Powerful Tonic Effects

In the Western world today countless people suffer from the effects of chronic fatigue, tiredness and low vitality. It could almost be called the plague of twentieth century existence, waking in the morning feeling sluggish, seeming never to have the energy we would like to get everything done and then falling into bed at night exhausted. To combat this lack of energy we pour another cup of coffee which works in the short term, but with long term use stimulants such as caffeine deplete the body’s energy resources even further.

Perhaps the most insidious energy thief, apart from bad diet and lack of exercise, is stress. According to American author Dr Pelletier, stress related illnesses "have become the number one social and health problem in the last decade." Continuous stress undermines the body’s natural defences and weakens the immune system with the resulting disease and debilitating illness, from heart attacks and strokes to the symptoms of chronic fatigue syndrome.

As resistance to disease is controlled by the immune system, any remedies that work to strengthen this defensive system are becoming much in demand, and with the results of New Zealand scientific research backing up the claims of traditional Chinese medicine, velvet antler can now take its place in Western healthcare as one of nature’s most effective immune boosting supplements.

Doctor of pharmacology, Stephen Fulder, has extensively explored the healing properties of the Chinese ‘kingly remedies’ and describes velvet antler as belonging in the category of what he calls harmony drugs. As he says, "It has no apparent effect in the absence of stress, but as soon as stress is applied it restores body processes to normal... In other words, the stress sets the drugs working, and the body’s general resistance is increased."

To stimulate the system without robbing it of energy is a subject of vital interest to health practitioners, and as information on the uses and properties of Chinese herbs becomes more freely available this interest has become particularly focused on those substances referred to as ‘tonics’ in the Chinese pharmacopeia. As tonic is a somewhat vague description, the term ‘adaptogen’ has been coined, meaning that the function of these remedies is to increase the body’s ability to adapt to the environment, to adapt physically and mentally to the changes and stresses of life. They are the herbs that promote inner vitality and energy while increasing the body’s resistance to stress and disease. Among these, velvet antler has always been regarded as one of the finest to be found.

As Ron Teeguarden notes in his book on tonic herbs:

Many people in the West who had previously used stimulants such as coffee, amphetamines, or cocaine have switched to the harmless Pantocrin for quick substantial energy. Pantocrin has been found to be a healthful central nervous system stimulant.

At Ron’s exclusive Tea Garden Herbal Emporium in Malibu, California, the rejuvenating properties of Chinese herbs are becoming sought after by the rich and famous. Actor Mel Gibson swears by the efficacy of tonic herbal formulas, and "Mel’s Punch", held to be "the ultimate health cocktail", contains deer antler, herbs and mushrooms and costs $20 a thimbleful.

While Hollywood stars spread the word about their costly rejuvenating formulas, a great deal of research into many of these traditional herbs has been carried out in Russia. Studies focusing on the effects of velvet antler extract in clinical testing have shown an overwhelming recurring theme—that it has a powerful tonic and revitalising effect on the individual, especially on a person weakened in any way by stress or illness. It is in this capacity that velvet antler seems bound to play an important role in the future.

Fulder writes:

Pantocrin has for years been regularly administered to promote patient recovery in Soviet hospitals and clinics, the earliest clinical reports appearing in the 1930s. It too is found useful in promoting recovery and a restoration of health in convalescents, undernourished and tubercular children, and those weakened by chronic diseases.

He goes on to say,

Professor Albov, for example, has tested it extensively in patients who were one degree under for some time after diseases such as viral infections or dysentery. He notes a restoration of blood pressure, improved mood, digestion, stamina and body weight. He also recounts his experience of the use of pantocrine in helping soldiers with serious war-wounds to return to health and strength.

As research into the active constituents of velvet antler which endow it with such tremendous restorative powers are ongoing, the testimonials from people who have discovered its energy enhancing qualities fill the files of velvet antler producers in the West.

Experimental research has demonstrated that velvet preparations can protect the body from stress such as, heat, cold and electric shock. Russian studies cited by Dr Fennessy report that patients treated with velvet extract prior to surgery for gastrointestinal tumours had significantly lower levels of stress indicators in the blood.

According to another Russian researcher, Dr Korobkov, velvet extract acts "by accelerating the body’s natural restorative processes and by increasing the body’s resistance to unfavourable external influence." In other experiments velvet antler helped to protect laboratory animals from liver damage by carbon tetrachloride.

Reprinted with permission from:
Velvet Antler - Nature's Superior Tonic by Alison Davidson,
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