What is Deer Antler Velvet?

Antler velvet is the name given to "young" antlers because they are covered in soft fury velvet. These newly forming antlers are made up of cartilage and contain blood vessels and nerves. It takes around 16 weeks for antlers to reach full maturity, and at the end of this growth cycle antlers will be actual bone. Deer will scrape the velvet off of their antlers once fully grown to expose the hard bone.

Deer cast off and regenerate new antlers every year. Antlers are typically cast off at the end of winter with regrowth beginning in early spring. Antlers are the only mammalian organ that regenerates annually, unlike horns, which are permanent. Only members of the deer family, or cervids, have antlers. This includes elk, caribou, reindeer, and moose.

Antler velvet is harvested by clipping off the tips of the antlers. This clipping takes place about half way through their growth cycle. Harvesting the antler velvet is a humane process that doesn't cause harm or stress to the animal. The clipped antler portions are cut into four pieces, each with its own unique health promoting qualities. The very tip of the antler contains the most magic, or health promoting substances, and the larger the antlers, the higher the potency.

The majority of the antler velvet found in the marketplace today is harvested from deer farms in New Zealand and China. Other countries that produce antler velvet include Russia, The United States, and Canada. The number one antler velvet product we've encountered is elk antler velvet, which is formulated from elk antlers procured in the United States. For more information, see our Elk Antler Velvet article.

Now that you know what deer antler velvet is, let's look at what makes it such a powerful health tonic. Because it takes a good deal of biologically active components to carry out the rapid rate of growth seen in new antler formation, naturally antler velvet contains some pretty awesome stuff. Some of the key ingredients found in antler velvet include:

• Growth Hormones and Growth Factors
• Amino Acids
• Minerals
• Phospholipids (fats)
• Collagen
• Chondroitin Sulfate
• Glucosamine Sulfate

This list is by no means exhaustive, but gives you a general idea of what's in antler velvet. For more detail see: What's in Deer Antler Velvet? Feel free to explore other articles on deer antler velvet and learn how you might benefit from its tremendous health and longevity promoting properties.