[Acute Angle]

Picking up from this post by BIGINJAPAN, I think astaxanthin deserves its own thread.

Here is an academic review article from 2012:
Potential health-promoting effects of astaxanthin

The conclusion states: Growing evidence from tissue culture, animal, and clinical studies suggests that astaxanthin has potential health-promoting effects in the prevention and treatment of various diseases,
such as cancers (gastric, colon, breast, prostate, oral, tongue,
bladder, liver cancers, fibrosarcoma, and leukemia), chronic
inflammatory diseases (asthma, sepsis, rheumatoid arthritis, atherosclerosis, inflammatory bowel disease, and brain inflammatory diseases), metabolic syndrome (obesity, dyslipidemia, hypertension, and insulin resistance), diabetes, diabetic nephropathy, cardiovascular disease (hypertension, atherosclerosis, stroke, atrial fibrillation,
rethrombosis after thrombolysis, and myocardial injury),
gastrointestinal diseases (gastritis, gastric ulcer, duodenal
ulcer, and ethanol- or drug-induced gastric lesions), liver
disease (fatty liver, hepatitis, liver ischemia-reperfusion
injury, and chemicals-induced liver damages), neurodegenerative diseases (ischemia/reperfusion-induced neurodegeneration, Parkinson’s disease, Alzheimer’s disease, and other neurodegenerative disorders), eye disease (cataract, glaucoma, ocular inflammatory such as uveitis, choroidal
neovascularization, and eye fatigue from visual display
terminals), skin diseases (ultraviolet A-induced skin
damage, skin cancer, and skin sagging or wrinkling), exercise-induced fatigue (muscle fatigue, delayed-onset muscular soreness), male infertility, and HgCl2-induced acute renal failure.
These protections against various diseases by astaxanthin
are likely to involve antioxidant mechanisms including
prevention of oxidative damage and cellular necrosis or
apoptosis induced by oxidative stress; other potential
mechanisms include decreased expression or production of
inflammatory mediators and cytokines by suppressing the
activation of nuclear factor-kB, decreased expression or
production of transforming growth factor-b1, increased
levels of circulating adiponectin and insulin sensitivity,
decreased activity of the renin-angiotensin system, and
antimicrobial activity against H. pylori, etc. Although the
currently available data and recent findings are very
encouraging, more extensive, well-controlled clinical trials,
especially for 9-cis-astaxanthin, are suggested for each of
these categories.

Sorry for the lousy formatting.

TL;DR It's good stuff

Here is a video of Dr Mercola speaking to a representative of the biggest manufacturer of astaxanthin:

[Basil Ransom]

I recently started taking this. It's a little premature to give my personal experience, but I've seen many passionate testimonials in favor of it.

I now don't burn if I'm out in the sun for an hour. I could probably go longer, I just haven't tested it. This was the main reason I started taking it, plus it's touted for making your skin look better.

Information on dosing is welcome. I'm taking 6 mg a day currently. One of the head doctors at a company that makes astaxanthin supplements recommends *against* using more than 4 mg a day. See here (pdf) http://www.valensa.com/images3/Astaxanth..._FINAL.pdf . I'd also recommend ditching the pill on any day you have shrimp or wild salmon, which has astaxanthin in it. And these dosing guidelines are just for determining at what point you're wasting money - a 6 or 12 mg dose isn't detrimental.

I have seen people on the internet say astaxanthin didn't aid their symptoms until they kicked it up to 10 or 12 mg. For now, I'm sticking with 6 mg a day until my current stash runs out.

[el conquistador]

I'm glad this thread has been resurrected. I'm heading to the DR on Saturday and I'll be taking astaxanthin to avoid burning and get a tan.

Anybody who has type 1 skin and always burns should:
1. Clean up their diet -avoid sugar and processed foods, eat high quality fats and green vegetables.
2. Take astaxanthin.

As a child I was always in the shade while my friends where at the beach or the pool enjoying themselves.

I used to think I was just unlucky in the genetic lottery and my skin's reaction to the sun was something I couldn't change. Not true.

[PUA_Rachacha]

I supplemented with astaxanthin (4mg s.i.d.) and got skin cancer regardless on my forehead. I'd caution anyone thinking that they can consume this supplement and thus don't have to wear sunscreen anymore.

The linked video from Acute Angle shows a representative of one of the astaxanthin firms along with Dr. Mercola, a man who also sells the stuff as well. I'm sure their video is completely unbiased.

[GTS]

Tim Ferris did an interesting experimented with taking astaxanthin to replace sunblock.

http://www.fourhourworkweek.com/blog/201...pisode-16/

From what I remember, the video is not nfw.

[Basil Ransom]

Can you relay what he said? Seems like the comments are supportive of astaxanthin.

Another commenter mentioned a different t photo protective supplement but the evidence for it is a little shaky. Polyplodium Leucotomos.

[Bad Hussar]

I've been taking 16 mg a day for quite a while now. More than 6 months. Main benefit has been that I tan better (rather than burn) and generally have a better colour/complexion. It's supposed to be a very good anti-inflammatory, but it's difficult to determine whether I've has this benefit. I wouldn't use it as a painkiller. It's not that strong.

[BIGINJAPAN]

(03-27-2014 05:54 PM)Bad Hussar Wrote:  

I've been taking 16 mg a day for quite a while now. More than 6 months. Main benefit has been that I tan better (rather than burn) and generally have a better colour/complexion. It's supposed to be a very good anti-inflammatory, but it's difficult to determine whether I've has this benefit. I wouldn't use it as a painkiller. It's not that strong.

You can go get a simple blood test to determine inflammation in the body.
The erythrocyte sedimentation rate (ESR) reflects the degree of inflammation in the body.

I personally have stopped taking it for the last couple months as I found a great source of cod liver from iceland that is cheap and tastes great. I will report back once I get some blood work done in the summer.

[Basil Ransom]

Bad Hussar, what led to you taking 16 mg a day - eg did you try smaller dosages and see less benefit initially?

Just wondering how benefits and dosage relate.

[Bad Hussar]

(03-27-2014 08:24 PM)Basil Ransom Wrote:  

Bad Hussar, what led to you taking 16 mg a day - eg did you try smaller dosages and see less benefit initially?

Just wondering how benefits and dosage relate.

Let me double check the container just to make sure I got the figures right.....

Ja, each tablet contains 8 mg of astaxanthin, and the recommended dose is two capsules per day "with a meal or one hour before exercise". Also contains Vitamins A+E and Lutein.

Basically I take 16 mg since that is the recommended dose on the tin. Maybe I should have done some more research, but I have not experienced any negative effects, so I don't think it is harming me.

This is the what I use:

http://therealthing.co.za/the-real-thing...sules.html

The better tanning and skin colour/complexion is the only benefit I can 100% attest to, but I think I have also experienced some vision gains. Interestingly these gains disappear if I take a high carb protein powder, which I do quite often. I have heard about a possible high carb = poor vision connection so maybe that isn't in my head.

[Basil Ransom]

I'm still taking this and not getting burned from being in the sun an hour here and there, but someone just told me I'm getting freckles - I see some on my forehead which I hadn't seen before. I think they go away if I keep myself indoors.

Do you go out of your way to prevent freckling? Is freckling something you should prevent? Do they age you or indicate skin damage?