Deer antler velvet is a remarkable nutrient-dense superfood, containing 40 key compounds and 400 active ingredients, including the powerful protein IGF-1. Scientists have established that it contains 13 growth factors, 21 amino acids, 20 glycosaminoglycans and many minerals and trace elements, and it's believed these work synergistically in the human body to restore the body's systems to balance.
Its medicinal value was recognised by the Romans and central Europeans as promoting wellbeing and good health, and Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) has used it as a medicinal herb for over 2000 years, its use in therapeutic formulas second only to Ginseng. This traditional usage is now being shown by research to have significant therapeutic effects, validating its use and making a compelling case for its inclusion as a supplement in our every day life. It is a completely safe, 100% natural, and well tolerated dietary supplement.
Deer antlers are unique in that they are the only organised mammalian tissue that completely regrows, and does so every year. Many lower animals such as newts can renew damaged parts of their bodies, but antler growth is the only example of mammals being able to regrow large complex organs. Not only that, but it also grows extraordinarily rapidly, and this rapid growth is likely to be regulated by pharmacodynamic substances that are either unique, or that can be found in other tissues but are at particularly high concentrations in deer velvet.
Research suggests that unlike the regenerative process in the newt, antler growth appears to involve specific stimulation of the necessary stem cells present in the vicinity. The regeneration of antlers remains one of the mysteries of biology, but scientists are gradually moving toward understanding the mechanisms involved. Although deer velvet research has so far barely scratched the surface, it may be that these same mechanisms are responsible for the healing and anti-ageing effects of velvet on the human body when taken as a supplement.
Because velvet antler regenerates completely each spring, it can be removed annually by a humane process carried out under strict guidelines by a vet. Whether they are removed or left to cast naturally, antlers are replaced the following spring by the same natural growth process, so deer velvet is a renewable resource, and velvet removal benefits the welfare of stags by reducing the risk of injury by fighting during the mating season.