I posted a few weeks ago about mycialated mushrooms in brown rice after I first learned about this from our vet Dr. Barbara Royal when we were at our appointment I showed her the brand of mushrooms I was using for my dog and she quickly pointed out that they are myceliated but at the time I had no idea what this meant!

Tell me more!

Instead of using the fruiting body of the mushroom, the big part above ground that we all think of when we’re talking about mushrooms, mushroom supplements that are myceliated use the mycelium of the mushroom that grow in the substrate used in which they grow, which is typically grain/rice/oats when we’re talking about myceliated mushrooms. Think of the mycelium as the roots, which you can see in the photo below taken from nootropics website.

Not only are Myceliated mushrooms a lesser quality, we will also have starch/carbs because these types of mushrooms are grown on a bed of rice/grain or even oats- with most ketogenic diets we are feeding our dogs as a form of metabolic therapy, we want to be avoiding ANY sources of carbs/starch at all costs. –

It’s also about the actual effectiveness of the mushroom when it’s grown this way. It’s using the roots of a mushroom and the brown rice or oats they are grown in because you can’t separate the two when it’s processed vs. using the actual fruiting body of the 🍄 mushroom. So what you THINK you’re getting and what you’re really getting is two different things in terms of potency and overall effectiveness of the mushroom. It’s Kind of like paying for premium gasoline at the pump but getting the cheap low octane stuff without knowing.

“with myceliated mushrooms the mycelium is grown on a sterilized grain, usually brown rice. This is then dried and ground into a powder. So not only are you not getting any of the beneficial compounds that are only found in the fruiting body of the mushroom, but you are also mostly getting ground up grains that the mycelium is grown on. These are essentially very expensive ground up rice and grains being sold as a mushroom extract. Mycelium actually contains very little of the important compounds, vitamins, and nutrients of the actual mushroom” – nootropics

When choosing a mushroom supplement it is important that you are getting the powder derived from the fruiting body.

“Fruiting bodies offer a much more effective, high-quality product than mycelium extracts. Fruiting bodies are considered “full spectrum” as they provide a wider array of the mushroom’s nutritional components. Fruiting bodies offer more minerals, including phosphorous, copper, zinc, and potassium. Fruiting body extracts also contain higher concentrations of vitamins, including vitamin C, vitamin D, beta-carotene, and various B vitamins.”- nootropics

This is yet another reason why it’s always important to carefully read the labels of any and all supplements you are using to look for ingredients that might seem out of place. If your mushroom supplement lists “other ingredients, and have things like oats or rice listed. then we know right there that they are myceliated. Or some labels say “Inactive ingredients: organic myceliated brown rice”
Other ingredients we also don’t want to see listed would be maltodextrin. (sugar)

A brand that I started using for my dog , which are NOT myceliated ,are reasonably priced are from a company called RealMushrooms
click on the pic below to view product on Amazon

I’ve linked two informative articles below that delve deeper into the subject of myceliated mushrooms.

here is a great article on the differences

Mycelium vs. Fruiting Bodies

For Custom Formulated Raw Ketogenic Diet plans for your dog, head on over to our page HERE