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AstaReal® Astaxanthin Delivers Key Benefits for Firefighters!
By: Susan Hamrahi
December 3, 2024
December 3, 2024
Firefighting represents one of the most physically demanding and hazardous occupations, characterized by exposure to both acute and chronic stressors. The occupational environment poses significant challenges, including exposure to products of incomplete combustion, smoke inhalation, and extreme heat stress. These conditions, combined with lifestyle stressors such as disrupted sleep patterns, poor dietary habits, alcohol consumption, and psychological challenges like family separation and trauma, collectively contribute to an elevated risk of cardiovascular disease (CVD) and premature mortality among firefighters. The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) and the National Fire Protection Agency (NFPA) report that over the last three decades, heart disease and sudden cardiac death has remained the leading cause of fatalities within this population. Additionally, this high-risk occupation is associated with heightened levels of inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which are linked to adverse health outcomes. Given the considerable health risk factors, the physical condition of the tactical athletes themselves must be a consideration. In fact, 75% of US fire fighters, both career and volunteer, are classified as either overweight or obese. This poses a major issue in terms of physical and overall occupational readiness.
Given the considerable health risks faced by firefighters, there is a growing interest in exploring nutritional interventions that could potentially mitigate these risks. Astaxanthin, as a naturally occurring lipid-soluble carotenoid predominantly found in microalgae and marine organisms, is a researched potent antioxidant with proposed health benefits. Previous studies have demonstrated that astaxanthin supplementation can positively influence various health markers. For instance, significant improvements in cholesterol profiles among individuals consuming 12 mg/d of astaxanthin over 12 weeks. Similarly, observed reductions in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers in type-2 diabetic patients following 8 mg/d of astaxanthin supplementation for eight weeks had been recorded. Moreover, astaxanthin reduced heart rate during exercise by 7% after 4 weeks and decreased carbohydrate oxidation by 8% during exercise among overweight adults receiving 12 mg/d of astaxanthin for 12 weeks.
In addition to its potential impact on cardiovascular and metabolic health, astaxanthin may also offer benefits related to exercise and recovery. One study found improvements in fatty acid oxidation and time trial performance among cyclists consuming 12 mg/d of astaxanthin for seven days. Similarly, there has been increased antioxidant levels and decreased inflammatory markers in soccer players supplemented with 4 mg/d of astaxanthin over 90 days. In addition, research further demonstrated post-exercise oxygen uptake in individuals receiving 12 mg/d of astaxanthin, suggesting enhanced oxidative metabolism to incremental maximal exercise and improved exercise recovery.
In light of these promising findings, this study looked to evaluate the impact of a 12 mg/d astaxanthin supplementation regimen over a four-week period on whether astaxanthin supplementation can offer tangible benefits for improving firefighter health and performance by studying markers of oxidative stress, inflammation, cardiometabolic health, exercise capacity and occupational task-related performance in career firefighters.
Day one evaluation focused on a battery of lab testing that includes oxidative stress markers that are implicated in the atherosclerotic process and cardiovascular disease predictability. These tests provided a health status of these individuals.
Day two evaluation required participants to perform nine fire suppressive activities, also referred to as Fire Grounds Test (FTGs), before and after salivary samples were taken to assess responses in inflammatory and oxidative stress markers after FGTs.
The main findings showed that astaxanthin supplementation (12 mg/d for four weeks) blunted some markers of inflammation and oxidative stress in response to an incremental maximal exercise test and firefighter occupational tasks. These findings suggest that astaxanthin may lessen the inflammatory response to intense exercise.
In addition, the effects of astaxanthin supplementation on cardiometabolic measures, specifically focusing on substrate oxidation and ventilatory anaerobic threshold (VANT) were investigated.
While the findings did not reveal significant changes in substrate oxidation rates during the cardiopulmonary exercise test, notable improvements in both absolute and relative VANT, as well as the time to reach VANT were observed. Furthermore, the relative VANT as percent of VO2 max was observed to have a statistically significant improvement. This suggests that astaxanthin may enhance substrate utilization by improving these VANT-related metrics. Despite these positive outcomes, there was no impact on time to exhaustion. These results indicate that while astaxanthin appears to support better substrate utilization, further research is needed to confirm whether it can also enhance endurance exercise capacity at intensities around the anaerobic threshold.
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