Astaxanthin is one of the world’s most powerful anti-inflammatory nutrients and is over ten times more potent than other carotenoids. That’s a whole lot of antioxidant power! It’s found in microalgae, yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp and crayfish and it seems that astaxanthin benefits your health in a number of ways.
Without boring you too much with the science, astaxanthin (pronounced asta-ZAN-thin) is one of a group of natural pigments known as xanthophylls (pronounced ZAN-tho-fils) from the carotenoid family. Carotenoids are plant chemicals used by the plant to survive.
Astaxanthin is also the nutrient which gives animals such as salmon, lobster, shrimp, crab and flamingos their red or pink skin. This is due to all that astaxanthin-filled algae they eat.
The 11 Amazing Astaxanthin Benefits You Need to Know About
Astaxanthin is commonly referred to as being the strongest natural antioxidant in the world. Lab tests confirm that its antioxidant power is many times more potent than that of other nutrients like vitamin C, vitamin E, beta carotene, or lutein.
Similar to alpha lipoic acid, it can reach in to each and every cell in your body, fighting free radicals that would otherwise harm those cells. It can also pass into your brain to protect not only your brain, but your nervous system as well. It can also be absorbed your eyes to protect your vision.
With all that said, let’s get straight into the benefits of astaxanthin that everyone should know about.
It may prevent Alzheimer’s disease. There is substantial evidence that neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer’s, Huntington’s, Parkinson’s and so on, are caused (at least in part) by oxidative damage to your nervous system. Studies into astaxanthin show that it can pass through the blood-brain barrier to extend its antioxidant benefits. There has been little clinical research into astaxanthin in humans yet, but the science appears promising and preclinical trials seem to back it up. This is definitely one of the most significant astaxanthin benefits to watch out for.
It protects your eyes. A study in 2002 which looked at the effect of astaxanthin on the degree of eyestrain in VDU (visual display terminal) users showed that those who took 5mg per day of astaxanthin had significantly improved visual function compared to those taking the placebo, who’s vision was unchanged. Another study into healthy volunteers over 40 showed that after 28 days, the uncorrected far vision acuity improved vastly, with the sweet spot somewhere between 4mg and 12mg per day. This evidence shows that astaxanthin can not only reduce eyestrain in computer works, but also improve your eyesight as well.
It acts as natural sunscreen to prevent skin damage. A number of studies and clinical trials show that the reddening skin damage after exposure to UV rays was reduced by both synthetic and natural forms of astaxanthin – although it should be said that, as always, the natural form was far superior. One study referred to the synthetic form as “statistically non-significant”. The studies also found that the anti-inflammatory properties of astaxanthin combined with melanin formation may have been the cause of the reduction in skin damage. Basically, astaxanthin benefits your skin by protecting it from UV rays, reducing recovery time after UV exposure and one study showed that it improved the visual appearance of the test groups skin – removing wrinkles and improving the moisture in their skin too.
It can be used to treat and prevent gastric ulcers. One of the main causes for painful gastric ulcers is the low gastric tissue antioxidant levels. Several research teams in Sweden, Denmark, Japan, and Korea have been looking into how astaxanthin benefits gastric ulcers over the last decade. They found that algal cell extract-containing astaxanthin reduces gastric inflammation and bacterial load, essentially soothing the pain of the ulcer and reducing the inflammation until the ulcer is no longer there. Not much research in human studies has been recorded, but there are examples of people having eased their gastric ulcer pain using natural astaxanthin supplements.
It reduces your risk of heart disease. It may seem like everything is being linked to a reduced risk of heart disease lately, but this one should come as no surprise. Inflammation is a considerable cause of cardiovascular disease, so it stands to reason that the strongest anti-inflammatory nutrient available can reduce that risk. A study in which test groups were given astaxanthin and made to run on a treadmill showed that astaxanthin increased their cardiovascular health, blunting exercise-increased biochemical markers in the heart. It’s certainly not conclusive evidence, but it’s a good enough reason to get some astaxanthin in your body!
It prevent premature aging. Multiple oxidative chain reactions in the mitochondria, which generates the energy required by the cell, produces large quantities of free radicals that are a major cause of tissue aging and cell death. The effectiveness of astaxanthin in reducing oxidation of mitochondria in rats was as high as 100 times that of vitamin E! This potency and membrane-protective capacities show the unique function of astaxanthin in helping to preserve cellular health, meaning that it shows real potential in preventing premature aging.
It may help to fight cancer. They say that prevention is better than a cure, and never has that been truer than when talking about cancer – since many of the treatments include harmful cytotoxins. There is a whole lot of science behind a study from 2005 which looked into astaxanthin and its potential role in preventing cancer. The study found that astaxanthin significantly upregulated GJIC (gap junctional intercellular communication) which resulted in the inhibition of in vitro malignant tumor growth, as well as growth reduction of human tumors in external grafts. This promising research may not cure cancer, but it might help to reduce growth long enough to be able to treat cancer more effectively using traditional methods like tumor removal or chemo.
It promotes a healthier liver function. Results of a 2002 study into the effects of astaxanthin on liver function showed that it protects the liver from oxidative damage (those powerful antioxidant properties at work again). Not only that, but the study also showed that 100mg dose of astaxanthin induced detoxifying enzymes in the liver cells, thereby improving its function at removing harmful contaminants, bacteria, viruses and dead red blood cells.
It improves your brain and central nervous system. Your central nervous system is particularly prone to oxidative damage, a problem that a strong antioxidant like astaxanthin is very good at aiding. Yet another study shows that astaxanthin can improve both learning and memory skills – something which could be particularly beneficial to those of you at risk (through hereditary genes) of vascular dementia.
It increases male fertility. If you, or someone you know, has struggled to conceive a child because of infertility, astaxanthin could help. A double-blind placebo study, in which men were given either 16mg/day of astaxanthin or a placebo, showed that 5 in 10 couples who had previously struggled for over 12 months to conceive a child were able to get pregnant during the 3-month trial, compared to only 1 in 10 couples getting pregnant from the placebo control group. Researchers concluded that astaxanthin improved the quality of the sperm rather than the quantity – which is what accounted for the increased frequency of conception.
It may prevent diabetes. A recent study into whether or not astaxanthin benefits diabetes found that after 12 weeks of treatment, the astaxanthin-treated group showed a lower level of blood glucose as compared with the non-treated group. The results seemed to suggest that, once again, the antioxidative activity of astaxanthin reduced the oxidative stress on the kidneys, preventing renal cell damage. It could well be a novel approach to preventing diabetes and more studies and potential trials are in the pipeline to gain more conclusive evidence that this awesome antioxidant can prevent diabetes.
Recommended Astaxanthin Product
After reading that pretty impressive and exhaustive list of benefits, you might be wondering how you can start experiencing some of the health kickbacks of astaxanthin yourself. There’s only one good food source, wild salmon, but it’s not cheap or sustainable so it makes sense to supplement daily to get all of the health benefits this antioxidant offers.
As you’ve seen from the benefits, the natural astaxanthin is far more beneficial (up to 20 times more potent than the synthetic alternatives).
Many people will advise you to take a separate astaxanthin supplement in addition to those that you already take. If you’re anything like me, then you don’t want to be taking dozens of tablets and capsules each day. For that reason, I recommend that you choose a quality supplement that combines ingredients.
For this, I use and recommend Premium Omega 3 Fish Oil by Xtend Life because it contains 6mg of astaxanthin (which is more than most “popular” supplements provide) in its natural form from fresh algae and it also combines it with their brilliant, purified omega 3 fish oil – a supplement that I strongly recommend everyone to take daily for it’s anti-inflammatory benefits that are almost on a par with astaxanthin.
When combined, these two supplements become a far more potent blend, boasting dozens of health benefits between them. I know first hand that this particular supplement has an incredible impact on your health and I believe it will do exactly the same for you too.
I am completely confident that you can improve your health with Xtend Life products, just as my friends, my family and myself have done. In fact, I am so confident you’ll love Xtend Life that if you don’t like them, not only can you get a refund from Xtend Life, I’ll refund you the entire cost of your order as well! To learn more about Xtend Life and their Premium Omega 3 Fish Oil containing astaxanthin, just click here now.