Fermented Astaxanthin, 7 grams

Below are two of my newsletters about our Fermented Astaxanthin, in full: the original introduction, followed by my newsletter on Astaxanthin and the eyes.

New Fermented Astaxanthin is Finally Here

Hey Everyone,

It was Sunday, March 16th, 2025, when I first shared the idea that a fermented Astaxanthin would be coming soon. It took well over a year, but it’s finally here. I know it was a long wait, but once you see what makes this astaxanthin different, you’ll understand exactly why it was worth it.

For a visual, watch this video I created with AI.

Watch the Fermented Astaxanthin video on YouTube

Buckle up, because we’re about to venture into uncharted territory…

Time and time again, people told me they bought Astaxanthin on Amazon… and never experienced what they were hoping for. Many asked—some even begged—for us to bring ours back, but I waited because I knew this new fermented Astaxanthin was just around the corner.

When you take our new Fermented Astaxanthin, I believe you’ll be absolutelymind blown(just like I was), you’ll experience the difference people have been searching for, and you’ll understand why we waited to bring this one out.

You guys… you know how I like to take high dosages of the Marine Phytoplankton due to how profound the nutritional power and vibrational energy hit it gives? Well, this is just right up there with it. The energy hit is so strong with this new Fermented Astaxanthin, that I actually feel it just as much or even more than the Marine Phytoplankton. Who am I kidding? It’s actually way more than the Marine Phytoplankton… and that’s saying something…

This stuff makes me fly like nothing else. I’m telling ya, this stuff works!

It’s very rare that a superfood like this comes around. Just like the Marine Phytoplankton, I’m going to be taking higher dosages on an ongoing basis.

If you don’t feel that you need Astaxanthin, I highly recommend at least getting it one time so you can see exactly what I’m talking about.

What’s absolutely incredible is that this Astaxanthin is naturally derived through a vegan yeast fermentation process.

When it’s fermented like this, the process can break down complex compounds into simpler, more absorbable forms enhancing the bioavailability and potency. This means your body might take up and utilize fermented astaxanthin more efficiently compared to its non-fermented counterpart.

But that’s only half the story, because what comes next is where things start to get downright crazy…

Fermentation offers a unique production method that produces astaxanthin in a predominantly free-form, non-esterified state, creating a distinct profile compared to practically all traditional algal-based astaxanthin products on the market.

All of the other Astaxanthin products on the market that you are used to are sourced from Haematococcus pluvialis and is predominantly in the non-free-form esterified state. This means the astaxanthin molecule is bound to fatty acids, making it a more complex structure that the body cannot use immediately. Before it can be absorbed and utilized, the digestive system must first cleave off those attached fatty acids through a process called de-esterification. As seen at the studies [1,2], this step requires enzymatic activity and adds an extra conversion process before the astaxanthin becomes biologically available, which may vary in efficiency depending on an individuals digestive health. In contrast, fermented astaxanthin is already in a predominantly free-form state, meaning it does not require that additional breakdown step and is ready for absorption.

Now here is the downright crazy part…

Our fermented astaxanthin, which is sourced from Phaffia rhodozyma, a naturally occurring red yeast that produces astaxanthin through fermentation, is designed to mirror the form of astaxanthin found in salmon flesh. In salmon, astaxanthin exists in a free-form, non-esterified state that the animal has already converted through its natural food chain.

This is the same form of astaxanthin humans have historically consumed by eating wild salmon. Human studies [3,4,5] show that after digestion, astaxanthin circulates in plasma predominantly in a free, non-esterified form.

In contrast, astaxanthin from Haematococcus pluvialis (the standard astaxanthin found in most supplements) is primarily found in an esterified form, meaning it is bound to fatty acids, and is structurally more similar to how astaxanthin is stored in crustacean shells such as crab, lobster and shrimp [6]. In this form (often reported at over 90% in its stored form [7]), the astaxanthin is bound to fatty acids and must first be broken down in the digestive process before it can be fully utilized by the body.

Independent third-party testing verified that our fermented astaxanthin exists predominantly in the free-form, non-esterified state. In fact, as seen in the charts below, it contains approximately 70 times more free-form astaxanthin than traditional microalgae-derived astaxanthin.

Rather than being predominantly bound to fatty acids (esterfied) that must first be cleaved off during digestion, it already exists in a form that is ready for absorption. Our fermented astaxanthin bypasses this conversion step by already existing in a free-form structure, aligning more closely with the form naturally present in salmon-based nutrition and matching the isomer found in nature. This difference in form can influence how quickly astaxanthin enters circulation and is then distributed into tissues, with animal and small human studies [8,9] showing variability in absorption timing depending on the form and delivery system used. Taken together, the research suggests that free-form astaxanthin may reach circulation more directly, while esterified forms involve an additional digestive step before absorption.

This is just one of the reasons you may feel the difference when taking our new Fermented Astaxanthin compared to the typical Astaxanthin’s on the market.

Astaxanthin also exists in different natural “isomer” forms, which simply refers to how the molecule is structured in space—like different orientations of the same key. Our fermented astaxanthin is aligned with the 3S,3’S isomer, which is the primary form found in nature and in wild salmon. This is considered one of the most biologically preferred natural configurations.

This is the natural form found in salmon, and because of its structure, it is readily recognized and utilized by human cells.

Unlike many standard algal sources, which contain only about 25% of this 3S,3’S form, our fermented astaxanthin is composed of 100% naturally occurring 3S,3’S isomer. This means it matches the dominant form found in salmon and nature, without a mixed or randomly distributed isomer profile. Traditional algal astaxanthin, by comparison, more closely resembles the mixed, esterified forms naturally found in the shells of crustaceans such as shrimp, crab, and lobster.

To understand why this matters even more, it helps to look at how nature actually moves astaxanthin through the food chain. Salmon don’t produce astaxanthin themselves—they obtain it through their natural diet by consuming krill, phytoplankton, and other algae-rich marine organisms. In this ecosystem, astaxanthin originates at the algal level and is passed upward through the food chain, including organisms such as zooplankton and crustaceans, before ultimately reaching fish like salmon. Once ingested, salmon metabolize and convert this dietary astaxanthin into the free-form, non-esterified structure found in their flesh.

In other words, what is present in salmon is the result of biological processing that produces the version most compatible with their physiology. In contrast, astaxanthin derived directly from Haematococcus pluvialis remains closer to its original storage form in the algae and is not yet in the metabolized form found in salmon without biological conversion, and is more similar to the esterified form found in crustacean shells such as shrimp, crab, and lobster. This is why the salmon-based form represents the end point of nature’s conversion pathway, and the form most aligned with how astaxanthin naturally appears in higher-level marine nutrition.

The exciting part is that you can now obtain the same naturally occurring form of astaxanthin found in wild salmon flesh without having to eat salmon or rely on animal-derived sources. Our fermented astaxanthin is produced through a vegan, non-GMO yeast fermentation process using a non-toxic, non-allergenic production strain under internationally recognized food safety and quality standards. Instead of providing astaxanthin in a form that more closely resembles what is naturally stored in the shells of shrimp, crab, and lobster, it delivers the form nature ultimately places in salmon flesh—the form humans have historically consumed throughout the marine food chain, now available in a highly concentrated, animal-free source.

And when you take it, I am certain you’ll feel it working with great intensity unlike the typical “Amazon Astaxanthin effect,” where you’re left wondering if it’s doing anything at all.

But there’s one more thing that makes this ingredient so unique. It isn’t just fermented—it’s also manufactured as a Cold Water Dispersible (CWD) powder. The free-form Astaxanthin is reduced into ultra-fine particles and then microencapsulated within a thin potato-protein matrix. This protective microencapsulation helps shield the highly sensitive Astaxanthin and preserve its stability and shelf life, while allowing it to disperse readily in water instead of simply clumping together like an ordinary fat-soluble powder.

And here is where the CWD technology gets really interesting. By reducing the Astaxanthin to such a small particle size and dispersing it throughout this microencapsulated matrix, you dramatically increase the surface area available to interact with digestive fluids. My supplier specifically designed this CWD formulation to improve bioavailability and make the free-form Astaxanthin readily available for absorption. In other words, they didn’t just produce an incredibly unique form of Astaxanthin—they engineered the finished powder around protecting it, dispersing it, and making it as accessible to the body as possible.

I believe this CWD technology is another major reason why the energetic brain explosion is so profound. As you know, I like to take superfoods directly into my mouth. When you take the Marine Phytoplankton directly into your mouth, some of it sticks there for a while on your gums and teeth until it’s finally washed away by saliva and the constant touching of the tongue. With the Fermented Astaxanthin, much less sticks to the gums and teeth compared to the phytoplankton, but I can feel the slow dispersion as the remnants dissolve finely into my system. It’s just a constant drip slowly adding on to this energetic brain explosion, lol… It’s like Marine Phytoplankton is more of a food, but this is a super fine powder that almost feels microscopic with super absorption powers.That’s the best way I can explain it, lol.

And there’s another benefit you’ll notice immediately: it has virtually no taste or smell. You can mix it into water, juice, smoothies, or practically anything else without significantly changing the flavor profile. This is especially impressive with Astaxanthin, because algae-derived Astaxanthin ingredients can have a strong fishy taste and odor that manufacturers may need to mask in finished formulations. Conventional Astaxanthin is also commonly delivered in oil-based softgels, and some people may experience things like an unpleasant aftertaste, fishy burps, bloating, gas, diarrhea, or digestive discomfort with certain formulations. Our fermented CWD powder has an incredibly clean, neutral profile without that strong algae-like taste or smell—and without requiring an oil-based softgel to deliver it.

This Astaxanthin Powder is super concentrated. It’s unlike anything I’ve ever worked with. And what I really love about the CWD technology is the ultra-thin potato protein matrix surrounding and protecting the Astaxanthin. This plant-based microencapsulation helps stabilize the highly sensitive Astaxanthin and protect it from oxidation, while creating the ultra-fine dispersion we just talked about above. The potato protein is non-animal, non-dairy, has a neutral taste and odor, and contains virtually no starch or sugar. And even with this protective matrix surrounding it, the finished powder is still an absolutely incredible 10% Astaxanthin.

To give you a picture of just how concentrated this ingredient is, a typical Astaxanthin softgel usually contains only about 2–3% astaxanthin. Our fermented astaxanthin is a 10% Cold Water Dispersible (CWD) powder—an incredibly concentrated ingredient that disperses readily while helping protect this highly sensitive nutrient. When you take it in this concentrated powder form, you’ll see exactly what I’ve been talking about from the beginning of this newsletter.

To put the concentration into perspective, just 3 ounces of this powder contains a whopping 10,000mg of Astaxanthin… lol.That’s how ridiculously concentrated this ingredient is. Scale that up, and 1 kilogram contains an unbelievable 100,000mg of Astaxanthin.

What makes this even crazier is that other companies often take this same 10% Astaxanthin raw material and dilute it even further when creating their finished formulations. I wanted you to have the concentrated ingredient—not something watered down with unnecessary fillers.

In fact, my supplier actually suggested that we add a filler like rice flour because most people expect to take something by the teaspoon. If we had done that, nearly 7/8 of every teaspoon would have been nothing more than rice flour just to provide a 12mg serving of Astaxanthin.

Yeah…like I’m going to do that!

Nobody does what I do, and you guys know me by now. I wanted the straight, highly concentrated Astaxanthin powder with nothing added beyond the protective potato protein matrix—and that’s exactly what I got.

I’m telling you, this 10% Fermented Astaxanthin Powder is one of the most powerful superfoods I’ve ever brought to The Raw Food World, and without question one of the biggest highlights of my career. When you try it for the first time, I think everything you’ve just read in this newsletter will suddenly make perfect sense.

I can actually feel it working. It feels like I have more focus, power, and health behind my eyes. I don’t think there is anything on the planet better for your eyes than this… You’ve got to try this!

Each bag contains 4 grams of this straight fermented 10% Astaxanthin powder, providing a 33-day supply at 12mg of Astaxanthin per day. It’s so concentrated that a scant 1/8 teaspoon will give you 12mg of Astaxanthin. Personally, I like to take even more than that due to the benefits and mind blowing feeling it provides. I can’t express enough to you how profound it truly is.

I just got 20 more grams of this stuff today in the mail. I bought a milligram scale so I could get the exact dosage for you guys. A level 1/8 teaspoon is approximately 14mg of Astxanthin. If you make it a scant 1/8 teaspoon, you will approximately get 12mg of Astaxanthin. I actually just took 1/8 teaspoon. I can’t tell you guys how Insane this stuff is.

I am 100% certain that you will actually feel it when you take it. That’s how confident I am in this product.

After waiting well over a year for this to finally become available, I couldn’t be more excited to bring it to you. The free-form structure, the natural 3S,3’S isomer, the CWD formulation, and the incredible 10% concentration all come together in one of the most unique Astaxanthin products I’ve ever seen. And after personally experiencing it for myself, I can tell you—this was absolutely worth the wait.

Thanks everyone for your support!

Sincerely,
Matt

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Astaxanthin & Your Eyes: The Research Is Incredible

Hey Everyone!

One of the scariest things in life is when we start to notice our vision deteriorating. Our eyes are the main receptacles used for viewing this precious world around us, and the deterioration of them seems to be an ongoing concern for many people including myself.

As discussed in the research [1], doctors say that once photoreceptor cells within the retina have been destroyed, the resulting damage is irreversible. This includes damage associated with age-related changes in the macula, light-related stress, reduced blood flow to the retina, and other eye concerns involving oxidative stress and free radicals. This led investigators to study whether powerful antioxidants could help protect the retina, slow further damage, or even ameliorate (actually improve) existing retinal damage.

Researchers then turned their attention to carotenoids—a family of naturally occurring pigments known for their antioxidant properties and their potential role in protecting the eye from oxidative and free-radical damage. However, not every carotenoid can simply make its way into the retina and provide these protective effects. In order to be of any use to the eye, a carotenoid needs three special properties that only a select few possess. First, it needs to be able to cross the highly selective Blood-Retinal Barrier to reach the retina. Second, once it gets there, it needs to be able to exert its antioxidant activity within the tissues of the eye. And lastly, it needs to be able to do all of this without causing adverse effects within the eye.

For example, the carotenoid canthaxanthin was found to successfully cross the blood-retinal barrier and reach and accumulate within the retina. However, there was a problem. When canthaxanthin was consumed at high doses for extended periods of time, researchers discovered that it could form crystalline deposits within the inner layers of the retina. These deposits have been associated with decreased eye adaptation to the dark and can take several years to completely dissolve those formed crystals after canthaxanthin is discontinued [2].

Scientists therefore turned their attention to which of the carotenoids circulating within human serum were actually able to make their way into the retina.

One of the major carotenoids circulating within human blood is beta-carotene. However, despite its well-known antioxidant properties, beta-carotene has only a very limited ability to cross the Blood-Retinal Barrier, with only small amounts reaching the retina even when very high doses are administered.

Of the approximately ten carotenoids identified in human serum, lutein and zeaxanthin are the predominant dietary carotenoids found concentrated within the human retina.

And the research on these carotenoids gets even more impressive. In one study [3], people with the highest dietary intake of lutein and zeaxanthin had a 50% lower risk of age-related lens clouding compared to those with the lowest intake.

Even more interesting, the eye preferentially concentrates zeaxanthin over lutein as we move toward the center of the macula, where our sharpest and most detailed vision occurs. This is particularly significant because zeaxanthin is a more effective free-radical and singlet-oxygen scavenger than lutein, meaning the eye selectively concentrates this especially powerful antioxidant right where our vision is most precise.

But what if there was something out there with 10x the antioxidant power of zeaxanthin?

Well, there is—and this is where Astaxanthin enters the picture! In the research discussed within the patent here [1], Astaxanthin, which has a molecular structure very similar to zeaxanthin, was shown to successfully cross both the Blood-Brain Barrier and the Blood-Retinal Barrier. The patent goes on to describe Astaxanthin as a more effective antioxidant than all of the antioxidants we’ve discussed above, including zeaxanthin, lutein, canthaxanthin, beta-carotene, ascorbic acid (Vitamin C), and α-tocopherol (Vitamin E).

In fact, laboratory research [2] has found Astaxanthin’s antioxidant activity to be approximately 10 times stronger than other carotenoids tested, including beta-carotene, lutein, and zeaxanthin, and approximately 100 times stronger than alpha-tocopherol (Vitamin E). And in other laboratory comparisons [3] measuring its ability to neutralize singlet oxygen—a highly reactive form of oxygen that can damage our cells—Astaxanthin has demonstrated some truly extraordinary numbers, with approximately 6,000 times greater activity than Vitamin C and 800 times greater than CoQ10.

Astaxanthin stands out as one of the most potent natural antioxidants known, demonstrating dramatically greater antioxidant activity than many other carotenoids and antioxidants in laboratory comparisons, which is why it is often referred to as the “King of Carotenoids.” And this is especially important within the eye. The retina is particularly vulnerable to oxidative stress because it consumes enormous amounts of oxygen while continually being exposed to light.

Although the majority of all doctors say that certain types of retinal damage is impossible to reverse once the cells have been destroyed, many clinical studies come to a different conclusion…

The research discussed within the patent above [1] is far from the only research showing this potential. Numerous animal, laboratory, and even human studies have investigated Astaxanthin’s ability not only to retard (slow or delay) further retinal damage, but also to ameliorate (actually improve) existing retinal damage or dysfunction [4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9]. Researchers have reported protective—and in certain experimental models, restorative—effects involving light-related retinal stress, reduced retinal blood flow, age-related changes in the macula, blood-sugar-related eye stress, optic nerve stress, lens clarity, and more.

And beyond all of this research into retinal protection, the human studies on Astaxanthin have uncovered some pretty incredible benefits for how our eyes actually function.

In one randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study [10], participants took 12mg of Astaxanthin per day for four weeks. Researchers found a significant increase in choroidal blood-flow velocity in the macular region, while no significant change occurred in the placebo group. The choroid is the highly vascular layer directly behind the retina that supplies the outer retina with oxygen and nutrients. In other words, Astaxanthin has human research showing that it can positively affect the circulation supplying this incredibly important area of the eye.

Then we have our modern-day problem of staring at computer and phone screens all day long. In another randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled human study [11], 60 healthy adults who regularly used computers and screens were given either 9mg of Astaxanthin per day or a placebo for six weeks. Among participants 40 years and older, Astaxanthin significantly helped protect visual acuity—the sharpness and clarity of vision—after prolonged screen work compared with placebo. The researchers concluded that Astaxanthin appeared to help reduce the visual stress caused by prolonged screen use in middle-aged and older adults.

Astaxanthin has also been studied for something called accommodation—our eyes’ ability to change focus when looking between objects at different distances. A review of the clinical research [12] discusses human studies in which Astaxanthin supplementation was associated with improvements in eye accommodation, visual function, and eye-fatigue-related measures. This is especially interesting as we get older, because our ability to rapidly focus on objects at different distances naturally becomes more difficult with age.

And then there is dry eye. In another human study [13], 60 middle-aged and older adults with mild-to-moderate dry eye took 12mg of Astaxanthin per day for approximately one month. Their average dry-eye symptom score dropped from 52 at the beginning of the study to 30 after 30 days—a reduction of approximately 42%. Researchers also reported significant improvements in tear-film stability, corneal staining, meibomian-gland function, and several other measurements of dry eye.

And while we’ve focused heavily on the eyes throughout this newsletter, Astaxanthin’s benefits certainly don’t end there. Human research has investigated Astaxanthin for an incredible range of benefits throughout the body, including skin hydration, elasticity and protection against UV-induced damage; exercise performance, endurance and recovery; physical and mental fatigue; cardiovascular and metabolic health; and even cognitive function. Astaxanthin is also capable of crossing the Blood-Brain Barrier, where researchers continue to investigate its potential neuroprotective effects.

Underlying many of these benefits is Astaxanthin’s incredibly powerful antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activity, including its ability to help protect lipids and cells against oxidative damage while influencing important cellular pathways involved in inflammation and our natural antioxidant defenses. In other words, Astaxanthin may be incredible for the eyes, but its protective activity extends throughout the entire body.

So when we go all the way back to the three special properties we established at the beginning of this newsletter, Astaxanthin checks all the boxes. It can successfully cross the Blood-Retinal Barrier and reach the tissues of the eye, exert its incredibly powerful antioxidant activity once it gets there, and has demonstrated these benefits without the adverse retinal effects seen with canthaxanthin. And Astaxanthin doesn’t stop at the eyes. Amazingly, it can also cross the Blood-Brain Barrier, giving this extraordinary carotenoid access to two of the most highly protected areas of the human body—the eyes and brain.

And now we have taken this already incredible “King of Carotenoids” to an entirely new level with our new Fermented Astaxanthin.

As I shared with you earlier this week, traditional Haematococcus pluvialis Astaxanthin is predominantly stored in an esterified form. This means it is bound to fatty acids and is structurally more similar to how Astaxanthin is stored in crustaceans such as crab, lobster, and shrimp [12]. Because it is bound to these fatty acids, it must first undergo an additional breakdown step during digestion before the Astaxanthin can be absorbed. Our Fermented Astaxanthin, on the other hand, mirrors the free-form, non-esterified Astaxanthin found in salmon flesh. In salmon, Astaxanthin has already undergone biological conversion through the natural food chain into this free form, meaning it does not require that initial de-esterification step before absorption. The exciting part is that you can now obtain this salmon-like, free form of Astaxanthin without eating salmon or relying on an animal-derived source.

And this difference in form is only part of the story. Research relevant to our Fermented Astaxanthin suggests that both its form and delivery system can influence how rapidly Astaxanthin appears in circulation. And when it comes to the delivery system, we’ve taken that one step further by making it a 10% Cold Water Dispersible (CWD) powder, creating an ultra-fine dispersion that exposes more of the Astaxanthin to digestive fluids while its protective carrier matrix helps preserve this incredibly sensitive nutrient.

And this is exactly why I am certain you will powerfully feel the difference when taking our Fermented Astaxanthin, instead of getting that typical “Amazon Astaxanthin” experience where you’re left wondering if it’s doing anything at all. For me, the feeling from this stuff is so ridiculously profound—I can actually feel it working. It feels like I have more focus, power, and health behind my eyes. I don’t think there is anything on the planet better for your eyes than this… You’ve got to try this!

And just like my Marine Phytoplankton, this is one of those rare superfoods that I personally like taking at higher amounts because of its profound antioxidant power and the mind-blowing brain explosion it gives me. You guys, I can feel this stuff like no other!

Thanks everyone for your support!

Sincerely,
Matt