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Are you giving your dog Agaricus blazei Murill mushrooms? These mushrooms have shown to have wonderful health benefits for your pet, such as supporting heart health, regulating blood sugar, and helping with digestion. When looking for the best product, there are some things that you have to consider to make sure that your pet is receiving the maximum benefit from these mushrooms.

What are Agaricus blazei Murill mushrooms?

Agaricus blazei Murill (AbM) mushrooms in general contain a wide variety of nutrients, but the different parts of the mushroom have slightly different properties. The two main parts of the mushroom are:

• The Fruit body: the part of the mushroom that you can see above ground
• The Mycelium: the part that is found buried in the soil.

The fruit body has been shown to contain higher amounts of nutrients, particularly Vitamins B, C, and D, and minerals including phosphorus, copper, zinc, and potassium. The mycelium contains beta glucans which are beneficial for immunomodulation.

Full spectrum extracts made with the fruit body are therefore considered the most potent and high-quality. As a consequence, they are also pricier. This is something to consider when you look for AbM mushroom supplements for your pet.

Since both the fruit body and the mycelium contain wonderful properties, it is best to find a product that uses both parts of the mushroom. These two parts work together to help provide your pet with many wonderful properties to help keep them healthy.

How does AbM affect the immune system?

In recent studies, it is shown that one of the main ways in which Agaricus blazei stimulates the immune system is through the high levels of beta glucans it contains. There is specific type, Beta 1,3-glucans that stimulates the production of immune system cells such as macrophages, neutrophils (aka white blood cells) and natural killer (NK) cells.

NK cells are part of your innate immune system, meaning they fight all foreign invaders and are not specific to any one disease. This is in contrast to T-cells which are developed to fight specific problematic cells. One of the reasons why Agaricus blazei is helpful in a wide variety of diseases might be because of the broad-ranging action of the NK cells it helps to stimulate.

How are nutrients extracted from AbM Mushrooms?

Whether from the fruit body or from the mycelium, the beneficial compounds within AbM mushrooms must undergo extraction to make it easier to purchase, store, ingest, and digest. However, some of the nutrients found in the raw material may be lost in this process. This is of particular concern when the extraction process makes use of harsh solvents. This requires the mixing of the raw material with a chemical to extract the target compounds. The mixture must then be heated in order to remove the solvent from the mixture, leaving only the needed nutrients.

However, the chemical reactions and heat can alter or even destroy the very compounds that must be extracted. The process also makes use of vast amounts of energy and resources, contributing to a larger carbon footprint and impacting the environment.

Chemical Solvent-Free Extraction process

It is best to choose AbM products that were made using a chemical solvent-free extraction process. The trends in analytical chemistry are going green, just like the majority of industries in the world. These technological advancements make it faster to extract a higher amount of intact nutrients from the products, while minimizing the environmental impact at the same time.

The end result of the extraction process can come in many forms. AbM mushroom extract may come as a liquid, powder, or capsule. This has an impact on the absorbability of the nutrients, with the liquid format being far superior.

Final thoughts

If your pet is suffering with a medical condition or you are looking for a product to help prevent your dog from developing any health issues, consider giving them AbM Mushrooms. These have many wonderful benefits to help keep your pets healthy and happy. Before starting any supplements, make sure to talk with your vet as they know your pet’s medical history.