Fungus

In such diseases, the fungi are actively growing on and invading the body of their hosts.  There is another means by which fungi can cause harm without invading our bodies.  When fungi grow on a living organism or on stored food material that we consume, they may produce harmful metabolites that diffuses into their food.  It is believed that fungi evolved these metabolites as a means of protecting their food supply by preventing other organisms from eating it.

The study of Fungi as animal and human pathogens is medical mycology.  There is also such a thing as veterinary mycology, but the types of diseases that are found in your pets often are the same as those that are found in people.  Because of the rarity of human diseases caused by fungi, most people have little, if any, knowledge of such diseases.

Food-borne bacteria rightly are a major cause for concern to human health, but it is difficult to escape the conclusion that mycotoxins in foods are responsible for much higher numbers of human deaths than are food-borne bacteria.  A link to the Oxford Journals British Medical Bulletin.

The topic "Mycotoxins" and all related subjects can be very complicated and often lead to unanswered questions.  www.mycotoxins.info attempts to cover these issues comprehensively and offers useful information to everybody who might be confronted with problems that can be attributed to mycotoxins.  This same site has an excellent Q&A page.

A 35-year-old recently walked into my office suffering from a whole list of health problems.  She had chronic fatigue, recurrent yeast vaginal infections, itchy ears, dandruff, patchy itchy skin rashes, irritable bowel syndrome, muscle twitching, acne rosacea, malabsorption, headaches, and more.

This is a normal - and even healthy - reaction that indicates that parasites, fungi, viruses, bacteria or other pathogens are being effectively killed off. The "additional reading" links below describe the symptoms of "die off" and why it occurs. This is especially true with fungal infestations. When a fungus dies it spews out mycotoxins that make the current symptoms of disease even worse. The cure can only happen after the fact. So it's like an addict ending an addiction. You can't get there without going through the process.

Among food contaminants, mycotoxins will have greater consequences in terms of both human and animal health as well as economics.  Mycotoxins are substances produced by molds that contaminate various agricultural commodities either before harvest or under post-harvest conditions.  This article covers a food safety issue that is overlooked by promoters of so-called organic food.  Mycotoxins and the fungi that produce them are 100% organic.

What goes for animals also goes for people as you'll see in this article.  Grains for people are just as likely to contain fungi and molds are grains for animal feeds, such as dog food.  Mycotoxins are toxins produced by molds that can affect the health of animals in many ways.  These mycotoxins can be present in hay, pasture, and grain.

This is link to a pdf document of a research report published by Kansas State University discusses the cause and other aspects of mycotoxins in grains.  The author is Tim Herrman.  The publication date was May 2002.  right off he sates that "The word mycotoxin was derived from mycotoxicosis, which was a term first used in 1955 to describe diseases of animals caused by fungal toxins."  It's been 60 years now and the medical community is not yet tuned in.

Mycotoxins contaminate cereal grains worldwide, and their presence in pet food has been a potential health threat to companion animals.  Aflatoxins, ochratoxin A, and Fusarium mycotoxins have been found in both raw ingredients and final products of pet food around the globe.  Aflatoxin, a hepatotoxin and carcinogen, has caused several food poisoning outbreaks in dogs, and aflatoxin content is regulated in pet food in many countries.