Astaxanthin the New Super-Food

Have you heard about the colorations that can keep you healthy and even repair poor health? It’s the same pigments that put the red in salmon.

There is a class of pigments that occur naturally that have been found to fight the damaging effects of the sun on your skin, protect against cancer, fight against failing eyesight, help with maintaining weight and a host of other benefits. These pigments or colorations are more than pretty to look at they are carotenoids. What makes carotenoids so important is that they have antioxidant properties.

Doctors and health practitioners around the world have long proclaimed how vital antioxidants are to our good health. This is not your run of the mill carotenoid. This particular carotenoid is a very powerful antioxidant.
It has been credited with the ability to;

● Boost your brain and nervous system
● Reduce the appearance of wrinkles, dry skin, age spots, and freckles
● Enable faster recovery from exercise
● Reduce joint and muscle soreness after a vigorous workout
● Enhance your visual acuity and depth perception
● Improve strength, stamina, and endurance
● Protect against cancer
● Reduce heartburn
● Protect against stroke
● Lower weight gain; even with fatty diets
● Prevents free radical damage
● Boosts immune system
● Reduces risk of dementia and Alzheimer’s disease

Add to this impressive list the fact it is also a powerful anti-inflammatory.
The wonder carotenoid we are discussing is called Astaxanthin (pronounced astaZANthin).

Carotenoids 101

What are carotenoids? What makes them so important to our health?
Carotenoids are the naturally occurring pigments that are in your food which provide the…

● Stunning red in your beets
● Spectacular yellow in bell peppers
● Beautiful green in sea-grasses

In addition to brilliant colors, carotenoids provide antioxidant properties that are crucial to your health.
Most people are familiar with beta-carotene and a couple of others. But, there are almost 700 carotenoids that occur naturally.

People whose diets are rich in carotenoids from natural foods are healthier and have a lower mortality rate from many chronic illnesses.

Carotenoids generally absorb blue light. They also can act as antioxidants.
Certain carotenoids act in the eye to absorb damaging blue and near-ultraviolet light protecting the eye from macula lutea.

The macula lutea is the yellow oval spot at the center of the retina (back of the eye). It is responsible for sharp, detailed central vision (also called visual acuity). When you look directly at something, the light from that object forms an image on your macula. A healthy macula ordinarily is capable of achieving at least 20/20 (“normal”) vision or visual acuity, even if this is with glasses or contact lenses.

Why Are Antioxidants Important

Antioxidants are intimately involved in preventing cellular damage. Cellular damage is the expressway for a variety of diseases, aging and cancer.

We must understand free radicals before we can get a grip on the value of antioxidants in our health.
Free radicals are groups of atoms or even atoms that have an odd number of electrons, called unpaired. These unpaired electrons can be formed when oxygen interacts with certain molecules. Free radicals are highly unstable molecules ready to react with anything they can. Once formed these highly reactive radicals start a chain reaction that generates more free radicals and they replicate like bunnies. But they aren’t soft and cuddly to our bodies. When they react, the result is called “oxidation.” Oxidation in the body is like rust on metal. In fact when they react with important cellular components such as DNA or cell membranes, the damage done can be devastating.

Antioxidants to the rescue

These are molecules that interact safely with free radicals and destroy the destructive chain reaction caused by the free radicals. There are several enzyme systems in the body that scavenge for free radicals, but antioxidants are superior at the job. The antioxidant micronutrients cannot be manufactured in the body so they must be introduced through our diet.

Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring super-antioxidant that can help...

● Reduce the visible signs of aging
● Boost your brain and nervous system
● Enhance protection of your skin from the damaging effect of the sun
● Lessen joint and muscle soreness after a workout
● Provide for faster recovery from workouts
● Enhance your visual acuity and depth perception
● Improve strength and stamina
● Protect against cancer
● Lower cholesterol levels

In fact this antioxidant has risen to be called a “super-nutrient” by many health and science professionals.

What is Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a lipid-soluble pigment that is found in yeast, salmon, trout, krill, shrimp, crustaceans, and the feathers of some birds. It’s what provides the red color in salmon and cooked shellfish.
Did you know that baby flamingos are born white? They get their pink color only when they eat food that has astaxanthin in it.

Astaxanthin is produced only by the micro-algae Haematoccous pluvialis. When its water supply dries up the micro-algae is forced to protect itself from the ultraviolet rays of the sun. It is the survival mechanism of the algae. Astaxanthin is the “force field” that protects the micro-algae from intense sunlight and malnutrition.
It is a carotenoid with very powerful antioxidant properties. Beta-carotene is a “cousin” albeit a weak cousin in comparison. Astaxanthin is leaps and bounds more powerful as an antioxidant. It also reigns over alpha-tocopherol, lycopene and lutein (its other chemical family members.)

Astaxanthin is different from many carotenoids in that it is not converted into retinol (vitamin A) in our human bodies. Retinal is beneficial for our health but in high doses it is toxic, so it must be closely monitored.

Astaxanthin offers a unique “antioxidative artillery” that provides for an impressive array of health benefits.