For years we’ve heard about the importance of antioxidants. Antioxidants are substances that may protect your cells against free radicals. There are many different types of antioxidants. Today I’d like to introduce you to Astaxanthin and teach you about the benefits both inside and out!
What is Astaxanthin?
Like me, it might’ve taken you a couple tries to say that, but its functions aren’t as complicated as the word itself is to say. Astaxanthin is a reddish pigment that belongs to a group of chemicals called carotenoids. It occurs naturally in certain algae and causes the pink or red color in salmon, trout, lobster, shrimp, and other seafood.
Astaxanthin is a nutrient with antioxidant capacity 6000x stronger than vitamin C, 3000x stronger than Resveratol, 800x stronger than CoQ10, 560x stronger than Green Tea catechins and 110x stronger than vitamin E. It is a fat soluble antioxidant able to access and protect cell membranes, and it preferentially deposits in mitochondrial membranes where free radical byproducts are first formed.
Astaxanthin is a pure antioxidant that is able to span the whole length of the cell membrane, able to cross the blood-brain and blood-retinal barriers, and exhibiting anti-inflammatory properties.
Astaxanthin for Skin Health
Let’s start by breaking down the benefits that antioxidants can have on your skin! Skin is our largest organ and it has a lot of jobs, one being protecting us from environmental factors such as oxidants. If we experience an increased amount of oxidants exceeding the capacity of our antioxidant defense system, this causes oxidative stress. And this is where antioxidants come in.
Astaxanthin is a beauty from within nutrient that can access all skin layers to support skin hydration, elasticity, and smoothness. It also promotes a healthy collagen network and supports skin cell fibroblasts in charge of generating new collagen.
Astaxanthin is a super-antioxidant that has been shown through clinical studies to support healthy skin in women and men, with a combination of both oral supplementation and topical application. These studies only support astaxanthin specifically derived from H. pluvialis, but look no further because you — and your skin — are covered. Not only do we know of a great dietary supplement containing this unique type of astaxanthin, but there are two brand-new skincare products that include it as well!
Isotonix Astaxanthin
Isotonix® Astaxanthin is a unique combination of AstaReal®† astaxanthin, vitamin E, potassium and acerola fruit extract, making it one of the best antioxidant supplements available. It promotes healthy skin by improving moisture and helping to maintain elasticity and the epithelial structure and barrier function. It’s also important that a supplement can be absorbed by your body and work efficiently; otherwise, how would you know that it can do its job? Thankfully, Isotonix Astaxanthin does both! “Isotonic,” which means “same pressure,” indicates a substance that bears the same chemical resemblance to the body’s blood, plasma and tears. Isotonix Astaxanthin is isotonic and therefore readily available to enter the body and travel through the small intestine with minimum exposure to stomach acids that may degrade or limit nutrient concentration. This makes it efficient for nutrient delivery, and it comes in convenient packets that you can take with you on the go.*
Lumière de Vie® Renewal Gelée
Lumière de Vie® Renewal Gelée is a super-light hybrid between a gel and a cream that intensely moisturizes for refreshingly hydrated skin. It also smooths and evens the skin tone for a renewed complexion; helps reduce the appearance of fine lines, wrinkles and redness; and increases skin luminosity — all while providing advanced antioxidant protection! Because of its unique texture, it absorbs almost instantly into the skin, providing immediate hydration without any of the greasiness that comes with a cream. For best results, make sure to apply it morning and night.
Lumière de Vie® Renewal Hand & Body Crème
Lastly, we all know it’s important to moisturize the face, but we often forget that skincare can also apply to the rest of the body! This is where the brand-new Lumière de Vie Renewal Hand & Body Crème comes in. Also containing astaxanthin in topical form, this cream works to moisturize for well-hydrated skin. It’s lightweight, fast-absorbing and is enriched with shea butter and hyaluronic acid, while also having a subtly sweet rose scent. Not only that, but it evens skin texture for improved skin luminosity and appearance.
Additional Health Benefits of Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin is known to be a powerful antioxidant with an affinity for tissues that have heightened metabolic demand such as cardiac muscle, capillary beds within organs and skeletal muscles requiring sufficient oxygen and energy for their proper performance. *
A significant number of human clinical studies demonstrate the efficacy of astaxanthin on cardiovascular health and performance. Research reveals an impressive link between natural astaxanthin from algae and normal healthy levels of HDL, a form of lipid respected for its cardio-protective benefits. In addition, astaxanthin supports normal vascular tone and performance, making astaxanthin a critical addition for those looking to maintain normal blood pressure as well as those looking to promote physical endurance. *
With exercise comes the creation of free radicals. Specifically, singlet oxygen free radicals. These radicals are particularly problematic in aging and cellular endurance. Meaning, with age comes a slowing down of our ability to quench these free radicals as fast as they are produced. Athletes and those that exercise regularly, regardless of age, create these free radicals at a significant rate. Individuals in both groups may benefit from a nutritional intervention of AstaReal® Astaxanthin to meet their metabolic demands. Using a powerful antioxidant like astaxanthin helps us maintain balance support healthy energy, stamina and cardiovascular health. *
In addition to its cardiovascular, metabolic and physical fitness benefits, AstaReal® Astaxanthin supports healthy visual activity. Loss of visual accommodation, the ability to focus on small objects or near objects, is not limited to an aging population. In fact, with digital devices becoming more and more prominent in our lives, it’s becoming more difficult to maintain our ability to properly accommodate. Over stimulation of our eyes, from the growing number of screen and digital interfaces, can leave our eyes feeling tired. Such fatigue can impact both visual focus and cognitive attention. Astaxanthin, because it has dual purpose of protecting the eyes from eye strain while promoting normal blood flow to retinal and surrounding tissue supports the eyes ability to read and use devices for longer periods of time with less eye fatigue. AstaReal® astaxanthin, because of its unique shape, additionally supports the body’s ability to quench free radicals and fight the effects of oxidative stress in the eye. * .
*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product(s) is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease.
† AstaReal® is a registered trademark of Fuji Chemical Industries Co., Ltd.
