Last week I stopped by a friend’s house and he handed me a small bottle of deer antler velvet extract and he asked me what I knew about this stuff. I told him I knew antler velvet was rich in growth factors as it is the fastest growing tissue in the animal kingdom, and it has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) for centuries to restore “chi” and to fight off infections. I mentioned I may have tried it years ago but didn’t recall the effects if any. He encouraged me to try it out, so when I got home I did. Three squirts of liquid under the tongue and held it there for a minute or so.

The rest of the day I did seem to have an abundance of energy and productivity, but it wasn’t until the next morning that I went, “Wow!”

Wow, because about 8 months ago I was doing some work on my house and twisted my left knee, tearing my medial meniscus. Despite taking all the right supplements like bromelain and glucosamine, the injury has been very slow to heal. Every morning my knee is stiff and painful.

Until the morning after I started on antler extract. For the first time in 8 months, I woke up free of pain. The knee is still not finished healing of course, but the elimination of inflammation and swelling was dramatic. Frankly, I was amazed. Astonished is a better word really.

Over this past weekend I have been reviewing the literature on deer antler velvet extract and want to share with you what I have found. I know it’s not just the middle aged weekend warriors like me who can potentially benefit from this. In TCM (the ancient, Traditional Chinese Medicine system, now known to be a reliable, tested source of evidence-based herbal remedies), antler extract is used to treat a wide range of age-related and stress-related conditions including arthritis, anemia, low libido, high blood pressure and so on.

In short, much like ginseng, astragalus and similar herbs, this animal product functions as an adaptogen. The regenerative and anti-inflammatory effects however, go far beyond the benefits of these commonly used herbal products.

The fact that one semi-grumpy middle aged man (yours truly) woke up one day free of knee pain is remarkable enough, but the story gets better. I have a friend who spends a great many stressful hours each day in front of her computer as a stock trader and she suffers from chronic neck and shoulder pain. I suggested she try the antler extract but, being a vegetarian, she declined. A couple of days went by and one afternoon I checked in on her at her office and she was beaming from ear to ear telling me she had a “life-changing” experience. My eyebrows went up. She said she tried the antler extract and within an hour the neck pain had all but disappeared! She then went to the gym and had one of her best workouts ever. She says feels like a new person.

I would have never believed this had I not just lived it. It’s Day 5 now and my knee continues to improve at an astonishing rate. My productivity and creativity in terms of my writing, has skyrocketed.