Thursday 26 May 2016

Is Deer Antler Velvet Extract Safe?

All substances that are of foreign origin or are not recognized by the body as natural parts of itself are considered not safe. This is the general consensus when one wants to examine whether drugs, chemicals, molecules, supplements, and other products are safe to consume or not. This also holds true with deer antler velvet extracts.

The idea of a substance being safe or not is the similarity of its components to those found in the body. Chemically and functionally similar substances or molecules will definitely not pose any major reaction. If substance A found in the body is known to produce an effect, then a structurally and functionally similar substance B will be able to produce the same effects of substance A. This is based on the assumption that substance A and B are structurally and functionally similar.

Unfortunately, there is clearly no such thing as an exactly the same substance except for the substance itself. If substance A and B are essentially the same, then there is no more need for a substance B, is there? But since there is a substance B, it only goes to show that there are some differences, small as they may be but differences nonetheless, with other similar substances. And these differences will often spell the safety concern of substances introduced in the body.

Deer antler velvet has been studied to contain about 53 percent of proteins, around 34 percent of minerals, 10 percent water, and 3 percent fats or lipids. It also contains 21 amino acids, 13 growth factors, and about 20 or so glycosaminoglycans. Depending on what part of the deer antler you get, you will have varying proportions of minerals and trace elements as well. For example, if you need more of the growth factors, the proteins, and the lipids, you definitely would want to go for the deer antler tips and the upper portion of the antler. If you are after the minerals and moisture, then you should go for the base of the deer antler.

Is deer antler velvet extract safe?

To give you an idea, it contains amino acids, insulin-like growth factors 1 and 2, epidermal growth factor, and collagen which are all important structural components of the body’s cells and tissues. It also contains glycosaminoglycans like glucosamine, chondroitin, and hyaluronic acid, all of which are important parts of the cartilage and the joints of the body. Deer antler velvet extract also contain phospholipids, prostaglandins, and glycosphingolipids for cellular health and reduction of inflammation. Calcium, phosphorus, sodium, magnesium, and potassium are all very important minerals for muscle and nerve functioning, nerve transmission, fluid and electrolyte balance, and bone and teeth development. Selenium, sulphur, copper, iron, zinc, and cobalt are also very important in a variety of physiologic processes including antioxidant protection, insulin regulation, enzymatic reactions, red blood cell formation, oxygen transport, cellular repair and regeneration, and cellular protection. Deer antler velvet extract also contains erythropoietin for stimulation of red blood cell production and monoamine-oxidase inhibitors to help regulate mood.

All of these substances are naturally found in the body. Given in our analogy that substance A is not necessarily substance B, and vice versa, it is thus safe to assume that deer antler velvet essentially contains substance As that are similar to the substance As present in the body. That said, it is considered to be generally safe.