Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin, pronounced asta-zan-thin, is a supplement you may have heard of but just never knew what it was.

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant supplement that has a host of health benefits, particularly for eye health. Yet newer research shows that astaxanthin has a few more tricks up its sleeve that make it more appealing to those interested in boosting performance in the gym or on the field, as well as sculpting a better body.

Astaxanthin is a carotenoid, similar to beta-carotene.

And while it is an antioxidant, just like beta-carotene is, it does not convert into vitamin A in the body, as beta-carotene does. Also like beta-carotene, which imparts it's orange coloring to carrots and sweet potatoes, astaxanthin is also a colorful chemical that imparts its reddish-pink color to salmon, shrimp, krill. In fact, it's used as a food color in animal feed. But the fact that the major source of astaxanthin are seafoods, means you are likely not getting adequate amounts in your diet.

Thanks to astaxanthin's powerful antioxidant properties, it provides a laundry list of health benefits:

such as boosting immune function, improving cardiovascular health, reducing the risk of many cancers, protecting the brain from dementia and Alzheimer's, reducing inflammation, protecting the skin from sun damage, improving sperm count and quality, protecting cells and DNA from oxidative damage, reducing the risk of diabetes, and protecting your eyes from cataracts, macular degeneration, and blindness.

One study from Washington State reported that:

subjects receiving astaxanthin supplements for eight weeks had significant reductions in DNA damage and C-reactive protein, a marker of inflammation associated with heart disease. Plus, they experienced a large boost in function of important immune cells. Japanese researchers supported astaxanthin's heart health benefits, when they reported that subjects supplementing with astaxanthin for 12 weeks had a 25% decrease in their blood triglyceride levels, and a 15% increase in HDL (good) cholesterol levels. And Lithuanian researchers even reported that when subjects with indigestion took a high dose of astaxanthin (40 mg per day) for four weeks they had reduced symptoms of indigestion and heart burn.

While health benefits are fine and dandy, I know what you're looking for when it comes to spending money on supplements to stock in your cabinet.

Sure, healthy-promotion is good, but they also need to provide some real boost to your training and your physique. And astaxanthin delivers there too. Whether it's in the weight room or on your favorite cardio machine, having more muscle endurance means you can train harder for longer. With weight training, that leads to more muscle strength and more muscle mass. With cardio, it means greater fat burning and better cardiovascular health. Astaxanthin has been found to boost muscle endurance by 150%!

Researchers from Tokyo University found that:

mice given astaxanthin for 5 weeks were able to swim with 10% of their body weight strapped to them for 5 minutes before reaching exhaustion, while those getting a placebo were only able to go for 2 minutes. And while you probably won't be swimming with almost 20 pounds strapped to your back, astaxanthin can have a dramatic impact on how many times you can bench press a certain weight, or how long you can sprint at your all-out pace.

In addition to building more muscle and burning more fat indirectly by allowing you to train harder, astaxanthin has been shown to directly increase fat loss.

Another team of Japanese researchers reported in a 2008 study that mice supplemented with astaxanthin while following an exercise program for four weeks had accelerated fat-burning, greater fat loss and enhanced endurance when compared to mice that just exercised alone. The researchers reported that astaxanthin protects the system that transports fat into the mitochondria of muscle cells, where it is burned away for fuel. This is the same system that carnitine is involved in to enhance fat burning. By protecting this transport system, the body can burn more fat. That not only leads to a leaner, meaner bod, but it also boosts your endurance by sparing muscle glycogen.

So consider adding astaxanthin your supplement plan.

Not many supplements can provide all the health benefits it offers in addition to the benefits it provides your training and your physique. The best way to take advantage of all of astaxanthin's benefits is tyo take about 4 mg of with meals once or twice per day with one dose taken with your preworkout meal. If you also want to take it to reduce indigestion and heart burn, go with about 20 mg twice per days with meals.

References:

Aoi, W., et al. Astaxanthin improves muscle lipid metabolism in exercise via inhibitory effect of oxidative CPT I modification. Biochemical & Biophysical Research Communications 366(4): 892-897, 2008.

Ikeuchi, M., et al. Effects of Astaxanthin Supplementation on Exercise-Induced Fatigue in Mice. Biol. Pharm. Bull. 29(10): 2106—2110, 2006.

Kupcinskas, L., et al. Efficacy of the natural antioxidant astaxanthin in the treatment of functional dyspepsia in patients with or without Helicobacter pylori infection: A prospective, randomized, double blind, and placebo-controlled study. Phytomedicine 15:391-399, 2008.

Nakagawa, k., et al. Antioxidant effect of astaxanthin on phospholipid peroxidation in human erythrocytes. British Journal of Nutrition 31:1-9, 2011.

Park, J. S., et al. Astaxanthin decreased oxidative stress and inflammation and enhanced immune response in humans. Nutrition & Metabolism 2010, 7:18, doi:10.1186/1743-7075-7-18.

Yoshida, H., et al. Administration of natural astaxanthin increases serum HDL-cholesterol and adiponectin in subjects with mild hyperlipidemia. Atherosclerosis 209(2):520-523, 2009.

Yuan, J-P., et al. Potential health-promoting effects of astaxanthin: A high-value carotenoid mostly from microalgae. Molecular Nutrition & Food Research 55(1):150-165, 2011.

Related Articles

• 
  Supplement Roundup: A

  All the "A" supplements you need to know

• 
  Supplement Guide

  In an effort to keep you educated without boring you with too much detail, I've compiled this list of some of the most useful supplements out there.