Post-workout recovery supplements replenish energy stores, promote muscle repair and reduce muscle breakdown after a demanding workout. Intense physical exercise is energy-dependent. When the muscles burn calories by oxidation, free radicals and other reactive oxygen species (ROS) are formed as a byproduct.1 Free radicals can damage muscle fibers and reduce their ability to contract.2
Moderate exercise has health-promoting effects, while strenuous exercise, especially in unfit individuals, may have the opposite effect. Physical activity enhances metabolism that leads to increased production of free radicals and other ROS.
Astaxanthin sourced from the microalgae Haematococcus pluvialis is a powerful natural antioxidant. Comparison studies have shown astaxanthin is 6,000 times more powerful than vitamin C, 100 times more powerful than vitamin E, and five times more powerful than beta-carotene in trapping energy from singlet oxygen, one of the most common ROS in biological systems.3 Astaxanthin can trap several types of ROS/free radicals. In addition, the way astaxanthin neutralizes harmful ROS/free radicals is gentle to the body’s cells. Other antioxidants can be harmful, since they may turn into highly reactive molecules.4
As a bioavailable antioxidant, astaxanthin is transported throughout the body to organs and muscle tissues, combating excessive free radical production. Natural astaxanthin improves muscle endurance and strength by helping to reduce oxidative stress. Clinical studies have found natural astaxanthin neutralizes exercise-induced free radicals, protects the activity of antioxidant enzymes, reduces muscle fatigue and inhibits the formation of lactic acid.5-9
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