a O70 Heaith NEWS caN Natural Nutrition, Natural Energy, Natural Health (NAPSA)—When you were a kid, your parents told you to eat your vegetables. However, there’s something even healthier than ordinary vegetables. Tiny plants called microalgae provide health benefits few things we eat can match. Microalgae are a diverse group of over 30,000 species of microscopic plants that have a wide range of physiological and biochemical characteristics and naturally contain high levels of nutrients. They are the most primitive form of plants. These organisms generate energy from sunlight by a similar photosynthetic process as that of higher plants. Because of their simple cellular structure, though, microalgae are far moreefficient at transforming sunlight into fuel. In addition, because they grow in aqueous suspension, the microal- gae have more efficient access to water and nutrients. The plants are an important source of the anti-oxidant astaxanthin. Astaxanthin is the most powerful of the anti-oxidants, exhibits strong free radical scavenging activity and protects against lipid peroxidation and oxidative damage of LDL cholesterol, cell membranes, cells and tissues. In addition, researchers say it may be useful as treatment for cardiovascular, immune, antiinflammatory and neurodegenerative diseases. It also crosses the blood-brain barrier, which makes it available to the eye, brain and central nervous system to alleviate oxidative stress that contributes to ocular and neurodegen- Nature’s mostefficient source of energy can be part of your daily health regimen. erative diseases, such as glaucoma and Alzheimer’s disease. The substance is found in salmon and shrimp. However, microalgae are a far more concentrated source—while shrimp contain 1,200 parts per million of the chemical, microalgae have 40,000. Now there’s a new preparation of carefully cultured microalgae supplying a full daily serving of astaxanthin in one softgel capsule, sold as BioAstin. The astaxanthin in BioAstin is derived entirely from vegetable microalgae. It’s produced in 3.4 million square feet of ponds on the pristine Kona coast of Hawaii by Cyanotech, which maintains an environmentally responsible phi- losophy in the development and production of its products, using natural production methods and resources that employ extensive recycling of raw materials and nutrients. Learn more otech.com. at www.cyan
