Because EVA is presently marketed as a food product, Oberle says it hasn t undergone any of the rigorous testing that pharmaceutical drugs normally undergo. At the moment, people are at liberty to make whatever claims they want about it. EVA has been used as a complementary therapy in the Orient for over 3,000 years. Harvesting EVA is now one of the fastest growing North American agricultural industries. EVA is harvested annually from elk livestock on farms.
Male elk grow and shed their antlers every year.
It is in the early stages of growth, while elk antlers are still velvety in appearance, that the antlers are thought to be most therapeutic. At this time antler tissue is extremely vascular and can grow to more than 40 pounds in just over two months. For people suffering from rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that causes joint swelling and immobility, EVA holds much promise. And even for those people who are on medication, the side effects are often so nasty that arthritis sufferers are always looking for alternative therapies. Designing a study to see if EVA can alleviate arthritic symptoms is not a simple task.