Fall in Love with Astaxanthin: Your Heart Will Thank You

By: Susan Hamrahi|
February 11, 2025

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Categories: Cardiovascular Health, Healthy Aging

Tags: aging, antioxidant, health, healthy, muscle

As we celebrate heart health month, let’s not forget that it’s a muscle—one that never stops working, tirelessly pumping blood through the body. This continuous pumping is essential for maintaining healthy blood flow, as it ensures tissues receive oxygen and nutrients they need to function properly and maintain the body’s overall metabolic balance.

Just like any muscle, the heart requires support to function optimally, and that’s where astaxanthin comes into play. Beyond its well-known benefits for skin and eye health, astaxanthin has remarkable cardiometabolic advantages, which makes it a valuable ally, to maintain strong cardiovascular function and efficient blood circulation.

Cardiovascular Benefits

One of astaxanthin’s most notable cardioprotective benefits is its ability to reduce oxidative stress, a major factor that can negatively affect cardiovascular health.

Chronic oxidative stress impairs endothelial function, leading to a cascade of events that may result in arterial stiffness, plaque formation, and potential vascular degradation. The endothelium, which lines your blood vessels, spans an astonishing 60,000 miles throughout your body!

Vascular endothelial cells play a critical role in regulating blood flow by providing a dynamic interface between the blood and the vessel wall. These cells form the innermost lining of blood vessels, and their function is essential for maintaining vascular homeostasis and ensuring efficient blood circulation. Astaxanthin combats oxidative stress by scavenging free radicals, protecting endothelial cells which are instrumental in regulating vascular tone by releasing vasoactive substances; most notably nitric oxide (NO).  NO is crucial for vasodilation, ensuring healthy blood flow and maintaining blood pressure.

In as little as 10-days, one study showed that supplementation with 6mg of AstaReal® Astaxanthin significantly improved blood flow by shortening blood transit time.

Lipid Profile Enhancement

Astaxanthin has also been shown to positively influence lipid metabolism. Its antioxidant properties help slow the oxidation of LDL particles. When LDL and cell membrane lipids become more susceptible to oxidative damage, they contribute to plaque buildup. This buildup may lead to narrowing blood vessels. Fortunately, astaxanthin has been shown to protect LDL from oxidative damage.

In addition, astaxanthin has been shown to increase HDL, often called “good cholesterol,” which also plays a critical role in maintaining healthy arteries. Its main job is to help move excess cholesterol from tissues, including cells that form in the artery walls, back to the liver. The liver can then process and remove this cholesterol. This process helps minimize the cholesterol that can build up and cause plaque, which can also lead to narrowing and stiffening of the arteries.

A 2010 study published in Atherosclerosis examined the effects of HDL cholesterol levels in response to supplementation. The study included 61 participants aged 25 to 60, who were supplemented for a period of 12 weeks. At 12 weeks, HDL cholesterol significantly increased in the participants that were taking either 6mg or 12mg doses. This effect was observed regardless of the participants’ age or BMI.

Conclusion

Incorporating astaxanthin into a cardiometabolic health regimen could provide significant benefits. With its antioxidant, and lipid-modulating properties, astaxanthin offers a multifaceted approach to supporting heart muscle health and improving metabolic function