Elk Antler Velvet Benefits: Pills vs. Spray

Elk antler velvet is the soft tissue that covers the cartilage of deer antlers before they calcify into bones. It has been harvested for centuries and used in Chinese traditional medicine to revitalize, repair, rejuvenate and regenerate muscles and tissues. Traditionally, it is taken as tea, with velvet slices soaked in hot water and herbs. Today, it is often grinded, powdered and encapsulated in the form of pills or converted into a liquid and used as a sublingual spray.

Elk Antler Velvet Pills vs. Elk Antler Velvet Spray

When we talk about the effectiveness of a medicine or supplement, the bio-availability is a huge deciding factor. It means how fast a supplement is absorbed by the body.

Potency (strength of substance) maybe high but once it passes in the body and goes through several organs before being able to be absorbed by the blood, it can lose some of its effectiveness. Pills are swallowed and need to be digested by the intestines to go into the bloodstream. When one takes elk antler pills with food, its potency will be further reduced.

Elk antler sprays are administered sublingually or just under the tongue. When the elk antler spray comes in contact with the mucous membrane, it is immediately diffused through the membrane, into the capillaries, into the bloodstream and passes through the heart. From the heart, it is pumped out into the body, spreading through targeted organs – all this in a matter of seconds.

Dosage

When taking elk antler velvet, whether in pill or spray form, it is important to know that its effects are gradual and cumulative. Results are developed over time through consistent use.

It is difficult to provide a recommended dose rate for velvet as amounts used around the world have evolved over 2,000 years, historical records may not specify doses, there are differences in the way deer velvet is obtained, processed and administered, and it is frequently administered in combination with other remedies.

Korea

A typical Korean dose of velvet antler is 1,200 mg of sliced dried velvet each day with other herbs. This is made into a hot water extract and the resultant broth is filtered and drunk.

China

Recommended doses of velvet antler in China are 900-1,200 mg/day of velvet antler powder and the liquor from 3,000-4,500 mg/day ground powder boiled in water.

New Zealand

Most deer velvet capsule manufacturers recommend 1 to 4 capsules of dry powder each day. This is equivalent to 250 to 2,800 mg/day depending on the size of the capsule and the precise recommendation. The most commonly recommended dose is two capsules or about 500-750 mg/day.