Imagine if there were a natural substance that operated at many different biochemical levels at once, providing all the following health benefits (yes, from a single source!):
• Reduces proliferation of breast cancer tumor cells by 40%
• Protects the brain from dementia and Alzheimer's
• Greatly reduces inflammation and joint pain
• Reduces oxidative damage to your DNA by 40% (even at low doses)
• Greatly increases endurance, muscle recovery and workout performance
• Reduces the risk of cancer
• Reduces blood sugar level in diabetics and prediabetics
• Improves fertility while decreasing the rate of stillborn births
• Promotes cardiovascular health, reduces C-Reactive Proteins (CRP)
• Reduces or eliminates carpal tunnel syndrome
• Boosts immune function and helps the body resist infections
• Protects the stomach from ulcers and invasive bacteria
• Protects the kidneys from damage due to high blood sugar
• Causes cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis)
• Greatly improves sperm quality, motility, and sperm count
• Prevents asthma by normalizing histamine levels
• Protects the body from highly oxidative foods like fried foods
• Greatly protects eye health, reduces cataracts and prevents UV damage to the eyes
• Makes skin look younger and functions as a natural internal sunscreen that prevents DNA damage and sunburn
• Protects the body from the dangerous oxidizing effects of Vioxx and COX-2 inhibitors, meaning that is can actually reduce the harmful side effects and deaths caused by other anti-inflammatory pharmaceuticals
For any one substance to prevent and treat so many different diseases -- and to protect the human body in so many different ways -- is nothing short of truly miraculous. So why isn't this nutrient front-page news?
The answer, of course, is because it can't be patented. This natural substance is created by microalgae, so it's not something that was invented by a drug company scientist for patenting purposes. And the sad fact of the matter is that drug companies aren't interested in medicines that can't be patented, no matter how helpful or miraculous they may really be.
And yes, all the health benefits for this supplement are, indeed, quite true. And they're backed by clinical trials and research papers that are fascinating in what they contain, and yet have never been picked up by the mainstream media. In other words, this nutrient may be the most powerful natural medicine you've never heard about!
So What Is it?
So what is this mystery nutrient? It's astaxanthin, a deep red-colored phytonutrient synthesized by microalgae called Haematococcus. It's grown in fresh water using sophisticated techniques that encourage the algae to grow its own powerful medicines that protect it from oxidation, UV radiation and other environmental stresses. When harvested from the algae and concentrated into a liquid, astaxanthin becomes the most powerful antioxidant known in the natural world, demonstrating 550 times the antioxidant power of Vitamin E, for example.
Now why is antioxidant power important? Think about it: Much of what goes on during the aging of the human body is due to oxidation. Every time you breathe, you're inhaling some oxygen, right? That oxygen reacts with your cells to create energy, but the byproduct of that energy is the creation offree radicals. These free radicals cause DNA damage, nerve cell damage, accelerated aging of internal organs and more.
The way to stop those free radicals is with antioxidants, which bind to them, neutralizing their damaging effects. Astaxanthin, it turns out, is so good at halting free radicals that it seems to confer miracle-class health benefits to the human body... benefits that might be described as "anti-aging" or "reversing disease."
When astaxanthin is present in muscles and other tissues, it prevents oxidation right where it's needed: Right at the site of stress or potential oxidation. Ever notice how you breathe more air when you're exercising? That's more oxygen you're pumping through your tissues, and more oxygen means more oxidation. So the more you exercise, the more you need powerful antioxidants like astaxanthin. This helps explain why some athletes who work out hard but don't supplement with superfoods and antioxidants seem to age faster than everyone else. Exercising without antioxidants is like putting yourself on an aging acceleration program!
The fact that astaxanthin goes right to the muscles gives it the ability to protect muscles from all sorts of degenerative conditions. A horse suffering from a severe muscle conditions called rhabdomyolysis, for example (which can also be caused by statin drugs), was given 30mg of astaxanthin a day. In merely a few weeks, he was 100% symptom free and running again!
In fact, astaxanthin has been used in all kinds of ways to enhance the health of animals. In animal tests, it has been shown to:
• Greatly increase the longevity and survival rate of salmon and chickens
• Increase egg production by a whopping 300% in salmon
• Significantly lower salmonella infections in chickens
• Reduced infections by increasing immune resistance in every animal it's been tested with
• Accelerated the growth of farmed salmon by 600%!
The animals who have been fed a small amount of astaxanthin in their diet, it seems, experience phenomenal health benefits. Every type of animal given astaxanthin lives longer, grows faster, exhibits greater fertility and shows much stronger immune system function. Do these sound like benefits you'd like to experience, too?
How To Take Astaxanthin For Maximum Effect
Since astaxanthin is a fat-soluble carotenoid, the best way to maximize its circulation in your body (and thereby make sure it gets to all your cells, tissues and organs) is to take it with some healthy fats. What kind of healthy fats? Plant-based fats, of course: Coconut oil, olive oil, avocados, chia seeds, flaxseed oil or even fish oil if you want to go that route. Taking astaxanthin with fat causes it to be efficiently transported all around your body and delivered to the places where you body needs healthy fat.
And where does your body need healthy fat? Almost everywhere! Every cell in your body, for example, contains fat molecules in its membrane. And did you know that your brain is made of a whopping 60 percent fat? It's true: Your brain is mostly fat and water. So does it make sense to protect your brain with natural antioxidants that can cross the blood/brain barrier and protect your brain cells from oxidative damage? You bet it does, and that's why astaxanthin produces such astounding health benefits for your brain. That's why it has been shown to prevent the deterioration of the brain cells that lead to dementia and Alzheimer's disease.
• It doesn't work overnight. You probably won't feel any difference for a few days after you start taking astaxanthin. It takes time for the carotenoids to find their way to your tissues. Once you begin to feel some benefits, those benefits will typically increase for several weeks, so you'll feel better as you continue taking the astaxanthin. At some point, the benefits will level off and as long as you keep taking the astaxanthin, you'll stay there, experiencing those ongoing benefits.
• Astaxanthin won't counteract unhealthy habits like smoking cigarettes, eating fried foods or drinking a fat-laden Starbucks "coffee" that's really more like a 600-calorie milkshake. Don't take astaxanthin as an excuse to pursue unhealthy foods or lifestyle choices (like smoking).
• Don't go overboard with your exercise in an unsafe way. Always work with a qualified health practitioner concerning ANY changes in your exercise or diet. Ease into your exercise slowly and carefully. It's better to slowly ramp up to more exercise over time than to injure yourself because you got overly excited and went too far...
• Astaxanthin needs to be taken throughout the day for maximum effect. I take 4mg every 4 hours. That way, I'm getting a healthy dose of astaxanthin at every hour of the day.
• Always take astaxanthin with healthy fats. Since it's fat-soluble, it needs fat to hitch a ride to your body's cells.
• There's virtually no way to overdose on astaxanthin. Remember, this isn't a drug. It's something that's been in the natural food supply for millions of years. The studies that have been done show virtually no toxicity even at ridiculously high doses. The benefits of astaxanthin reach a point of diminishing returns after about 20mg per day for a human being. Even 4mg per day produces some benefits, but you may want to increase the dosage depending on your bodyweight and how you feel for maximum benefits.
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