ASTAXANTHIN: FOR SPORTS & FITNESS
Previous research provides evidence to benefits of the use of astaxanthin as a dietary supplement for active people and athletes. According to these studies, exercise metabolism, performance and recovery is improved following 3–5 weeks of intake; with each function attributed in part to the potent antioxidant capacity. It can help protect against muscle damage, and also possibly has beneficial effects on how the body generates energy from nutrients (energy metabolism). Human clinical studies have shown athletes performing endurance exercise or training for extended time periods have benefited either in terms of athletic performance or protection from muscle damage.*
The science
A study in humans to shows that astaxanthin supplementation has positive effect on physical performance. The result of this study is supported by earlier findings that astaxanthin supplementation in mice increase swimming time before exhaustion and that biomarkers of muscle fatigue decrease in humans after exercise due to supplementation.
It can be hypothised that astaxanthin protects the membrane structures of the cells, like mitochondrial membrane, against oxidative stress generated during heavy exercise and thereby preserve the functionality of the muscle cells.
In an additional experiment, it was found that astaxanthin treatment accelerated the decrease of body fat accumulation with exercise training. The results suggested that astaxanthin promoted lipid metabolism rather than glucose utilization during exercise, which led to improvement of endurance and efficient reduction of body fat with training.
The results of another study in humans suggests that astaxanthin supplementation is effective for improvement against bluntness of visual nerve acuity and for inhibition of lactic acid generation induced by the continuous muscular contracting activities (Improvement of activity in endurable hard exercise).
Another study examined the effect of Astaxanthin on substrate metabolism and cycling time trial performance by randomly assigning 21 competitive cyclists to 28 days of Astaxanthin supplementation (4 mg/per day) or placebo supplementation.
Overall, it was observed significant improvements in 20 km time trial performance in the Astaxanthin group, but not the placebo group. The Astaxanthin group was significantly different versus the placebo group. The Astaxanthin group significantly increased power output, while the placebo group did not.
There have been many more studies done on Astaxanthin, and improving people's physical performance is just one of the many benefits that Astaxanthin has to offer.
If you are interested in the research done on some of the other benefits, visit the link below: