Speaking of deer antler, a tonic, can modern people take advantage of it?

There is a plot in the movie "The Burning of the Old Summer Palace" starring Liu Xiaoqing: In order to nourish the body of the last emperor Puyi, Empress Dowager Cixi caught sika deer in the royal deer farm, sawed off the antlers, and released the blood of the deer... This plot was one of the shadows of my childhood. It brought a huge impact to my young mind, but it also made me remember that deer antler is a tonic. From then on, I also had a childhood filter for tonics.

In recent years, people's living standards have been continuously improved, and health preservation has gradually entered the lives of the people. Are these precious Chinese medicines, such as deer antler, ginseng, and Cistanche deserticola, suitable for health preservation?

Today, I will use deer antler as an introduction to talk to you about tonics~~

Deer antler, the treasure of all treasures

Everyone is familiar with the sika deer and red deer in the zoo, right? The sika deer or red deer, male deer of the Cervidae family, have densely hairy, unossified young horns on their heads, which are called antlers. The antlers of sika deer are commonly known as "flower antlers", and the antlers of red deer are commonly known as "red deer antlers".

Deer antler has the functions of strengthening kidney yang, benefiting essence and blood, strengthening tendons and bones, regulating Chong and Ren meridians, and supporting sores and toxins. Ordinary people have the saying that "deer body contains hundreds of treasures", which means that all parts of a deer are treasures and "magic pills". The Compendium of Materia Medica records that deer antler, deer horn, deer horn glue, deer horn cream, deer blood, deer brain, deer tail, deer kidney, deer tendon, deer fat, deer meat, deer head meat, deer bones, deer teeth, deer marrow, etc. can all be used as medicine, with extremely high medicinal value and health care effects. The newly born young horns of deer are regarded as "the treasure of treasures". Modern chemical analysis shows that deer antler contains phospholipids, glycolipids, gum lipids, hormones, fatty acids, amino acids, proteins, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, sodium and other components, of which amino acids account for more than half of the total components.

As a well-known precious medicinal material, deer antler is very good, so it is often used to nourish the body and given as a gift to relatives and friends. But in fact, not everyone can enjoy such a precious tonic.

The pros and cons of supplements

If Chinese medicine is not used in a differentiated way, it can easily lead to the wrong treatment, or even more harm than good. Tonic medicines all have this problem, especially strong tonics like deer antler and ginseng.

In the book "Yan Jing Yan·Yao Yao Lun II", Mo Meishi said: "All medicines that can expel evil can hurt the body; all medicines that can replenish deficiency can retain evil." This sentence means that Chinese medicine relies on its bias to treat diseases, and making good use of the bias of medicine is the prerequisite for choosing Chinese medicine for tonic. Zheng Qinan, a famous doctor in the Qing Dynasty, also mentioned: "When taking medicine for the right disease, aconite, rhubarb, and arsenic are treasures; when taking medicine for the wrong disease, ginseng, deer antler, and wolfberry are all arsenic." This sentence further shows that nourishing at the wrong time is harmful.

Traditional Chinese medicine says "tonify the deficiency and purge the excess". In ancient times, due to wars, social unrest, low production and living standards, the quality of life of the general public was not guaranteed, and many people suffered from deficiency syndrome, so tonic medicine was very useful.

Today, the modern lifestyle is very different from that of ancient times. Modern people live a rich life and often have problems such as improper diet, overeating, partiality and drinking. Most of them are caused by the body's positive symptoms. If a patient with positive symptoms continues to use tonics in large quantities and for a long time, it will only be counterproductive.

In the information age, the bombardment of advertisements for various tonics on TV, radio, and the Internet often leads to incorrect perceptions of so-called "tonics" and increases the risk of drug abuse. "All medicines are poisonous", and the misuse of tonics often backfires. Not only does it fail to nourish the body, but it also causes unnecessary "tonic diseases".

To quote an advertisement: Although deer antler is good, it still needs to be treated with the right medicine for the “symptom”, so don’t be “greedy”!

Author: Ren Rong, deputy chief pharmacist of Tianjin University General Hospital

Review expert: Li Bin, deputy chief pharmacist of Tianjin University General Hospital

Li Zhengxiang, Chief Pharmacist, Tianjin University General Hospital