What Are Deer Antler Supplements? Health Effects and Safety

Deer antler extracts and powders, which are becoming increasingly popular among bodybuilders and athletes seeking to boost their strength and endurance, have been doing so in recent years.

They’ve been used to promote youthfulness, fertility, blood pressure, and other things throughout the ages.

However, despite their popularity, there is little scientific evidence to suggest that these pills improve athletic performance in people.

Deer antler supplements are a type of supplement that has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine to promote growth or treat joint pain.

What is deer antler velvet?

Deer antler velvet is the soft, fuzzy, protective hair that covers the bone and cartilage of growing antlers that have not yet calcified.

Deer antlers are remarkable for their speed of growth, which is among the quickest of any animal’s bones. Deer and elk, on the other hand, replace and shed their antlers every year.

Chinese Medicine, respect young deer antler velvet pills. They’ve been utilized in Traditional Chinese Medicine for thousands of years.

How the supplements are made

Young, uncalcified deer or elk antlers are surgically removed to create antler velvet supplements.

Before their velvet antlers are chopped off near the base, the animals are put to sleep with anesthetic. The fine powder is then extracted from the antler bone and processed into a supplement.

The powder is available in bulk or capsule form. Deer antler extracts and sprays, which are made by dissolving the powder in a solution, are also available.

Traditional uses and today’s health claims

Deer antler velvet has traditionally been used to strengthen bones, boost immunity, and treat a variety of ailments including toothaches and tissue damage.

Today, a simple Internet search may provide you with a list of over 30 ailments for which the supplement is claimed to help.

The most popular uses for creatine are to enhance strength, endurance, athletic performance, and the repair of damaged muscle and tissue.

Examine the ingredients, read reviews from customers, and search for more information about this product. It is a combination of substances that are not well-researched.

Nutrition

In theory, deer antler velvet has medicinal properties due to its components. Researchers discovered an enzyme cocktail in the velvet antlers of Formosan sambar deer, which are indigenous to Taiwan, with antioxidant activity. These enzymes included superoxide dismutase (SOD), catalase (CAT), and glutathione peroxidase (GPX).

Deer antlers also contain beneficial compounds that may be found in other parts of the deer’s body, according to a 2013 study. Amino acids are the basic components of proteins, while peptides are chains of linked amino acids.

Deer antler velvet’s protein content, according to newer research, is also responsible for its health benefits.

Protein peptides from antler velvet may have anti-inflammatory, immunomodulating, and heart-health-promoting activities in a manner that has been demonstrated in several recent test tube research.

Finally, deer velvet includes organic molecules called nucleosides, which are the building blocks of DNA. These compounds may be responsible for deer velvet’s claimed ability to reduce tiredness.

Potential benefits

Deer antler velvet may include useful elements and bioactive chemicals, but there has been limited research on human health advantages.

Researchers are currently investigating the following as possible advantages:

  • Bone and cartilage growth. According to test tube research, antler velvet can help cure bone disease and cartilage damage. Furthermore, one animal study found that it improved femoral bone length and bone enzyme levels.
  • Anti-fatigue and strengthening properties. Mice have been given antler velvet supplements in attempts to improve their swimming abilities. The more nucleosides a supplement contains, the faster mice swam according to studies. This shows improved strength and less fatigue.
  • Osteoarthritis treatment. Deer antler velvet includes chondroitins, which are components of cartilage, and this might alleviate pain in those with osteoarthritis. Furthermore, other substances found in deer antler velvet may promote the development of bones.
  • Anti-cancer properties. Test-tube and mouse studies have found that antler velvet supplements have anti-tumor and anti-cancer effects.
  • Hair growth and skin health. According to several studies, deer antler velvet pills may promote skin and hair cells in mice, humans, and test tubes. As a result, they might help promote hair development and skin health.

Despite these promising results, there are just not enough high-quality human studies to back up deer antler velvet supplements’ purported medical benefits.

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