Astaxanthin Benefits

A healthier lifestyle for people and animals is among the many astaxanthin benefits. The human benefits of astaxanthin range from boosting the immune system to added protection from the harmful rays of the sun to anti-aging solutions.

What is Astaxanthin?

A red pigment, sometimes referred to as astaxantina or microalgae, natural astaxanthin is a member of the carotenoid family, which includes foods such as sweet potatoes and carrots. Found in some types of algae, it is responsible for the color of lobsters, salmon, shrimp, trout and other sea dwellers.

Consuming these foods provides you with a significant amount of this carotenoid; however, the greatest antioxidant effects occur in the astaxanthin in krill oil. Natural krill oil is one of the best ways to get the many astaxanthin benefits.

If you do not eat seafood, or you have allergies to seafood, you can purchase an astaxanthin supplement, sold individually or in combination with other carotenoids.

Europeans add the red dye, also FDA approved for use in theUnited States, to foods they feed to animals and fish, so that they enjoy a better quality of life – similar to that of salmon, krill and arctic shrimp, all of which naturally produce astaxanthin.

Benefits of Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin benefits can address a variety of different ailments. Some issues successfully treated with astaxanthin include:

Inflammation
Fertility problems
Low immunity
Digestive illnesses
Aging
Eye problems

Other benefits include reducing the risk of heart disease by lowering blood pressure, helping to fight cancer, preventing diabetes and promoting a healthy liver. Reducing the amount of lactic acid in the body during physical activity helps increase endurance and energy; in addition, it protects cell damage due from oxidation.

Astaxanthin Benefits: Anti-Inflammatory Properties

Proven to decrease inflammation, astaxanthin can provide relief to people suffering from joint, tendon and muscle discomfort, as well as rheumatoid arthritis and tennis elbow.

When used appropriately, it is safer than other regimens; side effects such as low blood pressure, a change in blood count, skin discoloration and hormonal changes are rare and considered minor by theUnited States.

Astaxanthin Benefits: Anti-Aging

Astaxanthin is highly effective against the physical and mental signs of aging.

Skin products containing astaxanthin protect your body from the sun’s harmful UVA rays and prevent premature aging. When used early, this carotenoid can protect against wrinkles and baggy skin; it’s also capable of reducing or reversing these same issues in as little as four weeks.

Able to penetrate the blood-brain barrier, provide nutrition to the brain and repair the nervous system, astaxanthin aids in the treatment and prevention of diseases such as Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s.

Astaxanthin Benefits: Increased Immunity

Astaxanthin benefits related to strengthening the immune system can be seen within four weeks regular use. It also decreases the amount of damage to cellular DNA during illness and pregnancy.

Astaxanthin Benefits: Better Fertility

Studies show that men who take 16 mg of astaxanthin daily experienced an increase in sperm movement, including an ability to swim; women witnessed similar improvements in fertility and instances of pregnancy. Other studies conducted on animals showed comparable results concerning the reproductive system and fertility.

Astaxanthin Benefits: Better Digestion

Taking 40 mg of astaxanthin on a daily basis alleviates heartburn, stomach bacteria and indigestion. European and Asian studies show that, taken regularly, this nutrient prevents and treats gastric ulcers.

Astaxanthin Benefits: Good for Your Eyes

Astaxanthin benefits pertaining to eye health are quite significant as the carotenoid helps with eyestrain and reduces the risk of developing cataracts. A Japanese study, where subjects took five to six mg of astaxanthin each day over a four-week period, confirms improvements in eye fatigue and vision. Study participants also performed better on visual function tests.

Antioxidants Benefits in General

Astaxanthin benefits result, in part, from its powerful antioxidant properties. Antioxidants prevent cells from harm and enhance systematic functions of the body. The antioxidants benefits of astaxanthin are 10 times stronger, compared to beta-carotene, also in the carotenoid family, and 500 times greater than Vitamin E. That’s why astaxanthin is sometimes called a super-antioxidant.

Antioxidants are vital to the health and protect the body from a number of diseases, including cancer, heart disease and signs of aging as well as provide support to the immune system.

In addition to all of these improvements, antioxidants benefits, and thus astaxanthin benefits, also include reducing the risk of heart disease, helping to fight cancer, and promoting a healthy liver as well as preventing diabetes.

It can increase endurance and energy by reducing the amount of lactic acid in the body during physical activity; not to mention it protects the entire cell from damage due to oxidation and has no side effects, providing you with a healthy lifestyle that is worry free.

How to Get Your Daily Shot of Astaxanthin

Eating fish oil supplements or seafood is are two methods to take advantage of the high levels of antioxidants and health benefits associated with astaxanthin. Since salmon and crustaceans, such as lobsters, eat krill; as a dietary staple, they contain all the health benefits of krill oil even if they are not the primary source of astaxanthin that krill is.

If you don’t like or cannot consume seafood, you should consider taking antioxidant supplements that contain astaxanthin – or, as I myself do, taking krill oil supplements which not only give you the natural astaxanthin benefits but also give you lots of additional health benefits.

You see, not only do Krill produce astaxanthin themselves, they also consume the nutrient by eating algae and other ocean plants which contain it. So, krill and krill oil has twice the amount of astaxanthin of other marine life.

Those are some of the astaxanthin benefits and benefits of krill oil and some of the reasons why I love that particular supplement.

Astaxanthin Dosage

The greatest results of astaxanthin occur when you consume it in a natural form along with fatty-seafoods (like salmon) or nutrients, like fish oil or, better, krill oil.

The recommended astaxanthin dose for adults is five mg per day – enough to revitalize and strengthen cell walls, allowing them to deter poisons and protect the body from cancer. You might take a two mg dose after each major meal (i.e. three times a day) in the form of a soft gel pill, making it easier for your body to absorb.

At this dosage, astaxanthin benefits address brain health, rejuvenate skin, and improve vision. You can go with a higher dosage, too, if you like. If you choose to take an astaxanthin supplement, there is no risk of potential overdose.

Krill Oil Dosage and Fish Oil Dosage

The FDA (the US Federal Drug Administration) doesn’t have a recommended krill oil dosage, nor do they have a recommended fish oil dosage as such, they just think that the average healthy person (who is at least 5 years of age) should limit their intake of fish oil to a maximum of 3000 mg per day, which would be 6 of the typical 500 mg gel caps.

Personally, I go with about between 1000 (2 gel caps) and 2000 mg (4 gel caps) per day, and I have to say that I feel the 2000 mg dosage works better for me than the smaller one. But, as with most things to do with your food, you should test it for yourself.

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Astaxanthin Benefits

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