Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a product of many different types of algae but namely Haematococcus Pluvialis. When Haematococcus Pluvialis is put under stressful conditions, it emits Astaxanthin within its cells, producing a bright red color. The cells, now pumped full of Astaxanthin, protect themselves and are able to recover from the enviorment that made it angry in the first place. 

For starters, astaxanthin is a free radical scavenger. Free radicals cause oxidative damage within our cells, damage DNA, proteins, and other preexisting structures. Free radicals are produced from stress, radiation, smoke, sun, and even exercise (this is not to say exercise is bad, just to be conscious it can produce these bad chamicals). 

There are many antioxidants and free radical scavengers on the market that are frequently advertised to be in certain superfoods. While true, no other supplement can compare to the efficacy of astaxanthin.  Its specific structure allows it to neatly reside within our lipid bilayer (the wall of each cell) so that it can reach both the inside and outside of the cell. This accounts for its extreme ability to protect against free radicals; it can stop them at the source: our mitochondria. 

Our mitochondria are what give our body the power to function, but like all mechanisms, mitochondria are not 100% efficient. It leaks free radicals out of its lipid bilayer… But wait! That's exactly where astaxanthin resides! In essence, as soon as free radicals are produced, astaxanthin can immediately absorb them.  

To make a quick distinction, free radicals scavengers and antioxidants are not the same thing, but for the sake of Astaxanthin, it doesn’t matter because it does both!

Its free radical scavenging and antioxidant capabilities are 6000x and 65x greater than Vitamin C respectively.

I started taking astaxanthin because after spending a lot of time in the sun, I found myself getting sunburnt too often. Astaxanthin works as an internal sunblock because of its immense antioxidant ability, which reduces the damage done to your skin by the sun. If it can literally prevent sunburn, imagine what it's doing inside your body. 

People in their twenties are experiencing measurable DNA damage. They are already aging, they just don’t know it.

Next up is eyesight. If you’ve ever seen your parents or grandparents take out their reading glasses or have to take out their phone flashlight to read the check, they have presbyopia. Presbyopia occurs when the lens within the eye loses its flexibility. Why does this happen, you might be asking yourself, well,, based on the last few paragraphs, you might have guessed. Presbyopia occurs because of significant damage to the eye from the daily radiation from the sun. The sun damages the lens by producing free radicals which in turn damage the DNA within the cells. 

Of course, our eyes do have inherent antioxidants, but as we age, unfortunately, they can't keep up with the damage. Hence, the answer to solving presbyopia: limit damage i.e. wear sunglasses as much as possible, and take a free radical scavenger such as… Astaxanthin. 

For now, I’ll leave my obession with astaxanthin here. If you want to learn more feel free to let me know @longevityonlock on Instagram and I’ll introduce you to more of the amazing benefits of Astaxanthin. Just to keep you hooked, its been proven that when rats take astaxanthin, and given a swim test, (ie swim until you drown), the rats swim for on average 30% longer than the placebo.