Deer Velvet Antler is a crushed antler that is orally consumed for preventative health purposes.
Hailing from Traditional Chinese Medicine, it is believed that velvet antler may aid skin regeneration rates, and more.
Velvet Antler may also be obtained from elk.
These antlers regenerate rapidly and commonly fall off, and appear to have been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine for general preventative health purposes.
Velvet antler is composed of a variety of different tissues, including cartilage, and is also rich in collagen, a crucial protein, and glycosaminoglycans.
Glucosaminoglycans help form proteoglycans cartilage that regulates water retention and cell differentiation and also help proliferate chondrocytes in cartilage tissue.
Velvet antlers contain almost 40 key compounds that include: ·
- Chondroitin sulfate, a carbohydrate that attracts the liquid to proteoglycan molecules and protects the cartilage from destructive enzymes.·
- Glucosamine sulfate, the cartilage building block, and a reported anti-inflammation, that is easily absorbed by the body·
- Lipids help to build cells and increase energy·
- Prostaglandins, powerful anti-inflammatory agents·
- Monoamine oxidase inhibitors, which increase mood·
- The selenium, which reduces the infections and protects the cells from the blood, heart, liver, and lungs·
- Calcium, for bones, teeth, nerves, blood clotting and muscle contraction·
- Collagen, an important structural protein that joins the joints and serves as the main component of the joint cartilage·
- Phosphorus, which helps build bones and teeth, and is a key component of the metabolic reaction·
- Polysaccharides, which help regulate blood clotting activity·
- All the essential amino acids, the blocks of protein construction·
- Potassium, for nerves and muscles·
- Magnesium, to help cells restore and release energy·
- Bone morphogenetic protein, which accelerates bony growth·
- Growth factors that help the development of cartilage cells
Deer Antler Extract – Efficacy
The bulk of the benefits of deer extract are generally attributed to IGF-1, the growth factor hormone that is found both in the development of deer antlers and in the human tissue.
IGF-1 calls for a fast-firing cell division, rapid tissue transformation in the muscle, and cartilage in the bone. These qualities make supplemental IGF-1s fit for the bodybuilding community.
The following are the main benefits of muscle building and overall fitness which are often mentioned in deer antler extract reviews:
- Build muscle tone·
- Improves resistance and stamina·
- Attendance to fat burning·
- Helps to create a “ripped” physique·
- Increase the recovery of workouts·
- Cure broken muscle more quickly·
- Build a strong bone and Joint support
Fitness benefit is only one side of the benefits tree, as many people use the product outside of the gym for a host of reasons, including:
- Add red blood cells·
- Improves sexual health·
- Reduce ED·
- Erase acne·
- detoxified the kidneys and liver·
- It has neuroprotective qualities·
- It reduces muscular wear disorders·
- Support for osteoarthritis·
- Anti-aging·
- Protection against cancer, and general Immunity
With regard to these claims, studies indicate that the gains of sports performance of bodybuilding are still not backed by sufficient formal research.
This does not mean that the results do not exist, simply that the objective scientific evidence to date is too preliminary to explain why these benefits are occurring.
Clinical Research
Although traditional Chinese medical literature goes back more than 2,000 years, the benefits of velvet extract as a primary medical substance are extreme.
Recent studies provide clear scientific evidence that supports the use of velvet extract to alleviate the symptoms of osteoarthritis, with additional research indicating that the deer antler velvet can provide beneficial effects in several other areas, including cardiovascular health, mental health, and growth and strength improvement.
Osteoarthritis is caused by the loss of the cartilage in the bony joints. In normal joints, the cartilage serves as a buffer between bones.
In general, the body replenishes the cartilage as it wears out, but when osteoarthritis occurs, the cartilage deteriorates faster than the body can replace it.
Finally, the bones begin to rub together, causing pain, swelling, and loss of joint mobility.
Researchers believe that the imbalance between cartilage erosion and regeneration in osteoarthritis is caused by a lack of glycosaminoglycans, which play a vital role in the structural integrity of cartilage.
Several studies point toward the fact that velvet antler can reduce or even eliminate symptoms associated with osteoarthritis.
Recent clinical tests suggest oral ingestion of glycosaminoglycan-peptide complex, or components such as chondroitin sulfate and glucosamine sulfate, both of which are found in velvet antler, may help stimulate cartilage repair.
A study conducted by Suttie and Haines found that animals fed with high levels of active antler velvet extract grew significantly faster and as much as 12 % more than a control group.
The animals also experienced increased liver weight and higher bone calcium content and appeared to show a decrease in calcium excretion.
This rapid development is caused by the high content of bone morphogenetic proteins, which regulate the growth of the bones, as well as growth factors I and II.
These growth factors increase the speed of cell division during antlers development and can contribute to the medicinal effects of antler velvet extract.
In addition, the velvet extract contains amino acids that have been tested in studies to increase the levels of growth hormones in humans.
Several studies also show a positive correlation between consistent use of velvet antler and cardiovascular health, as human subjects who used antler were able to endure larger workloads and experienced a shorter recovery time between exercises.
Deer Antler Spray Safety
The following are the most cited side effects and the risks mentioned in the deer antler extracts:
- Consistent overdose can lead to hormonal imbalances related to estrogen
- Women could develop fibrous tumors with excessive use
- Women can experience reproductive cancers with excessive use
- Allergic reactions are possible
- The product can be contaminated with anesthesia (xylazine) used in the collection of antler from low-quality sources
However, studies and the other research seems to favor the popular hypothesis that deer antler extracts do not deliver sufficient amounts of IGF-1 to create the above problems, with the conclusion of these studies being that there is not sufficient evidence to support any risk factor.
Conclusion
The good news is that none of the health regulatory institutions all over the world has issued any serious warnings about possible side effects of the deer antler spray.
Although the risks of injecting IGF-1 and anabolic steroids are often discussed, no important report indicates a real concern for the similar side effects of deer antler supplements.
Even CNBC and CBS have presented deer antler extract reviews that demonstrate the use and helpfulness of the supplement for professional athletes, and that could be as close as the public will get to a full endorsement of deer antler sprays for the time being.