Astaxanthin - The Sun Blocking Supernutrient You’ve Never Heard Of

This Nutrition Bite takes a look into the wonderful skin protective benefits of a very special nutrient everybody should consider using for healthy and protected skin. 

What’s The Deal With Sun Damage?

You can’t please everyone. Case in point, even our life-giving and life-sustaining sun gets a bad rap even though everyone literally needs it to live. Thanks to misinformation and misinterpretation, we live in an almost anti-sunlight world all in the name of protecting and preserving our skin.

Yes, skin cancer, premature aging, and irreversible skin damage should all be on our radars, but that doesn’t mean we should avoid the sun like the plague. 

To give you a quick refresher, sunlight is composed of 3 main components: visible light, ultraviolet light, and infrared radiation. 

What we as humans need to watch out for is ultraviolet light because skin damage from UV rays are real. Unfortunately, sun damage is incorrectly interchanged with UV damage which has led people to believe that they should hide and protect themselves from the sun all day.

Keep in mind that sunlight is essential for countless bodily processes that promote hormone health, happiness, bone strength, balanced circadian rhythms, enhanced immunity, lowered blood pressure and the list goes on!

So in short, take a break from drinking out of the sunscreen industry’s kool-aid and take a walk in the sunshine and know you’re doing your body good. 

Astaxanthin And UV Light Protection

Now that we’ve established that the sun isn’t something to fear, know that we still need to protect ourselves from ultraviolet light because this component of sunlight is what increases your chance of developing skin cancer as well as what causes skin damage and premature aging. 

Sunscreen is likely what comes to mind but why risk your skin’s health on such a controversial product?

With thousands of formulas out there, this highly irregulated and unverified product category can easily leave consumers essentially buying overpriced sludge. It’s LOADED with ingredients that have questionable safety. Plus the actual sun-protection is attained is questionable, too. [1]

We’ve got another recommendation for UV light protection: 

Astaxanthin (asta-ZAN-thin).

This antioxidant comes in supplement form and does wonders for protecting your skin while you’re out getting your daily dose of sunshine.

If you can’t find a quality sunscreen you can trust, here are some scientifically found benefits of Astaxanthin when it comes to sun protection. 

1. It Protects Your Collagen Layer
Astaxthin has been shown to preserve your skin’s precious collagen layer [2] making it a fantastic ally for your skin’s health. It’s photoprotective and an anti-inflammatory so you can protect your skin while enjoying the outdoors.

2. It Protects Your Skin From Premature Aging
Astaxanthin is a carotenoid. What does that mean for your skin? Think protection from UV skin damage which shows up in the form of premature aging such as dark spots, fine lines and wrinkles. [3]

3. It’s An Antioxidant Powerhouse
More is more when it comes to antioxidants so incorporating it into your diet is always a good idea. But if we had to rule out the best, Astaxanthin would have to be the superior antioxidant seeing as its far more powerful than other beloved antioxidants such as Beta Carotene and vitamins C and E [4]. If you want protection from free-radical damage, Astaxanthin is one of the most potent options out there.

4. It Improves Skin Quality
Preserving your skin is one part of the healthy skin equation, but what about actually improving your skin? Supplemental Astaxanthin not only prevents skin damage, but also promotes skin elasticity, plumpness, smoothness, and a stronger moisture barrier. [5]

Instead of fearing the sun based on what you’ve heard from sunscreen-sponsored marketing claims…

Incorporate Astaxanthin as an addition to smart sun protection. >>Great offer here

Sensible levels of exposure (yes we need to be exposed to the sun!) and a QUALITY, toxin-free sunscreen (even pure zinc oxide is better than chemical-filled off-the-shelf nasties) makes a powerful duo for getting all the goodness you need from sunshine without compromising your skin’s health.