Eating a healthy diet that includes the antioxidant astaxanthin, is one easy way to keep your brain from aging too quickly. Are you getting enough of this important compound?
When most people think about aging, they worry about gray hair, wrinkles, an expanding waistline, and maybe how to keep their cholesterol in check. It’s all too easy to forget about the importance of keeping your brain healthy as you age. Unless you’ve had firsthand experience caring for someone who has had a stroke, dementia, Parkinson’s or Alzheimer’s disease, or even just gradual memory loss, it’s hard to understand what life might be like without full cognitive function.
Fortunately, there are some things that can be done to maintain or even enhance your brain health as you age. Activities like learning new tasks and forming or maintaining social connections with people, help to keep your brain healthy and enhance mental flexibility by forming strong neural connections. Your diet, including foods and supplements, is also instrumental in your long-term brain health. Researchers have identified 10 brain-boosting foods, and many more individual compounds that help to maintain cognitive function and reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer’s disease. One of these compounds is the antioxidant, astaxanthin.
What is astaxanthin?
Astaxanthin is found in fish (one of the brain-boosting foods), and studies have shown that it helps to protect the cells and vessels in the brain, and maintain cognitive function. It’s a member of the carotenoid or carotene family, and it’s the compound that gives wild salmon, red trout, red seabream, lobster and other seafood their red color. Astaxanthin is one of the most powerful antioxidants available in our diet, but because it’s found primarily in certain types of seafood, many people don’t get enough.
Scientists consider astaxanthin to be a “super-antioxidant”, because it’s 6000 times stronger than vitamin C, 11 times stronger than beta-carotene, and 550 times stronger than the antioxidants found in green tea. Astaxanthin also has the unique ability to cross the blood-brain barrier, so it’s especially helpful for protecting the brain from free radical damage.
Cognitive benefits
Although it hasn’t been as extensively researched as some of the other carotene compounds, results of studies on astaxanthin indicate that once it crosses the blood-brain barrier, it’s able to provide both acute benefits, like improving cognitive functions after a stroke, and longer-term benefits, like slowing the development of diseases that cause brain degeneration, especially Parkinson’s and Alzheimer’s disease. It’s also been shown to have a general effect on improving memory and reducing signs of inflammation in the body.
- In a study on middle-aged and older adults with age-related forgetfulness, researchers confirmed that astaxanthin is helpful in improving overall cognitive performance. Those who participated in the study had improved scores for response time and accuracy on game-like tests played on a computer, after taking 12 mg of astaxanthin each day for 12 weeks.
- A similar study looked at safety and effectiveness of astaxanthin not only on cognitive scores, but also on metabolic tests. The researchers found that a 20 mg/day dose of astaxanthin for 12 weeks improved scores on cognitive tests, and it reduced blood pressure, glucose and triglyceride levels, with no negative side effects.
- Astaxanthin helps to prevent damage to neurons in the brain, and slow down some of the changes in brain cells that occur with aging. Lab studies suggest that Astaxanthin may hold promise for slowing some of the changes that are specific to Parkinson’s disease, including protecting the brain’s immune cells from damage and correcting changes in mitochondrial function (the power centers of the brain’s cells).
Inflammation – the arch enemy
Inflammation is the body’s response to any type of stress or injury, whether it’s a torn muscle, a scrape on your knee, or an effort to protect your cells from environmental toxins like alcohol or cigarette smoke. Inflammation can also occur because of poor diet, or too much mental or physical stress. Scientists believe that excess and ongoing inflammation is at the root of chronic diseases and it causes the body and brain to age faster or prematurely.
C-reative protein (CRP) is a protein in the body that increases in response to inflammation, and its measure is often used to assess the degree of inflammation within your body, and your risk of developing chronic diseases, especially heart disease, stroke, and Alzheimer’s disease. Antioxidants from foods or supplements can reduce inflammation and thus CRP levels. One study found that taking a supplement containing astaxanthin and other antioxidants, for 8 weeks, reduced CRP levels by 20% compared to a placebo.
Not all supplements provide the same benefits
Antioxidant supplements can have wide-reaching benefits, and even more so when used along with a healthy diet. However, especially when considering any cognitive benefits you hope to see, it’s important to choose the right supplement. The brain has a protective membrane known as the blood brain barrier. It’s there to allow certain compounds (like glucose, its fuel) into the brain, and keep other substances out. Not all antioxidants are able to cross the blood brain barrier, and sometimes, those that do enter the brain, are only minimally effective. Astaxanthin has the unique ability to cross the blood brain barrier and saturate brain tissue, so it works far more effectively to protect the brain than other antioxidants.
When comparing supplements, it’s also important to consider bioavailability, or how much is absorbed, and how long it stays in your body. Consistent absorption, along with a slower release throughout the body will provide better protection. Regular forms of astaxanthin aren’t digested well in your GI tract, so they have poor bioavailability. Likely, very little ever reaches your brain. MicroActive® Astaxanthin was developed to address this issue through a micronized, sustained-release technology that allows for better absorption and all day long retention throughout the body.
When compared against the leading brand of astaxanthin, MicroActive® Astaxanthin was shown to have a significantly better sustained release, and nearly four times better initial absorption, in test subjects. Each person in the study absorbed more of the MicroActive® Astaxanthin, and it was found to have a much higher and consistent release over a 24-hour period. This unique formulation provides the right amount of antioxidant that’s tailored to your body, and provides assurance that you’re getting the benefits you expect.
References:
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