Dear Friends,
One of the many benefits of eating wild salmon is it’s the best food source of astaxanthin – one of nature’s most powerful antioxidants.
You may have noticed that astaxanthin as a supplement is getting a lot of attention for skin health recently, including among some practitioners and dermatologists.
This is due in part to an analysis presented at last year’s American Academy of Dermatology annual meeting that looked at the science for different supplement ingredients for skin, and used an evidence-based scoring model to score each nutrient.
This work rated astaxanthin as the #2 most highly rated dietary ingredient with human skin benefits.
If you’re curious who was #1 on the list, it was collagen, which is pretty well known for skin health.
Astaxanthin isn’t as well known, which is why I wanted to share this letter with you, so let’s get into it.
Quick Astaxanthin Refresher
If you’re not familiar with astaxanthin, not only is it one of the most powerful antioxidants in nature, but a very versatile one too, and I’ll explain why this matters for you in a moment.
This combination of antioxidant power and versatility makes astaxanthin incredibly valuable in our bodies, offering numerous benefits.
Personally, my favorite benefit is how it can help reduce eye strain and eye fatigue that is a consequence of staring at computer and phone screens much of the day.
In nature, astaxanthin is most prominently found in certain types of algae, with the best dietary source for humans being wild salmon.
The orange color of the salmon flesh is from astaxanthin that the fish gets by feeding on marine life that eat the algae, such as shrimp, krill and crabs.
If you eat shrimp, you don’t get too much astaxanthin because it’s concentrated in the shells, and it’s the same with crabs or lobster.
For those of us who can’t eat 12 oz of wild salmon every day, we can now get natural astaxanthin from algae in a supplement, with the AstaReal brand being our favorite astaxanthin ingredient at NatureCity.
Unrivaled Antioxidant Power
As an example of the raw antioxidant power of astaxanthin, a lab test found it was almost 6,000 times more powerful than vitamin C at neutralizing certain types of harmful free radicals.
That’s not a knock against vitamin C – it’s very important too – this test just illustrates the potency of astaxanthin.
In addition, unlike other antioxidants, astaxanthin can work on most of the major types of free radicals, which aren’t all the same.
In general, scientists believe there are 6 or 7 major classes of free radicals, and astaxanthin can work to neutralize most of them.
Another important unique feature of astaxanthin is it can work in all parts of cell membranes. Even though it’s fat soluble, it can work in water soluble parts of cells too.
In contrast, vitamin E is solely fat soluble and vitamin C is water soluble, so the areas they can reach and work as an antioxidant is more limited than astaxanthin.
How This Versatility Makes Astaxanthin Invaluable for Skin
Here’s an example of how this relates to skin health and appearance.
You may remember from high school that there are 3 main layers of the skin – the outer layer is the epidermis, beneath it is the dermis followed by the hypodermis.
The epidermis is rich in lipids or fats, so astaxanthin, along with vitamin E, play a key role in helping protect the epidermis from damaging oxidative stress.
We know vitamin C is great for skin, but it only has so much value as an antioxidant in the outer layer of the skin, because this layer has a high concentration of fats.
So when the epidermis is feeling the brunt of environmental stressors like sunlight and pollution (a leading cause of skin aging), you want astaxanthin there to help protect it.
This protection helps the skin lock-in moisture and is just one of the ways that astaxanthin helps keep skin hydrated (important for keeping skin looking youthful).
On top of this, astaxanthin also supports the work of vitamin C in deeper skin layers.
Supporting Hyaluronic Acid Production
Another way astaxanthin helps skin hydration is by supporting the body’s production of hyaluronic acid, which is abundant in all layers of the skin.
In fact, about 50% of the hyaluronic acid in the body is concentrated in the skin.
The beauty of hyaluronic acid, often called HA, is it can bind 1,000 times its weight in water. This helps keep the skin plump and stay hydrated.
Here’s the challenge: HA in the skin turns over just about every day and needs to be replaced by newly made hyaluronic acid molecules.
Unfortunately, as we age, our body’s ability to produce HA tends to decline, which contributes to sagging skin that’s more prone to dryness.
This makes nutrients like astaxanthin that support the body’s natural production of HA important to help skin stay hydrated and healthy looking.
Skin Hydration Support When You Need it Most
Several studies with AstaReal astaxanthin have shown that daily supplementation can indeed improve skin hydration, even in the winter months.
You may have noticed, depending on where you live, that the lower humidity in winter can make skin drier and increase the appearance of fine lines and wrinkles. Not what we want.
A study with AstaReal astaxanthin investigated this specific issue and found that those taking the astaxanthin supplement experienced no significant change in the depth of their deepest wrinkles between the summer and winter months.
This contrasted with the placebo group, which experienced a significant deterioration in skin condition and wrinkle appearance during this time.
On top of this, astaxanthin helps promote the smoothness and elasticity of skin by boosting collagen production and protecting elastin in the skin.
Astaxanthin Helps Support Collagen Production
Boosting collagen is of great consumer interest these days - here’s how astaxanthin can support increased collagen production:
Skin cells called fibroblasts produce collagen protein. When free radicals attack these fibroblasts, it can shut down or greatly diminish collagen production.
The powerful antioxidant properties of astaxanthin help protect the fibroblasts from free radicals to preserve their collagen producing capability.
What’s more, some research indicates astaxanthin may be able to restore some of the collagen production ability of fibroblasts already damaged by free radicals.
Better yet, the data indicates that combining vitamin C and astaxanthin may help even more.
So if you're taking collagen supplements, or just interested in supporting collagen production, astaxanthin (and vitamin C) can be a great addition to your day.
Last, but maybe not least, research with AstaReal astaxanthin indicates it may help reduce the appearance of age spots on the skin.
How Much Astaxanthin Should You Take?
The bottom line is: astaxanthin can do a lot for your skin health.
To summarize, astaxanthin can help support skin moisture and hydration, reduce the appearance of wrinkles and skin spots, promote smoother skin, increase skin elasticity, and improve skin texture.
It does this by helping to protect the skin from oxidative stress caused by many types of free radicals in all skin layers and supports collagen, hyaluronic acid and elastin formation – all important for keeping skin looking youthful and radiant.
Studies with AstaReal astaxanthin for skin health have been conducted with participants taking between 2mg and 6mg of astaxanthin daily.
We generally recommend taking 6mg of AstaReal natural astaxanthin daily, which is the amount we include in each soft gel of our TrueAsta supplement.
Some folks like taking 12mg daily, which is fine, but I personally don’t suggest exceeding 12mg a day, unless your physician is advising you to do so for a specific reason.
If you want to kick up your skin and hair appearance in a BIG way, you should check out our new TrueNuGrow+ product.
In addition to bio-enhanced AstaReal astaxanthin and vitamin C, you also get collagen, keratin, ceramides, MSM, plant biotin and silica and much more.
The TrueNuGrow+ formula offers unmatched potency for beauty from within, with 10 scientifically studied ingredients for hair and skin (and 3 other supporting nutrients).
Hope you found this helpful!
Yours for Good Health,
Carl Pradelli
P.S. Subscribe to our YouTube channel or podcast to discover more about nutrients that can make a difference in your health!
