushroom supplements that are sourced from countries with less regulation of mushroom supplements pose great long-term risk to the health of our pets. Functional Mushrooms grown for the purpose of ingesting the concentrated medicinal compounds can simultaneously concentrate toxic compounds due to mushrooms ability to bioremediate. Mushroom products for pets claiming to grow in natural, outdoor environments can absorb environmental pollutants, heavy metals, and toxins.
The good news is all of Earth Buddy’s mushrooms are sourced in the USA from a USDA organic facility and are triple extracted in order to concentrate the immuno-modulating compounds. This process also makes the mycelium and Mushroom for Pets more bioavailable when ingested. Functional Mushroom supplements for pets that are NOT extracted can contain an indigestible fiber called “chitin”, which can prevent the absorption of these health enhancing compounds the fungi contain.
Efficacy & Safety of Mushroom for Pets
As it stands today, Earth Buddy Pet is the only company that 3rd-party lab tests our mushrooms to show purity and potency. Other mushroom supplements for cats and dogs typically do not share this information, let alone, actually test for alpha and beta glucans. Beta glucans are the standard to show efficacy and quality of the mushroom extracts used in pet supplements. Additionally, showing the amount of alpha glucans can signify whether or not the mushroom supplement has a high amount of starchy carbohydrates.
Earth Buddy grows all of their Mushroom for Pets on a variety of substrates (food that the mycelium and fruiting body are grown on). We typically grow the five different species on a combination of organic millet, organic rye berries, and even use organic soy hulls sourced from an amish community. By triple extracting the mushrooms with a combination of alcohol and hot water, we can concentrate into a liquid form. In some cases, like our Mushroom Capsules or our Immunity Mushroom Blend, we freeze-dry the mushroom extract liquid back into a highly potent and concentrated form of mushroom powder.
When shopping for functional mushroom supplements for dogs and cats, it is imperative that the company you choose is transparent about their sourcing and testing. Much like the CBD for pets and cannabis for pets, functional mushroom supplements are unfortunately the wild west currently. Very little is required for companies and pet supplements are often vaguely labeled.
Final, but equally important safety concern of using mushrooms for pets is consuming wild grown mushrooms. Pet parents should always prevent their animals from consuming these mushrooms, as many poisonous mushroom species can often resemble safe, functional mushroom species.
Take solace in the fact that you, as a responsible pet owner, have educated yourself on the vast safety concerns and benefits of mushrooms for dogs and cats. Know that Earth Buddy takes great measures to protect and source the highest quality mushroom extracts from a USDA organic facility in the USA! If you are interested in learning more about our mushroom supplements be sure to listen below or dive into our individual mushroom species pages below.
Health Benefits of Medicinal Mushroom for Pets
Both the fruiting body and mycelium provide a synergistic effect on our pet’s health, much like the theory in cannabis known as the Entourage Effect. “The whole is greater than the sum of its parts” is an important concept when it comes to botanical and natural supplements. This idea is what differentiates these functional mushrooms for pets from traditional medicines.
Every mushroom comes with its own unique set of healing abilities, but here’s a list of the most common benefits of medicinal mushrooms:
- Activates Immune Cells (like Macrophages & Neutrophils)
- Boosts Energy and Balances Mood
- Increases Antibody Production
- Promotes Better Digestion & Improves Appetite
- Promotes Healthy Inflammatory Response
- Helps with Seasonal or Dietary Allergies
- Enhances Focus and Concentration
- Promotes Adaptive Response with Stress
- Balances Histamine Response
- Supports Respiratory and Organ function
- Enhances vital gut microbiota
But since each mushroom is unique, we should get to know the top five organic mushrooms used by Earth Buddy and how their unique properties can help your pet!
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