General Idea
For more than 3,000 years, Deer Antler Velvet has been traditionally used as a medicinal compound in Chinese medicine. Considering it’s been used as a medical remedy for so long, it’s only understandable that the claims are convincing. According to assertions, Deer Antler Velvet can increase strength and endurance, boost levels of testosterone and can even revive your once lost sex drive. It can achieve countless health benefits it’s almost a miracle. However, the use of Deer Antler Velvet is not allowed in some sports.
Still, what’s real and what’s not? Read on to be further informed.
What’s this Product For?
Deer Antler Velvet is to allow you to heal faster, boost your levels of testosterone, heighten your immunity, as well as increase your energy and stamina. The supplement seems to live up to its promise that numerous men are quite pleased with it. Aside from the mentioned benefits, Deer Antler Velvet also encourages muscle development. It even helps one lose weight and enhance his/her red blood cell count.
Deer Antler Velvet’s benefits don’t stop there. There are strong claims that this supplement can also help solve some medical concerns. Here they are:
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
How Does Deer Antler Velvet Work?
Deer Antler Velvet’s efficiency can be attributed to the following primary growth factors:
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
Deer Antler Velvet and the Ray Lewis Issue
Ray Lewis is a Baltimore Ravens linebacker. In 2013, he underwent triceps surgery. To help him recover more quickly he took Deer Antler Velvet, or at least he was accused for doing so.
Growth hormones are crucial to stimulate development and repair if needed. With growth hormones, muscles, joints, and cartilages are built. These hormones also help in the performance of other important bodily functions. But when the growth hormones decline, we become less healthy and are more likely to get sick.
It is unfortunate that nowadays we work very hard to the point of pushing ourselves too hard. We don’t get enough sleep, nutrients from our food, and we don’t even have the time to exercise. Over time, this unhealthy way of living becomes a physical and mental strain that’s stress. Stress causes the levels of our growth hormones to decline.
Depletion of growth hormones because of stress is normal and unfortunate. But it’s not permanent. You can use Deer Antler Velvet to restore the balance of your growth hormones. Furthermore, this supplement is also being lauded by being able to boost IGF-1.
Higher IGF-1 is much better because of the following reasons:
It can decrease fat
It can augment the lean body mass
It can support in glucose metabolism
It can construct bones, muscles, and nerves
Making of Deer Antler Velvet
Deer Antler Velvet comes from the antlers of deer, which are reaped when the deer are young and their antlers are still wrapped in soft, furry velvet. This is why it’s called Deer Antler Velvet.
Each year, antlers are reaped. To be able to do so, the deer are put to sleep, held down, and given anesthetic to not feel the pain of their antlers being removed.
Of course, these animals are not harmed. Once the antlers are gone, they are returned to their homes in the fields to wander freely again. The elimination of their antlers has no side effects.
Afterwards, antlers are processed through sterilization and freezing them up. They are next sliced or powdered, whatever form is required.
The Many Faces of Deer Antler Velvet
Deer Antler Velvet has many forms. In Asia, it can be consumed by being made into tea or soup. This is because this supplement is sold as slices of powder and has to be boiled in water.
In America, Deer Antler Velvet can be in slices, powder, or tincture. While slices and powder are boiled in water, tincture is the process where the Deer Antler Velvet is soaked in grain alcohol for over a month. This results to the alcohol extracting helpful chemicals from the Deer Antler Velvet, which is called “alcohol soluble compounds”.
If you’re just using Deer Antler Velvet by boiling it in water for soup or tea, then the extracted liquid is called “water soluble compounds”. Both are good and must be tried.
IGF-1 Deer Spray
The brands of deer velvet sprays available in the market today are: Antler Plus, BioAntler, and AntlerX. It is believed that oral sprays are far better in terms of digestion compared to the ones that have to be taken orally via the digestive system.
Deer Antler Velvet – Adverse Reactions
As of this writing, there haven’t been any clinical or scientific studies and tests done to confirm the claims on Deer Antler Velvet. Until there is, it’s most reasonable to be on the safe side. Protect yourself by cycling the use of this supplement on and off.
Anyhow, WebMd believes that taking Deer Antler Velvet is safe as long as taken orally for at least 12 weeks. As for adverse reactions, there are none, or anyone from the medical community, that we know of.
Bear in mind that having hormonal problems makes you the worst candidate for Deer Antler Velvet. You can seek for your doctor’s advice whether it’s fine to use this supplement despite of a hormonal issue or not.
Pregnant women and lactating mothers cannot take Deer Antler Velvet. It’s not safe yet as there’s not sufficient proof that suggests this supplement can be taken by the aforementioned women.
Reading More Research
If you want to know more, educate yourself with these links below:
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
