Astaxanthin and WHY You Should Be Taking It

I have been taking Astaxanthin for some time now. If memory serves me being a diabetic I was concerned abut eye health as we only get one pair of eyes issued at birth. There are more reasons than eye health to take Asaxanthin:

• Free radical scavenging
• Mitochondrial protection
• Protection from glycation
• Anti-inflammatory benefits
• Shows promise for slowing age-related functional decline
• Possible reduction in cancer risk
• Mitigate the impact of Diabesity (Name coined for combination of diabetes and obesity)
• Slows brain aging
• Protects hearth muscle
• SUPPORTS EYE HEALTH
• Scavenges skin damaging free radicals
• Increases numbers and activity of white blood cells called lymphocytes and aids in immune response
• When combined with other members of the Carotenoid family has been shown to protect against cancer

What is it?

It is a red pigment molecule that is a member of the carotenoid family found in certain marine algae. When eaten by shrimp and crustaceans, the pigment lends its reddish hue to their shells. As Astaxanthin makes it way up through the food chain, the color becomes more concentrated creating the beautiful reds and pinks we see in fish such as salmon and birds like flamingos.

What about the reason I started to take it in the first place...EYE Health? Let's look at that:

Astaxanthin has been found to prevent or slow three of the most common eye diseases:

Age related macular degeneration
Cataracts
Glaucoma

The retina naturally contains the carotenoids LUTEIN and ZEAXANTHIN which are molecules closely related to Asaxanthin.  Supplementation with ALL Three is important as it has been shown to improve visual acuity and contrast detection in people with early age-related macular degeneration.

Supplementation with all three is a good idea:

Asaxnanthin 4mg/day
Lutein 10mg/day
Zeaxanthin 1mg/day

I would ADD bilberry to the list above and all are readily available in the links below. Remember, "The Eyes Have It".

Read your eye supplement formulas before purchasing. The Life Extension folks offer a wide range of supplements and here is a LINK to take a look:

http://www.lef.org/index.htm

You can occasionally find all three supplements together in one formula. If not there are several on line companies including Swanson Health products and Puritan Pride that have these nutrients available at a reasonable price.

http://www.puritan.com/eye-nutrients-003?scid=6831&cmp=goo-_-EyeEyeNutrients-_-eyehealthsupplements&atrkid=V1ADWB4C4C3AF-798637891-k-eye+health+supplements-28477739311-p-g-m-1t1&gclid=CJ7G5sTmh7gCFYo-MgodRzQAwQ

http://www.swansonvitamins.com/HealthConcern/Vision+%26+Eye+Health

Dan