The Secret To A Healthy Brain

There are more people reaching their golden years than ever before.

In fact, according to the latest statistics (2008), there were more than 77.3 million Americans who were considered “Baby Boomers.”

With a sharp rise in the amount of people reaching baby boomer status, it should come as no surprise that there has also been a sharp rise in people diagnosed with mental health issues.

Aging could increase your risk for developing cognitive or mental health issues.

In fact, cases of dementia and Alzheimer’s are currently on the rise.

This could have a lot to do with the aging process and how your body handles chronic inflammation and oxidative stress that could occur in your brain.

Let me explain…

Dangers To Your Brain

Current research suggests that as you age, your natural internal antioxidant defense system, like other systems in your body, may weaken and perform at sub-optimal levels.

It has been shown that high levels of free radicals and singlet oxygen cells can do tremendous damage to the cells of your body.

A weakened antioxidant system may lead to increased chronic inflammation and increased levels of oxidative stressors (free radicals, singlet oxygen cells, and reactive oxygen species), which could pose a hazard to many of the systems in your body, especially your eyes and your brain.

Your body naturally produces antioxidants that help reduce damage associated with free radicals or reactive oxygen species.

However, aging may not be the only cause for neurological and mental decline.

Environmental factors such as pollution, containments, processed foods, and general stress could also increase oxidative stress, potentially leading to increased chronic inflammation.

When chronic inflammation is present in your brain, research shows, it can lead to many different neurological conditions such as:

• Parkinson’s disease

• Huntington’s Disease

• Alzheimer’s Disease

• ALS (Lou Gehrig’s Disease)

• Dementia

• Cognitive decline

• Injury due to inflammation/trauma

• And others

Chronic inflammation rarely is painful and you may not ever show symptoms that chronic inflammation is present.

According to some research, chronic inflammation impedes your body’s ability to repair and heal tissue (your body always tries to repair and replace damaged cells).

When inflammation is present in the brain and your brain cells, your body has a very hard time fighting the inflammation.

This could be due to the inability of antioxidants to cross the blood brain barrier, therefore, the antioxidants lack the ability to scavenge free radicals and reduce the inflammatory response.

However, the past couple of years have shown tremendous promise for the antioxidant Astaxanthin, which could hold tremendous potential - especially for brain health.

Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin, research suggests, could be one antioxidant that has the ability to cross the blood brain barrier.

This could be one of the reasons why Astaxanthin may be very effective at fighting inflammation and damage associated with free radicals.

Astaxanthin is a naturally occurring carotenoid found in many different organisms, including Krill, shrimp, and lobster.

A recent study on Astaxanthin demonstrated that it could reduce ischemia-related brain injury when there is an occlusion to the vessels in your brain.

The purpose of the study was to determine what benefits Astaxanthin has on the brain of rats after an ischemic injury.
Ischemia refers to when there is a blockage in a major vein or artery that prevents oxygen rich blood flow to reach the affected tissue. 

This could lead to tissue injury and, sometimes, cell death.

They administered Astaxanthin 60 minutes prior to occlusion (chemical blockage to induce ischemic injury to the brain) of the main artery to the brain of rats.

They noted that Astaxanthin was still present in the cerebral tissue 70 to 75 minutes after the blockage occurred.

Also, they noticed that increased Astaxanthin levels increased locomotion in the brain tissue and reduced cerebral infarction - up to 24 hours after the initial occlusion took place.

They concluded that Astaxanthin can reduce ischemia-related injury in brain tissue by reducing oxidative stress, and that Astaxanthin could be a useful treatment method for people susceptible to ischemic events.

The Amazing Power Of Astaxanthin

Astaxanthin is a powerful antioxidant that is found in many different marine animals, and gives them their pink/red color.

Astaxanthin has been shown by research to prevent free radical damage, improve eye health, and now, improve cognitive and mental health.

Damage caused by lack of proper oxygen-rich blood could cause significant damage to brain cells and other areas in the body.

Now, according to this study, Astaxanthin could reduce brain trauma due to insufficient oxygen reaching the brain.

Astaxanthin may improve mental and cognitive health, which sometimes declines due to age related declines in the body's antioxidant defense system.


NEXT: Here Is One Of The Easiest Ways To Add Astaxanthin To Your Day >>





References:

Shen, H.  Kuo, CC.  Chou, J.  Delvolve, A.  Jackson, S.  Post, J.  Woods, A.  Hoffer, B.  Wang, Y.  Harvey, B.  Astaxanthni reduces ischemic brain injury in adult rats.  The FASEB Journal.  2009. Vol. 23(6):pp. 1958-1968.

Bob Capelli and Gerald R. Cysewski, PhD, Neuroprotective Effects of Astaxanthin Technical White Paper: 2011.