Of the many things that I am enjoying about being back in class are the doors that are opening in the way of knowledge.

With a client asking information of me, one of my first resources is our instructor.

In my last message to her I was inquiring about her knowledge of krill oil.  Her reply was “again a challenging question”.  I guess I’ve had a couple of those over the last month.   Needless to say there is learning on several levels.

For those of you who have moved past the concern about Vit D and are supplementing at optimal levels with a Pharmaceutical Grade Vit D, you may be looking at adding  fish oils to your health regime, given their excellent benefits.  The question you may be asking is; do I supplement with krill or fish oil.

Two key questions that will help you with your decision are:

A)     How does fish oil compare to krill oil

B)     What is Health Canada’s position about krill oil.

http://www.naturalproductsinsider.com/news/2010/09/health-canada-ok-s-nko-health-claims.aspx

In  Laval Quebec a company whose science regarding  krill oil was recently approved by Health Canada.  NKO’s krill oil claims include;

NKO’s science says that:

• The omega 3 oil in krill oil is more readily absorbed then fish oil and is more bio-available
• Krill oil is 17% better absorbed than fish oil after 4 weeks
• And about 40% better absorbed after 8 weeks.
• Krill oil has a phospholipid bond which makes it more available to our cell membranes – this is the large plus
• Contains a strong antioxidant astaxanthin which acts as an anti-rancidity (antioxidant) agent, but only if it is present in very high quantities. But the astaxanthin level is usually too low to protect krill oil from turning rancid.

 The downside to Krill oil

• Cost– it is more expensive because krill is caught in Antarctica, near the South Pole. Unlike fish, Krill must be caught and processed immediately on the ship, or else it will go rancid. This process is very expensive. The harvest season is only a couple of months every year. Resulting in a low capacity to process and purify oil.
  
• Effective dosage – one of the most popular krill oils used, costs $108 a month to receive optimal benefits.
  
• Krill oil raises arachadonic acid –Krill oil raises arachadonic acid in your body which is the pro-inflammatory fatty acid, something that is not desirable
  
• Krill oil is a very unstable oil and is easily damaged by heat – NKO have patents on the extraction process which ensures the gentle bonds of this oil are not broken.  Therefore the only krill oil is one made by NKO.  Other companies do not have the same process therefore it is unlikely they would be  able to manufacute without the omega 3 fats without causing damage
  
• Buyer Beware –  krill oils from strange places may be marketed as krill oil but contain no krill oil.  They could be regular old fish oil with red algae extract for color and some soy bean phospholipids added to fool the Quality Control labs.

On Oct. 1, 2010, ConsumerLab.com published its regular review of fish oils. This time, they added a few krill oils to their test.

This is what they said:

• “A krill oil supplement that failed for both spoilage and low omega-3 levels claimed to be quality assured under GMPs (good manufacturing practices). Another “krill oil” supplement contained more fish oil than krill oil.”

Now, a new study was just published by Aker BioMarine, the makers of Superba krill oil. The study titled Metabolic Effects of Krill Oil are Essentially Similar to Those of Fish Oil but at Lower Dose of EPA and DHA, in Healthy Volunteers was published in the Nov. 2010 issue of Lipids Journal. Teir findings include:

• Krill oil is 1.5X times better than fish oil.
• Krill oil increases pain-causing Arachidonic Acid
• There is no difference between Krill oil and Fish oil when it comes to blood lipids like cholesterol, triglycerides, etc
• Krill oil is 10X more expensive than fish oil (on an Omega-3 basis.) You have to pay between 7 and 11 times more for the same amount of Omega-3 from krill oil.

As you can see there are mixed research findings regarding krill oil, while there are many benefits, it has many deterrents.  For the time being I am sticking to my Pharmaceutical Grade fish oil.

Wishing you a wonderfully wellness day until the next time when we’ll talk about Pharmaceutical Grade, what it is and why it matters.

 

October 12/12 Updated supporting my favorite supplier of fish oils: 

Although some arguments in favor of krill oil may sound persuasive, overall it doesn’t really stack up against a top-quality purified and concentrated fish oil. (For example, krill oil is much lower in DHA (9%) than USANA’s BiOmega product (23.5%), yet significantly more expensive to produce.)

For now, based on purity, potency, concentration, availability, and cost, using fish oil as the omega-3 source in BiOmega is a much better choice for us.