by Art Solbrig
One of my recent experiments was to test a common supplement called Astaxanthin ("AST"). Astaxanthin is a natural, red-pigmented ketocarotenoid (or plant color) found in some types of yeast and microalgae. I only knew of AST as an antioxidant and anti-inflammatory via inhibition of the inflammatory mediator Nf kappa B. I had no expectations of what it might do for me, but I wanted to see what, if anything, it might do.
I bought the highest dose version I could find, 24 mg, which also claimed to be a liposomal formulation.
I took double the suggested dose of 24 mg for a total of 48 mg/day of AST. One soft gel with breakfast and one soft gel with dinner. I didn't notice anything for two weeks, but around the two week mark, I noticed that my morning two-mile brisk walk elapsed time had decreased, which was very unusual.
To give some context, I do a morning very brisk walk and my elapsed time varies between 27 to 30 minutes, with most days being between 27.5 and 28 minutes elapsed time ("ET") and usually closer to the 28-minute mark.
My very best ET ever was 26.75 minutes over a year ago and I have never been able to beat that ET since, no matter how hard I tried. After two weeks of taking AST twice a day at 24 mg each time, my ETs were staying very close to 27 minutes.
After 3 weeks of taking AST, I hit below 27 minutes and by the end of the third week, I hit a new best ET of 26.5 minutes! I was pretty excited about that. Previously when I would walk, I would feel tightness in my calves when I was pushing near my limit as far as walking speed and if I didn't slow down, my calves would start to cramp unless I put mag oil on them before going for my walk. I stopped having to apply magnesium oil before a walk, which was great.
By the fourth week, I was able to bring my ET down to below 26 minutes and could hit in the low 25s. I don't think I could have done this even when I was much younger, so I was really impressed with these results. I still feel the tightness in my calves as I am pushing new limits for me, but I never get cramps now.
All of this is great news to me, but even better, by the fifth week, I broke below 25 minutes and hit a new low ET of 24:45! It would be an understatement to say I am impressed with AST!
I started thinking if this is really real and not just a placebo effect, there must be some science to support this use for AST, so I started reading and a week or two ago this new study just came out about the use of AST in the elderly:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC9603106/
Here is an important quote from this study :
The main finding of the current study was that taking an astaxanthin supplement for 16 weeks increased walking endurance while also reducing oxidative stress in the elderly living in a nursing home.
The age group in this study was 67 to 94 and my thinking is if AST can do as much as it did in this study to improve walking ET, I think it should be able to do as much or more for a younger age group. Another consideration is that I took double the dose that was used in the above study and my results were apparent at 5 weeks as opposed to the 16 weeks allocated in the study.
With a little more reading, I was able to find another interesting study about AST involving improved results from endurance training due to AST:
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC8191397/
Here is an interesting quote from the study:
Results: ET(Endurance Training) led to improved specific muscle endurance only in the AX group (Pre 353 ± 26 vs. Post 472 ± 41 contractions), and submaximal GXT duration improved in both groups (PL 40.8 ± 9.1% and AX 41.1 ± 6.3%).
So in this study, AST was shown to improve upon the effect of endurance training in the elderly, something that AST has also shown in young athletes as described in the following study :
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/21984399/
Here is a relevant quote from the study:
The AST group significantly increased power output (20 W; 95% CI, 1, 38), while the PLA group did not (1.6 W; 95% CI, -17, 20). The mechanism of action for these improvements remains unclear, as we observed no treatment effects for carbohydrate and fat oxidation or blood indices indicative of fuel mobilization. While AST significantly improved TT performance the mechanism of action explaining this effect remains obscure.
The product I used:
Link to the product
Although I bought more to give a fair test of AST, I started to see benefits with the first bottle. AST was the only supplement I added during the five-week test period. The double dose I used may be a factor in my impressive results, but the study using the 24 mg dose still had excellent benefits.
I plan to reduce my dose to the label-recommended dose of 24 mg or one soft gel daily. The double amount I used was intended to speed up the effects of AST, but I have no way of knowing whether it did.
So although the methods of action have yet to be fully elucidated, Astaxanthin appears to improve endurance, exercise performance, and muscle strength.
If you are currently in any type of exercise plan or are considering starting a new exercise plan, jogging, fast walking, running, or doing any type of aerobics, AST seems worthy of your consideration in that plan to increase your total benefits for your efforts!
Another important consideration with AST is that I am only discussing one specific health benefit of AST in this article.
Regarding dosing, I can not recommend the dose I used to anyone because I am not a doctor, and the 48 mg/day I used has never been tested. I used that dose at my own risk, but even the 24 mg study showed significant improvement in the participants.
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