Product Overview
Deer Antler Velvet has been utilized for more than three centuries as a potent substance in the traditional Chinese medicine. The claims on Deer Antler Velvet are strong – increase energy and stamina, boost testosterone levels, and revive libido, among others. Interestingly, Deer Antler Velvet is also banned in the field of sports.
But is there more to it? Does it deserve to be banned? Continue reading to be informed about everything there is to know about Deer Antler Velvet.
What’s its Purpose?
Firstly, there are numerous men who live by this supplement. Some of the advantages being claimed are quicker recuperation period, boosted testosterone levels, improved immunity, as well as enhanced strength and fortitude.
Deer Antler Velvet has also been claimed to encourage muscle development, help in the weight loss proves, and heighten the count of red blood cells.
The list below shows other conditions that Deer Antler Velvet can address:
high cholesterol high blood pressure
migraines osteoporosis
muscle aches and pains headache
asthma liver and kidney disorders
indigestion cold hands and feet
erectile dysfunction arthritis
chronic skin ulcers mental retardation
PMS anemia
What Deer Antler Velvet Can Do?
Considering the medical issues Deer Antler Velvet can help with, it seems this supplement covers multiple benefits. But how does Deer Antler Velvet actually function to attain all these benefits? Essentially, this supplement has significant growth factors, such as:
Interleukins
EGF – Epidermal Growth Factor
FGF – Fibroblast Growth Factor
NGF – Neurotrophin Growth Factor
IGF-1 and IGF-2 – Insulin-like Growth Factors 1 and 2
TGF-A and TGF-B – Transforming Growth Factors A and B
Ray Lewis Controversy
In 2013, Baltimore Ravens linebacker Ray Lewis was accused of using Deer Antler Velvet to accelerate his recuperation from triceps surgery. Growth hormones are natural part of development and restoration. They’re the ones that construct muscles, joints, and cartilage. Growth hormones also do other important functions in the body. In the case that the growth hormones lose its balance, an ailment happens.
It is true that there are many people who push their bodies too hard. We work rigorously, but sleep less and eat unhealthy food most of the time. We also don’t exercise. We become so stressed, which leads to lower levels of growth hormones.
If your growth hormones have been exhausted because of stress, Deer Antler Velvet can help to restore the hormones and bring back stability once again.
Additionally, Deer Antler Velvet is also typically commended for its capacity to boost IGF-1. The IGF-1 has the following advantages:
lessens fat
boosts lean body mass
helps in glucose metabolism
constructs bone, muscles, and nerves
Deer Antler Velvet: Where Did It Come From?
The origin of Deer Antler Velvet is a usual question among people. This supplement comes from deers, or from their antlers, to be specific, hence its moniker. Antlers are yielded when deers are young since their antlers are still enclosed in soft, furry velvet.
The antlers are harvested each year during a deer’s life. The animals undergo sedation, restraint, and are given anesthetic to not feel pain when antlers are taken away. The deers are being cared for during this process. They’re not harmed and are returned to the fields without any adverse reactions with their antlers being gone.
Processing of the antlers is next conducted. This undergoes sterilization and freezing. These are also cut up and powdered and produced in various forms, whatever is required.
Deer Antler Velvet
Deer Antler Velvet is being sold either in slices of powder in Asia. Both are used by being boiled in water, typically with other herbal substances, so as to be served as soup or tea.
Aside from being in the slice and powder forms, Deer Antler Velvet can also be found as tincture in the US.
For those who are not aware, a tincture is an herb or fungi immersed in grain alcohol for more than a month. Through the alcohol, advantageous chemicals are extracted from the deer antler velvet. These beneficial chemicals are called “alcohol soluble compounds”.
On the other hand, when you make soup or tea by using boiling water with this product, you ultimately take out “water soluble compounds”.
Various compounds have multiple aftermaths in the body. This is exactly the reason why it’s better to consume both.
IGF-1 Deer Spray
As for deer velvet sprays, there are multiple famous brands. These are BioAntler, Deer Antler Plus, and AntlerX. These products are distributed as an oral spray. This is considered a far better approach to being assimilated in the body rather than via oral ingestion.
What are the Side Effects?
Deer Antler Velvet has no clinical or scientific backgrounds. So, to be on the safe side, the use of this supplement should be cycled on and off. This is to reset your body and not allow it to become so adapted to this product. This way, it is guaranteed that Deer Antler Velvet still works effectively.
As of this writing, websites like Supplement View regard Deer Antler Velvet “as possibly safe when taken by mouth for up to 12 weeks”. Any adverse reactions from taking this supplement are unknown in the present.
If you’re having a hormonal problem, ask your doctor if it’s harmless to use Deer Antler Velvet. This is because the supplement boosts hormone levels such as the levels of testosterone and estrogen. Thus, using Deer Antler Velvet can further destabilize your hormone levels if you’re already experiencing hormonal imbalance.
This supplement is also not suitable for pregnant women and lactating mothers as the evidence is not yet sufficient to determine its safety.
Additional Research
If you’re keen in knowing more about this supplement, you can read these articles for your benefits:
Deer antler base as a traditional Chinese medicine: a review of its traditional uses, chemistry and pharmacology.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/23246455
Effect of elk velvet antler supplementation on the hormonal response to acute and chronic exercise in male and female rowers.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16286669
Deer antlers: a zoological curiosity or the key to understanding organ regeneration in mammals?
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/16313394
Elk velvet antler in rheumatoid arthritis: phase II trial. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12003439
The effects of deer antler velvet extract or powder supplementation on aerobic power, erythropoiesis, and muscular strength and endurance characteristics.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14669926
