IGF 1, insulin like growth factor 1, is a protein hormone produced in the liver. It is said to be insulin like because its molecular shape and size are similar to insulin and it is picked up by the same receptors in the cells, though not as readily as insulin. It is also picked up by its own special cell receptors where it serves to control several different factors of cell growth.

The body’s production of IGF 1 is stimulated by the presence of HGH, human growth hormone. HGH is produced by the pituitary gland in the brain. Because of this relationship, testing for high levels of IGF 1 has become the norm for testing athletes to see if they are using HGH as a performance enhancing drug. There are, however, several factors that could lead to elevated levels of IGF 1 without a corresponding increase in HGH levels.

The function of IGF 1 in the body is to bind with certain receptors in each cell to activate what is known as the AKT signaling pathway. Once activated, this signaling pathway controls cell growth and division as well slowing down incidence of “programmed cell death”. The overall effect is that IGF 1 is actually the direct cause of normal growth and development and could hold a key to how the aging process works and could be slowed.

In cases where the body does not produce enough HGH to stimulate the manufacture of IGF 1, the person does not grow properly. In some cases, Laron Dwarfism for one, the deficiency is not treatable by introduction of HGH because of damage at the cellular level to the GH receptors that trigger the production of IGF 1. In most other cases of retarded growth, however, introduction of HGH will trigger normal growth.

High levels of IGF 1 have been linked to complications with cancer. The increased growth factor leads to the cancer cells growing and dividing more rapidly, which leads to faster tumor growth. Studies are underway to see what effect blocking IGF 1 can have on tumors.

Declining production of HGH as we get older has been shown to be directly linked to the aging process. People have been supplementing HGH as a means to slow the aging process. Recent studies have shown that the actual hormone responsible for slowing the aging process and burning off excess fat is, in fact, IGF 1. Due to potential health problems associated with overdosing on HGH, companies are looking into supplementing with IGF 1 directly instead of supplementing HGH.

Deer Velvet is a supplement that is gaining in popularity. Manufactured mostly in New Zealand, the supplement is created from the powdered extract of the growing antlers of members of the cervidae family of deer. During this growing phase, the antlers are covered by skin, blood vessels, and other living tissues. One of the most prominent substances found in the growing antlers is the protein IGF 1.

Deer velvet is a renewable supply of the protein because it grows back each year and can be harvested annually without causing any harm to the animals. The antlers are removed in a humane manner while still in velvet to take advantage of all the benefits of the growing antlers.

One of the hazards of using deer velvet as a source of IGF 1 supplementation is the possibility of contracting Creutzfeld-Jacob Disease, a close cousin of mad cow disease and the chronic wasting disease that affects deer in some parts of the world. The same type of problem was encountered in early HGH supplementation when the ground up pituitary glands of human cadavers was the source of growth hormone. Synthesized hormones produced in the lab do not carry the same hazards associated with recovering living tissue to provide the proteins and hormones.