07-14-2011, 11:00 PM
by Mike Adams, the Health Ranger, NaturalNews Editor
(NaturalNews) Every once in a very great while, I discover a natural medicine so astonishing that I feel compelled to share it with you. The verb "discover" is actually not to my credit, by the way; Mother Nature created this natural medicine eons ago, and it's been present in trace amounts in aquatic ecosystems for over a billion years. In this article, I'm going to reveal the name of this natural medicine, what health benefits it provides to us, and how to get some right now. But first, before revealing the name, I want to share some of the numerous health benefits with you so you get the full picture of just how significant this substance can be in enhancing your health. As always, I have absolutely no financial ties to this product, and I earn nothing if you choose to purchase it. I do, however, buy and consume this product myself on a regular basis, as you'll see below.
Did you ever notice how the drug companies get excited when they find a drug that just slightly alters the risk of a single disease? I remember hearing all the hype about a particular cancer drug made by Big Pharma. It was called a "miracle" drug that needed to be fast-tracked so it could start saving lives. When I looked at the research, however, it only turned out to prevent cancer in one woman out of two hundred (a 0.5% reduction in the risk of breast cancer). Gee, that's not much get excited about. And yet they called it a "miracle" drug!
Well 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!):
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces proliferation of breast cancer tumor cells by 40%
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the brain from dementia and Alzheimer's
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly reduces inflammation and joint pain
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces oxidative damage to your DNA by 40% (even at low doses)
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly increases endurance, muscle recovery and workout performance
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces the risk of cancer
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces blood sugar level in diabetics and prediabetics
ââ¬Â¢ Improves fertility while decreasing the rate of stillborn births
ââ¬Â¢ Promotes cardiovascular health, reduces C-Reactive Proteins (CRP)
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces or eliminates carpal tunnel syndrome
ââ¬Â¢ Boosts immune function and helps the body resist infections
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the stomach from ulcers and invasive bacteria
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the kidneys from damage due to high blood sugar
ââ¬Â¢ Causes cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis)
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly improves sperm quality, motility, and sperm count
ââ¬Â¢ Prevents asthma by normalizing histamine levels
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the body from highly oxidative foods like fried foods
In addition, I've found that this natural medicine:
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly protects eye health, reduces cataracts and prevents UV damage to the eyes
ââ¬Â¢ Makes skin look younger and functions as a natural internal sunscreen that prevents DNA damage and sunburn
ââ¬Â¢ 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
Now, if all that is really true -- and I'll show you in a minute that it is true -- that would make this one of the most miraculous medicines ever discovered by modern science, wouldn't it? 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 (which I will reveal below) 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 I've described 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!
Maybe you have heard about it already, but here's something else...
It's possible, of course, that you have heard about it. Especially if you've been reading NaturalNews for some time (I've mentioned it on this website before). But until recently, I never fully understood the health benefits of taking larger doses of the nutrient.
Previously, I was only taking 2mg - 4mg per day. But for a while now, I've been taking 16mg per day (400% more than before), and I've discovered something truly astounding: The health benefits of this natural medicine keep increasing as the dose increases (to a limit, of course). I've found that 16mg a day is the ideal dosage for me to experience maximum benefits from this supplement... benefits that include outstanding athletic performance, a significant reduction in muscle soreness and joint pain, radical improvements in resistance to UV sun exposure, stabilized blood sugar and many more.
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. (I reveal my No. 1 recommended source and how to get astaxanthin at a discount, below...)
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 of free 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."
Right to the muscles and tissues that need them
It gets even better: Unlike most antioxidants, astaxanthin is fat-soluble, meaning it gets carried by fat molecules directly to tissues and organs in your body where it can do the most good, like your retina, your brain, your breast tissue, prostate tissue, and skeletal muscles. You know what makes the flesh of salmon pink? Astaxanthin. And guess what gives salmon the seemingly superhuman ability to achieve marathon swimming feats, leaping up waterfalls against the current? Astaxanthin, of course. Without astaxanthin, salmon are mere average performers, and their survival rate drops to less than one in five. But with astaxanthin, they become superstars of the aquatic world, performing feats of physical strength and endurance that, in proportion, dwarf the greatest achievements of the world's top human athletes. (And their survival rate on salmon farms leaps from 17% to an astonishing 98%!)
You see, 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! (The owners were no doubt astonished.)
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:
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly increase the longevity and survival rate of salmon and chickens
ââ¬Â¢ Increase egg production by a whopping 300% in salmon
ââ¬Â¢ Significantly lower salmonella infections in chickens
ââ¬Â¢ Reduced infections by increasing immune resistance in every animal it's been tested with
ââ¬Â¢ Accelerated the growth of farmed salmon by 600%! (Seems impossible, but it's true...)
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 get astaxanthin as an exclusive discount
Here at NaturalNews, I'm always looking for the best products and supplements I can recommend to readers. Again, I must repeat the fact that I have absolutely no financial ties with any of the products I'm recommending here, and I earn absolutely nothing if you decide to purchase astaxanthin. My sole motivation here is in demonstrating my value to you, the NaturalNews readers, by bringing you great deals like this (so you keep coming back to my website!).
Here's the deal I've put together for you on astaxanthin. I have a very positive journalistic relationship with the folks at Cyanotech who manufacture astaxanthin. I've even toured their aquaculture farms in Hawaii, observing their farming methods, cleaning methods and research labs. So I have a lot of truth in Cyanotech and how their products are grown and harvested. That's the brand of astaxanthin I recommend: BioAstin is the brand name.
For where to get it, the online vitamin retailer I recommend is Vitacost http://www.vitacost.com because they have great prices, fast shipping and they carry almost 10,000 different health-related products, allowing you to do a lot of your supplement shopping in one place.
The folks at Vitacost were thrilled to put together a time-limited coupon code that gets you 10% off their astaxanthin products. It's good from right now through close of business this Friday. To get the coupon code, just check your e-mail, since I already sent it to NaturalNews subscribers last night.
Not yet a NaturalNews subscriber? Just sign up right now (it's free!) and you'll instantly see the Vitacost discount code on the subscription success page. Sign up here: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
It only takes ten seconds. Enter your e-mail address and confirm it, then you're in! You'll have the Vitacost coupon code and the ability to save 10% on these phenomenal astaxanthin products. Be sure to act now since not only does this special end this Friday, but with so many readers discovering this same article today, Vitacost is likely to be hit pretty hard on their astaxanthin inventory. In the past, announcements like this have wiped out the inventories of smaller companies, and some people had to wait weeks to get their products. To avoid that, order early.
To use the coupon code, simply go to either of these pages:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also natural astaxanthin)
Remember, the coupon code gets you 10% off the already low prices offered by VitaCost! Check your e-mail for the coupon code, or subscribe here to get it now: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
(Ahh, you knew there'd be some catch to the discount, right? Well, it's true: Even though I don't make any money on astaxanthin, I do ask that readers who want to receive these great savings we negotiate for you at least make a small commitment to NaturalNews by subscribing to our e-mail newsletter. It's a fair exchange: You subscribe to our e-mail newsletter, and we keep bringing you fantastic discounts on outstanding products. It's the least we can do for each other, wouldn't you agree?)
What I really love about Vitacost, by the way, is the fact that they have super fast shipping times, and they ship any number of products to you for a flat fee of just $4.95. That only applies to the continental U.S., but shipping fees are very reasonable to other destinations, too.
Please note that this 10% discount is currently limited to only the astaxanthin products, not the entire Vitacost product line, but their everyday prices on other products are very good to begin with, so feel free to pick up some other products if you want. They just happen to have a really incredible price on Ola Loa drinkable vitamins, which I've recommended for several years. Their price is 45% off retail. Wow! That's the best price I've seen on Ola Loa in a long time. Get that at: http://www.vitacost.com/Ola-Loa-Energy-O...30-Packets
Cyanotech's natural astaxanthin receives our Editor's Choice award
When you visit the web pages at Vitacost http://www.Vitacost.com you'll notice that two of the natural astaxanthin products there have been given a Natural News Editor's Choice award. This is an award we grant to the most outstanding products we find. In a week or two, we'll be announcing numerous awards for products and companies that deserve that recognition. For example, we'll be giving awards on Dr. Bronner's soap products, the new unsweetened hemp milk called Hemp Bliss, online superfood retailers like Transition Nutrition http://www.TransitionNutrition.com and many more.
The award logo has been given to both the BioAstin brand and Vitacost's in-house brand, because they both use the same source of natural astaxanthin. What this logo means is that you can trust the product to be made with very high quality ingredients and offered by a reputable source that we've checked out.
Supercritical extraction means no toxic solvents!
Speaking of high quality ingredients, I think it's important to know how nutrients are extracted from their natural sources. Sadly, some companies use toxic, explosive chemicals to extract their nutrients. A famous provider of DHA oils, for example, uses highly toxic hexane to extract the oils. That's just plain awful.
Supercritical CO2 extraction, on the other hand, is safe and far more "natural." It uses compressed CO2 to pull out key nutrients, after which the CO2 evaporates harmlessly into the ambient air (from which the CO2 was gathered in the first place). Thus, it introduces no new chemicals into the environment, and it leaves nothing in the resulting product that might be harmful to you. This process -- called "supercritical CO2 extraction" -- is the best extraction process in the business, and it's used on premium-quality supplements like neem oil. It also happens to be the process used by Cyanotech to extract their astaxanthin from the Haematococcus algae.
That means this astaxanthin contains no toxic solvent chemicals whatsoever! That's one of the many reasons why we gave it our Editor's Choice award: Because it's an honest product, with zero chemical contaminants (or as close to zero as you can get on the planet today), that offers astounding health benefits. Cyanotech's astaxanthin deserves every bit of publicity we can bring it. I truly consider it to be one of the most important nutrients ever discovered for human health.
My top 3 nutrients for human health
Speaking of top nutrients for human health, would you like to know what I think are the top 3 most important nutrients for human health? They are:
#1: Vitamin D
#2: Omega-3 fatty acids
#3: Astaxanthin
Vitamin D is crucial, of course, due to its miracle-class ability to halt cancer (77% of ALL cancers are prevented by vitamin D alone!), to ease depression, boost bone health, enhance heart health and much, much more. It's the single most impressive nutrient I've ever found. Nothing beats vitamin D in terms of the number of important health benefits derived from a single substance.
Next comes omega-3 fatty acids, which have proven to be miraculous, too, in terms of preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, depression and much more. Plus, you can get these from plant sources (like chia seeds or flax seeds) or animal source (fish oil, krill oil, etc.).
And now, astaxathin joins my list as the third most important nutrient for human health. It is the "King of the carotenoids," as they say, and it has the ability to ease systemic inflammation, protect the eyes and brain from oxidative damage, prevent cancer, protect the body from dangerous foods, enhance skin health and even protect the skin from excessive UV sun exposure. It's truly miraculous.
I've heard some ignorant conventional medical doctors (and FDA bureaucrats) say there are no miracles in the world of supplements, herbs and natural medicine. The only miracles in the world, they claim, are found in pharmaceuticals. I think that's nonsense: Nature is full of miracles! Growing a baby in the womb is a miracle. Automatic skin repair following a scratch or scrape is a miracle. The nanotechnology in your immune system is a miracle. The building of a highly complex organism from microscopic DNA is a miracle, too. Nature abounds with miracles! And astaxanthin is simply one miracle among many that have been provided for us by Mother Nature.
If you'd like to experience the miracle of astaxanthin for yourself, get it at:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also made of natural astaxanthin)
Get a 10% savings coupon code -- good through this Friday only! -- by subscribing to the NaturalNews e-mail newsletter (it's free!) at: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
If you're already a subscriber, just check your e-mail in box, because I e-mailed the coupon code to you before this article went live.
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.
Are you taking enough astaxanthin? I took astaxanthin on and off for a couple of years at a very low dosage: 2mg or 4mg. And I never really noticed much of an effect. The reality of astaxanthin's health benefits didn't kick in for me until I started taking significantly higher doses like 16mg per day. At that level (which is just four tiny gelcaps per day, they're the size of BBs), all kinds of benefits started to kick in. I was able to run farther, exercise with greater intensity, and yet wake up the next morning with surprisingly little soreness. It was like my body was suddenly functioning at a fitness level way beyond what I was used to.
I can still remember running along the path through the open desert here in Arizona, passing by the Chaparral bushes (which can cure many cancers, by the way), smelling the rich, fragrant flowers of the local mesquite bushes (which are the sweetest smell in the whole world, as far as I'm concerned), and suddenly realizing that I wasn't even breathing hard. I was running at a healthy pace, just gliding along the desert pathway, kicking up sand, leaping across small rocks, under the blazing desert sun, and I didn't even feel tired. It was like I had an oxygen infusion keeping me energized and alert. It was like my heart could pump a never-ending supply of energy to all my muscles. The feeling was truly amazing.
Sure, I take a lot of natural supplements. I drink aloe vera every day (my recommended source for premium-quality dried aloe gel is http://www.GoodCauseWellness.com by the way), and aloe helps your blood carry more oxygen. And yes, I don't eat oxidizing fried foods, or trans fatty acids, or sugar, and I don't take pharmaceuticals of any kind, and yes, my blood flows like water because I gobble a lot of fish oils, and I get all kinds of vitamin D from the sun. So sure, I have a lot of factors going into healthy blood (astaxanthin certainly isn't the only one) that creates this athletic effect, but the point is I'm only human, just like you, and if I can make my cardiovascular system pump along effortlessly, filling my cells with seemingly unlimited oxygen during exercise, then you can experience similar benefits. We're 99.98% genetically identical, after all. My heart is pretty much the same as your heart. The only difference is what we choose to feed it!
Now don't get me wrong, in no way am I saying that after you pop a couple of astaxanthin pills, you will turn into Superman and you can start tearing up the hills of your local hiking path. The benefits of astaxanthin are very real, and I have no need to exaggerate them, so here are some things you need to know about astaxanthin to make sure you understand what it can and can't do for you:
ââ¬Â¢ It doesn't work overnight. I took it for 30 days before I really started to see significant results. 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.
ââ¬Â¢ 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).
ââ¬Â¢ 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...
ââ¬Â¢ 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.
ââ¬Â¢ Always take astaxanthin with healthy fats. Since it's fat-soluble, it needs fat to hitch a ride to your body's cells.
ââ¬Â¢ Remember that if you eat fried foods (including so-called "healthy" snack chips fried at high temperatures), you will "use up" a lot of the antioxidant power in astaxanthin, leaving less to help the rest of your body. Unhealthy foods are often highly oxidizing, so even though I don't recommend eating fried foods, if you do, you may want to consider taking an extra astaxanthin capsule at the same time to protect your body from the fried foods.
ââ¬Â¢ Not to make this too scatalogical, but at 16mg per day, astaxanthin will turn your poo slightly red, just like when you drink beet juice. Drink some chlorophyll too (which turns your poo green) next December, and you can poo in vibrant holiday colors! (Only recommended for the easily amused...)
ââ¬Â¢ 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. However, based on what I've read it seems that the benefits of astaxanthin reach a point of diminishing returns after about 20mg per day for a human being, so that's why I take 16mg a day: It's enough to generate wonderful benefits, but I'm not going overboard with it. In one study, they gave 30mg per day to a horse! So probably, it's a fair guess to say you would need less than a horse. The lighter you are, the less you need, of course. I weigh 190 and take 16mg. If you only weigh 110 pounds, you might only want to take 8mg or 12mg per day. Even 4mg per day produces some benefits, by the way.
Once, again, if you'd like to get your hands on some astaxanthin, the source I recommend in the U.S. is Vitacost. Their pages on astaxanthin are:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also natural astaxanthin)
If you want a 10% discount, and you're already a subscriber to NaturalNews, just check your e-mail (I already sent you the coupon code good for 10% off). If you're not a subscriber, just sign up right now (it's free!) and you'll instantly receive the coupon code. You can subscribe here: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
You can also just buy astaxanthin at your local health food store, of course. Or you might have other online retailers if you're living in the U.K., Australia, Canada or another country. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me where you get your astaxanthin, just make sure of one thing, which is VERY important: Always by "natural" astaxanthin, not "synthetic astaxanthin."
You see, there's a lot of synthetic astaxanthin on the market, too, and it's made from -- if you can believe this -- petroleum! It doesn't provide any health benefits, by the way, just like synthetic vitamin E or synthetic B vitamins. They're all garbage, if you ask me. Only the natural stuff really works to protect and enhance your health. So wherever you buy astaxanthin, make sure you're buying only natural astaxanthin.
Which sources of astaxanthin I really trust
Another note: As a journalist, I've toured the Cyanotech facility on the Big Island in Hawaii, and I've seen their quality first-hand. I've met the people, photographed the processing facility machines and watched how they clean, dry and pack both astaxanthin and spirulina. So I've seen it all first hand at Cyanotech, and I know they do a really great job. I have NOT seen any other facilities making astaxanthin, so I can't say whether or not any other companies are doing as good a job as Cyanotech. Therefore, I personally only buy Cyanotech's astaxanthin because I know I can trust it. I also know they batch test their products to make sure they don't contain heavy metals or other freaky contaminants.
I just can't say whether other manufacturers are doing a good job. They may very well do so, but I haven't had the opportunity to tour their facilities yet. Perhaps after this story runs, I'll be invited to other manufacturers and I'll be able to publish a follow up report to let you know what I find. One thing you can rest assured of, however: I have zero financial ties with Cyanotech, Vitacost or any other company mentioned in this review, because that's my policy of remaining independent and objective, and I stick to it!
Why the FDA wants to censor this
The FDA, of course, wants to censor this information outright. They don't want consumers learning the truth about how natural astaxanthin makes anti-inflammatory medications virtually obsolete, or how it operates as a natural sunscreen, or an exercise endurance enhancer. They don't want you to know that taking astaxanthin greatly reduces your chances of ever being diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, or that it prevents the oxidation of your cells from eating fried foods or junk foods.
And you know what? If I were selling astaxanthin, I'd be in jail right now. The FDA would raid my warehouse (if I had one), confiscate my inventory (if I had any), seize my product literature (if I had some) and confiscate my bank account profits from selling the product (if I had any). But since I don't have any of that and, in fact, I earn absolutely nothing from telling you these obvious truths about astaxanthin, the FDA is at a complete loss to take any action to censor me and thereby prevent you from learning the truth about this amazing nutrient.
To put it simply: I'm not regulated by the FDA, since I sell no foods, drugs, supplements or other such products. As a result, I'm free to tell you the truth about astaxanthin and other natural medicines in a way that the manufacturers of these products simply cannot (because they're muzzled by the FDA, which is of course a criminal operation engaged in blatant censorship campaigns designed to keep the public ignorant about nutrition in order to protect the profits of Big Pharma).
So, in essence, the facts that astaxanthin eases arthritis pain, prevents Alzheimer's disease, speeds recovery from exercise, boosts physical endurance, prevents cancer, stabilizes blood sugar and protects the entire cardiovascular system are things that you're not supposed to know, you know. Forbidden knowledge and all that. The FDA has decided that the American population should not have access to this information, thereby ensuring that consumers don't know they have options for their health. When consumers don't realize they have options, they default to taking dangerous (yet profitable) pharmaceuticals. And that, of course, is the whole point of the FDA's campaign of censorship in the first place.
Hey Health Ranger, where are your scientific citations?
By the way, sometimes people ask me why I don't include more citations of the scientific studies supporting what I'm sharing in these articles. The answer to that is simple: The presence (or lack thereof) of a "scientific" citation does not change the nature of what astaxanthin is already and what it does for your body. In other words, including a citation doesn't make astaxanthin work any better, and excluding a citation doesn't make astaxanthin work any worse. It is what it is, and it's been around far longer than humans, or researchers, or scientific journals. Natural medicine, in other words, doesn't just suddenly start to work after it's been publishing in a science journal; it's been working for centuries to keep animals, fish and our human ancestors healthy!
After hearing that some people say, "No, Mike, you're supposed to convince me that astaxanthin does all this, and that's why you should cite all these scientific studies."
Actually, I'm not here to convince anyone who isn't already ready to experience phenomenal health in the first place. Some people will stand in their comfort zones and avoid all the healthy things they could be taking right now -- superfoods, spirulina, vitamin D, fish oils, astaxanthin -- and they'll sit there and insist "I'm not taking anything until it's scientifically proven!" And before long, they waste away with degenerative disease, dying of cancer, or heart attacks or strokes, all because they wanted 100% absolute proof before they would take a single health supplement that might have prevented their disease. It reminds me of a high school friend who never went to college. A few years back, I asked him why he never went to college. He said that Bill Clinton promised a free college education to every student in America, and he was waiting around until Clinton or some other President made good on that promise.
It just makes you wonder: How long will some people wait around to die, waiting for scientists to proclaim they've discovered what Mother Nature has provided us all along? Anybody who waits for corporate America to tell you how to take care of your health is a fool. There is simply no incentive for any industry (like the sick-care industry) to make you aware of the health benefits of astaxanthin. And teaching people how to prevent cancer is certainly no priority of medical journals, most of which are entirely funded by drug companies that profit from cancer in the first place.
Finally, scientific citations were probably really handy a few decades ago when there was no such thing as an instantly searchable online database of scientific studies such as Google Scholar. I mean, c'mon, how hard is it to go online and search for astaxanthin studies, anyway? Here, I'll do the search for you, just click this link: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=astaxanthin
There, you'll see a listing of 9,230 different references to astaxanthin in the scientific literature, including numerous studies about its anti-cancer benefits, antioxidant benefits, prevention of carcinogenesis, and a whole lot more.
Okay, get this: Some people then say, but Mike, you're supposed to interpret all those studies for us and tell us what they mean!
And that, my friends, is exactly what this article is doing in the first place: Interpreting the science and boiling it down to everyday language that honestly and openly shares the benefits of astaxanthin. So you see, in reality, people don't really want a long list of 9,230 scientific studies about a miracle nutrient like natural astaxanthin. What they really want is to understand how can it help me? And that's what I aim to do with articles like this. I'm just working to tell you the honest truth about the remarkable health benefits of natural astaxanthin.
Let's be honest: If I listed 9,230 scientific citations in the space following this paragraph, would it really matter anyway? The skeptical doctors, trained to discredit anything that's not a drug, would dismiss the whole story anyway. Even a million studies cannot overcome a person's own limiting belief system and mental filters. If a person believes natural medicine has no health benefits whatsoever, then they will automatically filter out all evidence that contradicts their stated belief.
On the other hand, a person who understands natural health and the principles of natural medicine doesn't need 9,230 scientific studies listed either, since they realize that Mother Nature is the true authority on human health and natural medicine, not some commercial publication that tries to position itself as a "scientific" journal. The real authority on what heals is, essentially, the nature found inside you right now. You are an extension of nature, and your body was created to live in perfect harmony with the foods and medicines found in the natural world around you. That's why truth is only defined by what's true for you, in your own experience.
So try astaxanthin yourself today, and see what benefits you experience. Don't let someone else tell you what astaxanthin will or won't do for you, find out for yourself! Only you can be the authority on what's true for you, after all.
Here are my recommended sources one more time:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also natural astaxanthin)
If you want the 10% discount coupon code, and you're already a subscriber to NaturalNews, just check your e-mail (I already sent you the coupon code good for 10% off). If you're not a subscriber, just sign up right now (it's free!) and you'll instantly receive the coupon code. You can subscribe here: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
Remember, the discount is only good through this Friday, and it only applies to those astaxanthin products, not the entire Vitacost product line.
Enjoy your astaxanthin!
Note: The opinions expressed here about astaxanthin are my own and in no way represent opinions or statements from Cyanotech or Vitacost. The statements in this article are protected under the First Amendment rights of the U.S. Constitution.
http://www.naturalnews.com/023177.html
(NaturalNews) Every once in a very great while, I discover a natural medicine so astonishing that I feel compelled to share it with you. The verb "discover" is actually not to my credit, by the way; Mother Nature created this natural medicine eons ago, and it's been present in trace amounts in aquatic ecosystems for over a billion years. In this article, I'm going to reveal the name of this natural medicine, what health benefits it provides to us, and how to get some right now. But first, before revealing the name, I want to share some of the numerous health benefits with you so you get the full picture of just how significant this substance can be in enhancing your health. As always, I have absolutely no financial ties to this product, and I earn nothing if you choose to purchase it. I do, however, buy and consume this product myself on a regular basis, as you'll see below.
Did you ever notice how the drug companies get excited when they find a drug that just slightly alters the risk of a single disease? I remember hearing all the hype about a particular cancer drug made by Big Pharma. It was called a "miracle" drug that needed to be fast-tracked so it could start saving lives. When I looked at the research, however, it only turned out to prevent cancer in one woman out of two hundred (a 0.5% reduction in the risk of breast cancer). Gee, that's not much get excited about. And yet they called it a "miracle" drug!
Well 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!):
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces proliferation of breast cancer tumor cells by 40%
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the brain from dementia and Alzheimer's
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly reduces inflammation and joint pain
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces oxidative damage to your DNA by 40% (even at low doses)
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly increases endurance, muscle recovery and workout performance
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces the risk of cancer
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces blood sugar level in diabetics and prediabetics
ââ¬Â¢ Improves fertility while decreasing the rate of stillborn births
ââ¬Â¢ Promotes cardiovascular health, reduces C-Reactive Proteins (CRP)
ââ¬Â¢ Reduces or eliminates carpal tunnel syndrome
ââ¬Â¢ Boosts immune function and helps the body resist infections
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the stomach from ulcers and invasive bacteria
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the kidneys from damage due to high blood sugar
ââ¬Â¢ Causes cancer cells to commit suicide (apoptosis)
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly improves sperm quality, motility, and sperm count
ââ¬Â¢ Prevents asthma by normalizing histamine levels
ââ¬Â¢ Protects the body from highly oxidative foods like fried foods
In addition, I've found that this natural medicine:
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly protects eye health, reduces cataracts and prevents UV damage to the eyes
ââ¬Â¢ Makes skin look younger and functions as a natural internal sunscreen that prevents DNA damage and sunburn
ââ¬Â¢ 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
Now, if all that is really true -- and I'll show you in a minute that it is true -- that would make this one of the most miraculous medicines ever discovered by modern science, wouldn't it? 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 (which I will reveal below) 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 I've described 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!
Maybe you have heard about it already, but here's something else...
It's possible, of course, that you have heard about it. Especially if you've been reading NaturalNews for some time (I've mentioned it on this website before). But until recently, I never fully understood the health benefits of taking larger doses of the nutrient.
Previously, I was only taking 2mg - 4mg per day. But for a while now, I've been taking 16mg per day (400% more than before), and I've discovered something truly astounding: The health benefits of this natural medicine keep increasing as the dose increases (to a limit, of course). I've found that 16mg a day is the ideal dosage for me to experience maximum benefits from this supplement... benefits that include outstanding athletic performance, a significant reduction in muscle soreness and joint pain, radical improvements in resistance to UV sun exposure, stabilized blood sugar and many more.
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. (I reveal my No. 1 recommended source and how to get astaxanthin at a discount, below...)
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 of free 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."
Right to the muscles and tissues that need them
It gets even better: Unlike most antioxidants, astaxanthin is fat-soluble, meaning it gets carried by fat molecules directly to tissues and organs in your body where it can do the most good, like your retina, your brain, your breast tissue, prostate tissue, and skeletal muscles. You know what makes the flesh of salmon pink? Astaxanthin. And guess what gives salmon the seemingly superhuman ability to achieve marathon swimming feats, leaping up waterfalls against the current? Astaxanthin, of course. Without astaxanthin, salmon are mere average performers, and their survival rate drops to less than one in five. But with astaxanthin, they become superstars of the aquatic world, performing feats of physical strength and endurance that, in proportion, dwarf the greatest achievements of the world's top human athletes. (And their survival rate on salmon farms leaps from 17% to an astonishing 98%!)
You see, 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! (The owners were no doubt astonished.)
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:
ââ¬Â¢ Greatly increase the longevity and survival rate of salmon and chickens
ââ¬Â¢ Increase egg production by a whopping 300% in salmon
ââ¬Â¢ Significantly lower salmonella infections in chickens
ââ¬Â¢ Reduced infections by increasing immune resistance in every animal it's been tested with
ââ¬Â¢ Accelerated the growth of farmed salmon by 600%! (Seems impossible, but it's true...)
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 get astaxanthin as an exclusive discount
Here at NaturalNews, I'm always looking for the best products and supplements I can recommend to readers. Again, I must repeat the fact that I have absolutely no financial ties with any of the products I'm recommending here, and I earn absolutely nothing if you decide to purchase astaxanthin. My sole motivation here is in demonstrating my value to you, the NaturalNews readers, by bringing you great deals like this (so you keep coming back to my website!).
Here's the deal I've put together for you on astaxanthin. I have a very positive journalistic relationship with the folks at Cyanotech who manufacture astaxanthin. I've even toured their aquaculture farms in Hawaii, observing their farming methods, cleaning methods and research labs. So I have a lot of truth in Cyanotech and how their products are grown and harvested. That's the brand of astaxanthin I recommend: BioAstin is the brand name.
For where to get it, the online vitamin retailer I recommend is Vitacost http://www.vitacost.com because they have great prices, fast shipping and they carry almost 10,000 different health-related products, allowing you to do a lot of your supplement shopping in one place.
The folks at Vitacost were thrilled to put together a time-limited coupon code that gets you 10% off their astaxanthin products. It's good from right now through close of business this Friday. To get the coupon code, just check your e-mail, since I already sent it to NaturalNews subscribers last night.
Not yet a NaturalNews subscriber? Just sign up right now (it's free!) and you'll instantly see the Vitacost discount code on the subscription success page. Sign up here: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
It only takes ten seconds. Enter your e-mail address and confirm it, then you're in! You'll have the Vitacost coupon code and the ability to save 10% on these phenomenal astaxanthin products. Be sure to act now since not only does this special end this Friday, but with so many readers discovering this same article today, Vitacost is likely to be hit pretty hard on their astaxanthin inventory. In the past, announcements like this have wiped out the inventories of smaller companies, and some people had to wait weeks to get their products. To avoid that, order early.
To use the coupon code, simply go to either of these pages:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also natural astaxanthin)
Remember, the coupon code gets you 10% off the already low prices offered by VitaCost! Check your e-mail for the coupon code, or subscribe here to get it now: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
(Ahh, you knew there'd be some catch to the discount, right? Well, it's true: Even though I don't make any money on astaxanthin, I do ask that readers who want to receive these great savings we negotiate for you at least make a small commitment to NaturalNews by subscribing to our e-mail newsletter. It's a fair exchange: You subscribe to our e-mail newsletter, and we keep bringing you fantastic discounts on outstanding products. It's the least we can do for each other, wouldn't you agree?)
What I really love about Vitacost, by the way, is the fact that they have super fast shipping times, and they ship any number of products to you for a flat fee of just $4.95. That only applies to the continental U.S., but shipping fees are very reasonable to other destinations, too.
Please note that this 10% discount is currently limited to only the astaxanthin products, not the entire Vitacost product line, but their everyday prices on other products are very good to begin with, so feel free to pick up some other products if you want. They just happen to have a really incredible price on Ola Loa drinkable vitamins, which I've recommended for several years. Their price is 45% off retail. Wow! That's the best price I've seen on Ola Loa in a long time. Get that at: http://www.vitacost.com/Ola-Loa-Energy-O...30-Packets
Cyanotech's natural astaxanthin receives our Editor's Choice award
When you visit the web pages at Vitacost http://www.Vitacost.com you'll notice that two of the natural astaxanthin products there have been given a Natural News Editor's Choice award. This is an award we grant to the most outstanding products we find. In a week or two, we'll be announcing numerous awards for products and companies that deserve that recognition. For example, we'll be giving awards on Dr. Bronner's soap products, the new unsweetened hemp milk called Hemp Bliss, online superfood retailers like Transition Nutrition http://www.TransitionNutrition.com and many more.
The award logo has been given to both the BioAstin brand and Vitacost's in-house brand, because they both use the same source of natural astaxanthin. What this logo means is that you can trust the product to be made with very high quality ingredients and offered by a reputable source that we've checked out.
Supercritical extraction means no toxic solvents!
Speaking of high quality ingredients, I think it's important to know how nutrients are extracted from their natural sources. Sadly, some companies use toxic, explosive chemicals to extract their nutrients. A famous provider of DHA oils, for example, uses highly toxic hexane to extract the oils. That's just plain awful.
Supercritical CO2 extraction, on the other hand, is safe and far more "natural." It uses compressed CO2 to pull out key nutrients, after which the CO2 evaporates harmlessly into the ambient air (from which the CO2 was gathered in the first place). Thus, it introduces no new chemicals into the environment, and it leaves nothing in the resulting product that might be harmful to you. This process -- called "supercritical CO2 extraction" -- is the best extraction process in the business, and it's used on premium-quality supplements like neem oil. It also happens to be the process used by Cyanotech to extract their astaxanthin from the Haematococcus algae.
That means this astaxanthin contains no toxic solvent chemicals whatsoever! That's one of the many reasons why we gave it our Editor's Choice award: Because it's an honest product, with zero chemical contaminants (or as close to zero as you can get on the planet today), that offers astounding health benefits. Cyanotech's astaxanthin deserves every bit of publicity we can bring it. I truly consider it to be one of the most important nutrients ever discovered for human health.
My top 3 nutrients for human health
Speaking of top nutrients for human health, would you like to know what I think are the top 3 most important nutrients for human health? They are:
#1: Vitamin D
#2: Omega-3 fatty acids
#3: Astaxanthin
Vitamin D is crucial, of course, due to its miracle-class ability to halt cancer (77% of ALL cancers are prevented by vitamin D alone!), to ease depression, boost bone health, enhance heart health and much, much more. It's the single most impressive nutrient I've ever found. Nothing beats vitamin D in terms of the number of important health benefits derived from a single substance.
Next comes omega-3 fatty acids, which have proven to be miraculous, too, in terms of preventing cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, arthritis, depression and much more. Plus, you can get these from plant sources (like chia seeds or flax seeds) or animal source (fish oil, krill oil, etc.).
And now, astaxathin joins my list as the third most important nutrient for human health. It is the "King of the carotenoids," as they say, and it has the ability to ease systemic inflammation, protect the eyes and brain from oxidative damage, prevent cancer, protect the body from dangerous foods, enhance skin health and even protect the skin from excessive UV sun exposure. It's truly miraculous.
I've heard some ignorant conventional medical doctors (and FDA bureaucrats) say there are no miracles in the world of supplements, herbs and natural medicine. The only miracles in the world, they claim, are found in pharmaceuticals. I think that's nonsense: Nature is full of miracles! Growing a baby in the womb is a miracle. Automatic skin repair following a scratch or scrape is a miracle. The nanotechnology in your immune system is a miracle. The building of a highly complex organism from microscopic DNA is a miracle, too. Nature abounds with miracles! And astaxanthin is simply one miracle among many that have been provided for us by Mother Nature.
If you'd like to experience the miracle of astaxanthin for yourself, get it at:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also made of natural astaxanthin)
Get a 10% savings coupon code -- good through this Friday only! -- by subscribing to the NaturalNews e-mail newsletter (it's free!) at: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
If you're already a subscriber, just check your e-mail in box, because I e-mailed the coupon code to you before this article went live.
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.
Are you taking enough astaxanthin? I took astaxanthin on and off for a couple of years at a very low dosage: 2mg or 4mg. And I never really noticed much of an effect. The reality of astaxanthin's health benefits didn't kick in for me until I started taking significantly higher doses like 16mg per day. At that level (which is just four tiny gelcaps per day, they're the size of BBs), all kinds of benefits started to kick in. I was able to run farther, exercise with greater intensity, and yet wake up the next morning with surprisingly little soreness. It was like my body was suddenly functioning at a fitness level way beyond what I was used to.
I can still remember running along the path through the open desert here in Arizona, passing by the Chaparral bushes (which can cure many cancers, by the way), smelling the rich, fragrant flowers of the local mesquite bushes (which are the sweetest smell in the whole world, as far as I'm concerned), and suddenly realizing that I wasn't even breathing hard. I was running at a healthy pace, just gliding along the desert pathway, kicking up sand, leaping across small rocks, under the blazing desert sun, and I didn't even feel tired. It was like I had an oxygen infusion keeping me energized and alert. It was like my heart could pump a never-ending supply of energy to all my muscles. The feeling was truly amazing.
Sure, I take a lot of natural supplements. I drink aloe vera every day (my recommended source for premium-quality dried aloe gel is http://www.GoodCauseWellness.com by the way), and aloe helps your blood carry more oxygen. And yes, I don't eat oxidizing fried foods, or trans fatty acids, or sugar, and I don't take pharmaceuticals of any kind, and yes, my blood flows like water because I gobble a lot of fish oils, and I get all kinds of vitamin D from the sun. So sure, I have a lot of factors going into healthy blood (astaxanthin certainly isn't the only one) that creates this athletic effect, but the point is I'm only human, just like you, and if I can make my cardiovascular system pump along effortlessly, filling my cells with seemingly unlimited oxygen during exercise, then you can experience similar benefits. We're 99.98% genetically identical, after all. My heart is pretty much the same as your heart. The only difference is what we choose to feed it!
Now don't get me wrong, in no way am I saying that after you pop a couple of astaxanthin pills, you will turn into Superman and you can start tearing up the hills of your local hiking path. The benefits of astaxanthin are very real, and I have no need to exaggerate them, so here are some things you need to know about astaxanthin to make sure you understand what it can and can't do for you:
ââ¬Â¢ It doesn't work overnight. I took it for 30 days before I really started to see significant results. 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.
ââ¬Â¢ 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).
ââ¬Â¢ 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...
ââ¬Â¢ 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.
ââ¬Â¢ Always take astaxanthin with healthy fats. Since it's fat-soluble, it needs fat to hitch a ride to your body's cells.
ââ¬Â¢ Remember that if you eat fried foods (including so-called "healthy" snack chips fried at high temperatures), you will "use up" a lot of the antioxidant power in astaxanthin, leaving less to help the rest of your body. Unhealthy foods are often highly oxidizing, so even though I don't recommend eating fried foods, if you do, you may want to consider taking an extra astaxanthin capsule at the same time to protect your body from the fried foods.
ââ¬Â¢ Not to make this too scatalogical, but at 16mg per day, astaxanthin will turn your poo slightly red, just like when you drink beet juice. Drink some chlorophyll too (which turns your poo green) next December, and you can poo in vibrant holiday colors! (Only recommended for the easily amused...)
ââ¬Â¢ 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. However, based on what I've read it seems that the benefits of astaxanthin reach a point of diminishing returns after about 20mg per day for a human being, so that's why I take 16mg a day: It's enough to generate wonderful benefits, but I'm not going overboard with it. In one study, they gave 30mg per day to a horse! So probably, it's a fair guess to say you would need less than a horse. The lighter you are, the less you need, of course. I weigh 190 and take 16mg. If you only weigh 110 pounds, you might only want to take 8mg or 12mg per day. Even 4mg per day produces some benefits, by the way.
Once, again, if you'd like to get your hands on some astaxanthin, the source I recommend in the U.S. is Vitacost. Their pages on astaxanthin are:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also natural astaxanthin)
If you want a 10% discount, and you're already a subscriber to NaturalNews, just check your e-mail (I already sent you the coupon code good for 10% off). If you're not a subscriber, just sign up right now (it's free!) and you'll instantly receive the coupon code. You can subscribe here: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
You can also just buy astaxanthin at your local health food store, of course. Or you might have other online retailers if you're living in the U.K., Australia, Canada or another country. Frankly, it doesn't matter to me where you get your astaxanthin, just make sure of one thing, which is VERY important: Always by "natural" astaxanthin, not "synthetic astaxanthin."
You see, there's a lot of synthetic astaxanthin on the market, too, and it's made from -- if you can believe this -- petroleum! It doesn't provide any health benefits, by the way, just like synthetic vitamin E or synthetic B vitamins. They're all garbage, if you ask me. Only the natural stuff really works to protect and enhance your health. So wherever you buy astaxanthin, make sure you're buying only natural astaxanthin.
Which sources of astaxanthin I really trust
Another note: As a journalist, I've toured the Cyanotech facility on the Big Island in Hawaii, and I've seen their quality first-hand. I've met the people, photographed the processing facility machines and watched how they clean, dry and pack both astaxanthin and spirulina. So I've seen it all first hand at Cyanotech, and I know they do a really great job. I have NOT seen any other facilities making astaxanthin, so I can't say whether or not any other companies are doing as good a job as Cyanotech. Therefore, I personally only buy Cyanotech's astaxanthin because I know I can trust it. I also know they batch test their products to make sure they don't contain heavy metals or other freaky contaminants.
I just can't say whether other manufacturers are doing a good job. They may very well do so, but I haven't had the opportunity to tour their facilities yet. Perhaps after this story runs, I'll be invited to other manufacturers and I'll be able to publish a follow up report to let you know what I find. One thing you can rest assured of, however: I have zero financial ties with Cyanotech, Vitacost or any other company mentioned in this review, because that's my policy of remaining independent and objective, and I stick to it!
Why the FDA wants to censor this
The FDA, of course, wants to censor this information outright. They don't want consumers learning the truth about how natural astaxanthin makes anti-inflammatory medications virtually obsolete, or how it operates as a natural sunscreen, or an exercise endurance enhancer. They don't want you to know that taking astaxanthin greatly reduces your chances of ever being diagnosed with dementia or Alzheimer's disease, or that it prevents the oxidation of your cells from eating fried foods or junk foods.
And you know what? If I were selling astaxanthin, I'd be in jail right now. The FDA would raid my warehouse (if I had one), confiscate my inventory (if I had any), seize my product literature (if I had some) and confiscate my bank account profits from selling the product (if I had any). But since I don't have any of that and, in fact, I earn absolutely nothing from telling you these obvious truths about astaxanthin, the FDA is at a complete loss to take any action to censor me and thereby prevent you from learning the truth about this amazing nutrient.
To put it simply: I'm not regulated by the FDA, since I sell no foods, drugs, supplements or other such products. As a result, I'm free to tell you the truth about astaxanthin and other natural medicines in a way that the manufacturers of these products simply cannot (because they're muzzled by the FDA, which is of course a criminal operation engaged in blatant censorship campaigns designed to keep the public ignorant about nutrition in order to protect the profits of Big Pharma).
So, in essence, the facts that astaxanthin eases arthritis pain, prevents Alzheimer's disease, speeds recovery from exercise, boosts physical endurance, prevents cancer, stabilizes blood sugar and protects the entire cardiovascular system are things that you're not supposed to know, you know. Forbidden knowledge and all that. The FDA has decided that the American population should not have access to this information, thereby ensuring that consumers don't know they have options for their health. When consumers don't realize they have options, they default to taking dangerous (yet profitable) pharmaceuticals. And that, of course, is the whole point of the FDA's campaign of censorship in the first place.
Hey Health Ranger, where are your scientific citations?
By the way, sometimes people ask me why I don't include more citations of the scientific studies supporting what I'm sharing in these articles. The answer to that is simple: The presence (or lack thereof) of a "scientific" citation does not change the nature of what astaxanthin is already and what it does for your body. In other words, including a citation doesn't make astaxanthin work any better, and excluding a citation doesn't make astaxanthin work any worse. It is what it is, and it's been around far longer than humans, or researchers, or scientific journals. Natural medicine, in other words, doesn't just suddenly start to work after it's been publishing in a science journal; it's been working for centuries to keep animals, fish and our human ancestors healthy!
After hearing that some people say, "No, Mike, you're supposed to convince me that astaxanthin does all this, and that's why you should cite all these scientific studies."
Actually, I'm not here to convince anyone who isn't already ready to experience phenomenal health in the first place. Some people will stand in their comfort zones and avoid all the healthy things they could be taking right now -- superfoods, spirulina, vitamin D, fish oils, astaxanthin -- and they'll sit there and insist "I'm not taking anything until it's scientifically proven!" And before long, they waste away with degenerative disease, dying of cancer, or heart attacks or strokes, all because they wanted 100% absolute proof before they would take a single health supplement that might have prevented their disease. It reminds me of a high school friend who never went to college. A few years back, I asked him why he never went to college. He said that Bill Clinton promised a free college education to every student in America, and he was waiting around until Clinton or some other President made good on that promise.
It just makes you wonder: How long will some people wait around to die, waiting for scientists to proclaim they've discovered what Mother Nature has provided us all along? Anybody who waits for corporate America to tell you how to take care of your health is a fool. There is simply no incentive for any industry (like the sick-care industry) to make you aware of the health benefits of astaxanthin. And teaching people how to prevent cancer is certainly no priority of medical journals, most of which are entirely funded by drug companies that profit from cancer in the first place.
Finally, scientific citations were probably really handy a few decades ago when there was no such thing as an instantly searchable online database of scientific studies such as Google Scholar. I mean, c'mon, how hard is it to go online and search for astaxanthin studies, anyway? Here, I'll do the search for you, just click this link: http://scholar.google.com/scholar?q=astaxanthin
There, you'll see a listing of 9,230 different references to astaxanthin in the scientific literature, including numerous studies about its anti-cancer benefits, antioxidant benefits, prevention of carcinogenesis, and a whole lot more.
Okay, get this: Some people then say, but Mike, you're supposed to interpret all those studies for us and tell us what they mean!
And that, my friends, is exactly what this article is doing in the first place: Interpreting the science and boiling it down to everyday language that honestly and openly shares the benefits of astaxanthin. So you see, in reality, people don't really want a long list of 9,230 scientific studies about a miracle nutrient like natural astaxanthin. What they really want is to understand how can it help me? And that's what I aim to do with articles like this. I'm just working to tell you the honest truth about the remarkable health benefits of natural astaxanthin.
Let's be honest: If I listed 9,230 scientific citations in the space following this paragraph, would it really matter anyway? The skeptical doctors, trained to discredit anything that's not a drug, would dismiss the whole story anyway. Even a million studies cannot overcome a person's own limiting belief system and mental filters. If a person believes natural medicine has no health benefits whatsoever, then they will automatically filter out all evidence that contradicts their stated belief.
On the other hand, a person who understands natural health and the principles of natural medicine doesn't need 9,230 scientific studies listed either, since they realize that Mother Nature is the true authority on human health and natural medicine, not some commercial publication that tries to position itself as a "scientific" journal. The real authority on what heals is, essentially, the nature found inside you right now. You are an extension of nature, and your body was created to live in perfect harmony with the foods and medicines found in the natural world around you. That's why truth is only defined by what's true for you, in your own experience.
So try astaxanthin yourself today, and see what benefits you experience. Don't let someone else tell you what astaxanthin will or won't do for you, find out for yourself! Only you can be the authority on what's true for you, after all.
Here are my recommended sources one more time:
http://www.vitacost.com/Nutrex-Hawaii-Bi...staxanthin
(For the BioAstin brand of astaxanthin, made by Cyanotech)
http://www.vitacost.com/NSI-Natural-Asta...n-BioAstin
(For VitaCost's in-house brand of astaxanthin, which is also natural astaxanthin)
If you want the 10% discount coupon code, and you're already a subscriber to NaturalNews, just check your e-mail (I already sent you the coupon code good for 10% off). If you're not a subscriber, just sign up right now (it's free!) and you'll instantly receive the coupon code. You can subscribe here: http://www.naturalnews.com/ReaderRegistration.html
Remember, the discount is only good through this Friday, and it only applies to those astaxanthin products, not the entire Vitacost product line.
Enjoy your astaxanthin!
Note: The opinions expressed here about astaxanthin are my own and in no way represent opinions or statements from Cyanotech or Vitacost. The statements in this article are protected under the First Amendment rights of the U.S. Constitution.
http://www.naturalnews.com/023177.html
