Astaxanthin is the pigment that gives red and orange foods their bright hues. It belongs to a class of antioxidants known as carotenoids, which also include lutein and beta-carotene. As an antioxidant, astaxanthin boosts your skin health by scavenging harmful free radicals, which can otherwise damage your skin.

How astaxanthin boosts skin health

Free radicals are unstable molecules with unpaired electrons. These molecules steal from other cells in your body in order to pair up their lonely electrons. This act of stealing can damage your cells and lead to what’s called oxidative stress. This, in turn, can cause visible signs of aging such as wrinkles to appear.

“Simply put, oxidative stress is like rust in our body formed by oxidation, and it accelerates aging and disease,” functional medicine practitioner Christine Maren told MindBodyGreen. “While oxygen-free radicals are normal components of cell metabolism, they can become a problem if they are produced in an uncontrolled fashion.”

Free radicals are produced naturally in your body through processes like eating and breathing. But factors such as smoking, air pollution and sun exposure can accelerate the production of free radicals.

Antioxidants counter the harmful effects of free radicals by donating one of their electrons, which effectively neutralizes these damaging molecules. Your body produces some antioxidants, such as glutathione, but is unable to produce others on its own. Foods and supplements supply the antioxidants that your body cannot make.

One of the antioxidants found naturally in foods is astaxanthin, an antioxidant found in seafoods like salmon, trout and lobster. Astaxanthin is considered the “King of Carotenoids” because it is five times more powerful than beta-carotene – the carotenoid that gives carrots their orange hue – and 55o times more powerful than vitamin E. Meanwhile, it is a whopping 6,000 times better at mopping up free radicals than vitamin C.

Plus, astaxanthin does not act as a “pro-oxidant” at high concentrations. Other carotenoids can turn against you under certain conditions, such as at high concentrations, triggering oxidative stress instead of suppressing it.

Astaxanthin promotes healthy skin aging

Astaxanthin helps keep your skin looking young and radiant as you age. It protects your skin from the harmful effects of excessive sun exposure, which research shows is responsible for ninety percent of visible skin damage.

While a good dose of sunlight helps keep your skin healthy and increases the levels of vitamin D in your body, spending too many minutes under the sun can also be bad for your skin. This is because sun exposure increases the production of free radicals.

Astaxanthin acts as an internal sunscreen because it prevents damage from UVB rays. Studies show that astaxanthin delays skin damage caused by UV exposure, thereby causing fewer wrinkles and less skin redness. A clinical trial of astaxanthin supplements also shows that supplementing with astaxanthin improves your skin’s elasticity.

Besides being preventative, astaxanthin also speeds up healing when there is already damage on your skin. A study has found that taking astaxanthin supplements significantly improves skin elasticity and smoothness in just three months. Other studies also show that astaxanthin suppresses damage to the skin barrier, reduces wrinkles and age spot size, improves skin texture, keeps the skin hydrated and improves your skin tone.

Getting more astaxanthin into your diet

Foods like sockeye salmon, algae and red-hued seafoods provide excellent amounts of astaxanthin. Salmon, in particular, contains the highest concentration, with up to 38 milligrams (mg) per kilogram in wild-caught varieties.

You can also take supplements to boost your astaxanthin intake. Astaxanthin supplements exist, but it can also be found paired with other nutrients like DHA and collagen. Look for supplements of the extract of the Haematococcus pluvialis algae since this is the most bioavailable form. Aim for at least three mg of astaxanthin per day to reap this carotenoid’s benefits for the skin.

Astaxanthin is a potent antioxidant that boosts skin health by neutralizing harmful free radicals in the body. It protects your skin from damage and keeps it plump and hydrated. Eat more astaxanthin-rich foods like salmon to get more of this antioxidant into your diet.

Sources:

MindBodyGreen.com

GetTheGloss.com