Medicinal mushrooms in veterinary medicine

Medicinal mushrooms have been used for centuries in Chinese medicine and are now also a reality in the Western world to treat humans and four-legged friends.

• Medicinal mushrooms have been used in traditional Chinese medicine for millennia.
• For some years they have also been a reality in the Western world for both humans and animals.
• They cure many disorders and diseases and are important in tumors to strengthen the immune defenses.

THE medicinal mushrooms they have been used for millennia in traditional Chinese medicine.And, in recent years, they are starting to be known and used in Western medical practices both for humans and for the animal world.To find out more and discover the particularities of medicinal mushrooms, let us be guided by Dr. Maria Luce Molinari, surgeon and veterinarian who has been using them successfully for more than twenty years holistic medicine for both human and four-legged patients.

Medicinal mushrooms and animal care

Generally speaking, medicinal mushrooms have few contraindications and are well suited to being used successfully in medicine.Among the problems that their use can cause, the main one is undoubtedly represented by the fact that mushrooms are capable of thinning the blood, and should therefore not be recommended to patients with coagulation deficits or under pharmacological treatment with anticoagulants. It should however be underlined that being very rich in active ingredients with various pharmacological actions, medicinal mushrooms must be chosen based on the peculiarities of the patient, and always under medical supervision, because "what does a lot of good can also do a lot of harm" if it is not suitable to the uniqueness of each living organism.

In veterinary medicine, as in human medicine, all medicinal mushrooms are used with excellent results, thanks to their simplicity of administration, the few and mild side effects and their great therapeutic potential.One of the fields in which the best results are obtained is probably that of tumor pathology, in which mushrooms play a supporting role in the organism and minimize the side effects of both radio that of chemotherapy.Another field of wide use is that of modulation and strengthening of the immune system, both during infectious pathologies and in the prevention of the various seasonal ailments that often afflict our four-legged companions.Mushrooms are suitable for every pet:come on dogs to the cats, passing through ferrets, aviary birds or equines in general.

The main and most used ones 

Some medicinal mushrooms have a specific target.And they can help in the healing and prevention of many pathologies of our four-legged friends.We can talk, for example, about Coprinus comatus which is basically used to keep the blood sugar in progress metabolic syndrome or of type 2 diabetes.There are other mushrooms, then, which have specific anti-neoplastic actions, such asAgaricus blazei murrill which helps the immune system to resist the problems caused by radio and chemotherapy.Then there are the so-called ones adaptogens, that is, capable of helping the organism, in a non-specific way, to resist the stress.So let's talk about Reishi or Ganoderma lucidum and also of other fungi capable of modulating the response of the immune system, making the organism more resistant and reactive towards viruses and bacteria, such as Shiitake and the Cordyceps sinensis.In any case, if you want to deal with specific treatments for our four-legged friends with the use of medicinal mushrooms, "do it yourself" is strictly not recommended.It will be the expert - be it a doctor or veterinarian - who will suggest and advise the type of mushroom, the method of administration, the dosage and any contraindications.Only in this way will you be able to fully count on the benefits of these magical products of nature.