Astaxanthin is a keto-carotenoid and a carbon chemical compound found in mostly seafoods.

It is the red pigment that’s very essential in their food processing.

Astaxanthin best foods are lobsters, crawfish, algae, salmon, trout and shellfish but also found in krill oil, however in lesser amount.

How to Take Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin is an antioxidant, best taken through mouth as food supplement.

It is also good to take it with soluble fatty food. You can take it with avocado, coconut or fatty fish.

Astaxanthin as a dietary supplement shouldn’t be taken without food. If you want to take it, make sure it’s immediately after taking your food or when you’re set to eat.

This help in digestion and absorption into the bloodstream.

What Dose is appropriate while taking Astaxanthin?

Astaxanthin supplement is not quick in action for any purpose or health problem you’re taking it against.

It works slowly in you and the positive effects are only felt when you take the proper dose for few months.

As a rule of thumb, studies have shown that between 4 to 8 mg of astaxanthin should be taken daily for months since it can accumulate in the body and to avoid any interaction or side effects if too much of it is taken once.

However, for those thinking if they can take up to 12mg of Astaxanthin, it has further been clarified in recent studies that daily dose of 12mg Astaxanthin is effective when taken for at least the period of six months.

In other way, you can take lower dose, like 5mg or 8mg for more than 12 months if you’re using it for prevention or to just boost your immune system and overall wellbeing.

 

Astaxanthin Dosage against Stress

Taking 12mg of Astaxanthin daily is very much good for athletes who are usually under oxidative stress or to people who are constantly exposed to sunlight.

When you take astaxanthin on a regular basis, you begin to get good result after some weeks because this antioxidant is stored in the body and that’s the reason it’s advised to be taken slowly.

 

Astaxanthin Dosage against Health Problems

However, if you have health problems, you can take a relatively higher dose of up to 50mg of astaxanthin daily for better recovery and you can now slow down after positive effects are felt in the body.

In some studies, Even higher dose of up to 100mg of astaxanthin was been tested on some people and many of them do not experience any side effects.

 

What Dosage is Normal & What’s Too Much

But because of later possible negative effects if the composition in the body is very high, many practitioners suggest a maximum of 20mg daily intake and 12mg daily intake for average person.

It’s also interesting to know that in quite number of clinical studies conducted on astaxanthin effects in the body, there’s no significant difference between the result gotten when 5mg dose is taking daily and when 12mg is taken.

Also, it must also be said that, there’s no Recommended dietary allowance (RDA) set by the Food and Nutrition Board for astaxanthin consumption as regards the proper daily dose one can take without complications.

We have received quite a no of questions on how much astaxanthin should be taken per day for skin problem, to reduce weight or when battling with arthritis.

So also the amount of astaxanthin that is too much for the body to absorb.

 

Astaxanthin Dosage for Arthritis

For people suffering from carpal tunnel syndrome, tendonitis or arthritis, I would suggest you take between 10mg to 12mg astaxanthin daily for period of at least six months.

 

Astaxanthin Dosage for Weight Loss & for Boosting the Immune System 

But for those who want to take astaxanthin for weight loss, prevent weight gain, prevent diseases or to just strengthen their immune system, taking a dose of 5mg should be okay.

If you’re taking Astaxanthin as dietary supplement rather than drugs, it’s important to know its value in different seafoods.

 

Best Astaxanthin Foods

Salmon, which has high content of antioxidant than most other foods has between 0.4–3.8 mg of astaxanthin per 3.5 ounces.

With sockeye salmon having the highest value among other types of salmon.

Sockeye salmon has between 26–38 mg of astaxanthin per kg, which means that when you take 5 ounce serving of salmon, you’re getting between 3.50 to 5mg of astaxanthin

This is the range that’s usually recommended for healthy result.

For other species of salmon, you can take more since the value of astaxanthin antioxidant is less, also in other foods like shrimps, trout, krill essential oil, among others.

 

Is Astaxanthin Good for Mothers?

However, pregnant women, nursing mothers or those preparing to conceive should take advice from their doctors on the dose of astaxanthin to take.

Especially if you’re taking salmon so as to prevent too much mercury in your diet which could have ill effects.

 

How to buy Astaxanthin & which Dosage form is good

If you want to get foods enriched with this antioxidant or drugs with astaxanthin, you should take the following precautions to get quality product.

Buying capsules has some advantages over other forms like powder since it’s light and in an enclosed container.

But for astaxanthin powder, it can quickly oxidize and lessen the positive result you should get when taken.

Organic astaxanthin is the most healthy. Dietary supplement is much better than drugs.

Synthetic supplement, however, may contain additives and preservatives which may further cause another problem in the body and not much effective as natural astaxanthin.

It’s more important to take natural astaxanthin if you’re allergic since capsules and powder usually contain additives which could be animal substance.

Also, if you’re allergic to the oil or animal from which it’s made, it can also react in you.

Therefore, go for pure astaxanthin and take the proper dose as prescribed by medical practitioners.

If you’re a smoker, obese or seriously ill, you can take 4mg in the morning, 4mg in afternoon and 2mg or 4mg at night.

Preferably, take 5mg in the morning, 5mg in the afternoon and 2mg at night.

The reason lesser dose is encouraged at night is because of lesser activity and slower rate of digestion, compared to when you’re fully active.

To buy astaxanthin online, you can compare price from various online health stores.

Also, popular merchants like eBay, Amazon, Walmart etc have different brands selling this products.

You can check what it’s made from, quality, reviews and testimonial before buying it.