Why krill oil?
A few days ago I posted on a fish oil/krill oil/curcumin regimen that I’ve been using to treat joint and muscle soreness after golf. I had a number of comments wanting to know about krill oil and why I made it part of the treatment protocol. Your wish is my command.
Krill oil, logically enough, comes from krill, which are small, shrimp like crustaceans that inhabit the cold ocean areas of the world, primarily the Antarctic and North Pacific Oceans. Despite their small size–one to five centimeters in length–krill make up the largest animal biomass on the planet. According to Neptune Technologies, the Canadian company that holds the patent for krill oil extraction, there are approximately 500 million tons of krill roaming around in these northern seas, 110,000 tons of which are harvested annually.
A krill, in profile
Krill oil, like fish oil, contains both of the omega-3 fats eicosapentanoic acid (EPA) and docosahexanoic acid (DHA), but hooked together in a different form. In fish oil these omega-3 fatty acids are found in the triglyceride form whereas in krill oil they are hooked up in a double chain phospholipid structure. (The fats in our own cell walls are in the phospholipid form.) Attached to the EPA leg of the phospholipid is a molecule of astaxanthin, an extremely potent anti-oxidant. The phospholipid structure of the EPA and DHA in krill oil makes them much more absorbable and allows for a much easier entrance into the mitochondria and the cellular nucleus. In addition to EPA and DHA krill oil contains a complex phospholipid profile including phosphatidylcholine, a potent source of reductive-stress-reducing choline, which also acts as a natural emulsifier.
Krill oil contains vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D and canthaxanthin, which is, like astaxanthin, a potent anti-oxidant. The anti-oxidant potency of krill oil is such that when compared to fish oil in tems of ORAC (Oxygen radical absorptance capacity) values it was found to be 48 times more potent than fish oil.
The astaxanthin found in krill oil provides excellent protection against ultravoilet light and UV-induced skin damage. It was for this reason that I started taking krill oil to begin with–I only discovered its other virtues later on.
A number of studies have shown that krill oil is tremendously effective in reducing LDL-cholesterol, raising HDL-cholesterol, and lowering blood sugar. It has been shown to be effective in treating the pain and inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis and aches and pains in general. One large study showed that krill oil has tremendous benefits in terms of symptom reduction in PMS and dysmenorrhea. And it has been shown to be effective in the treatment of adult ADHD. In all these studies krill oil was tested against fish oil and not simply a placebo.
Due to the rapid absorption of krill oil and the high anti-oxidant content there is virtually never the fishy burping and aftertaste sometimes experienced with fish oil. And there are no other side effects to speak of. The jury is out right now on if and to what degree there is a problem for those people allergic to shrimp. Until the jury is in, I would be careful in taking krill oil if I had a shrimp allergy.
Are there any downsides to this miracle substance? Only one. It is a little more pricey than fish oil, but, as with all things, you get what you pay for. Virtually all krill oil is produced by Neptune Technologies and shipped to the various supplement manufacturers, so any krill oil you get will have come from the same place and be the same dosage. The only unknown is how long it has been sitting around in a warehouse somewhere, which is, of course, the same unkown with fish oil. At least with krill oil, thanks to the high anti-oxidant content, the shelf life is much longer.
One last thing. I neglected to mention in my previous post that popping a couple of fish oil and krill oil caps don’t give the same immediate relief as popping a NSAID. It takes a while–a couple of weeks in my case–for the fish oil/krill oil to provide the same degree of pain relief as the NSAID. So, the take home message is: don’t take your first dose and compare it to the relief you got with a dose of NSAID. If you do, you will not believe the program works and will probably think me an idiot. It takes a while, so give it time. In the study I mentioned in the last post, the subjects took the fish oil for two weeks along with their NSAIDs, then tapered off the drugs and treated their pain with the fish oil alone.
When do you take Mega Red morning or night? I have been on Omega red for a good month take it at nnight
What are the best brands Krill Oil?
Thank you so much for this great information! I’ve read both here and on mercola.com reference to promising research about krill oil for bipolar disorder. Do you know what dosage was used, or can you point me in the right direction? I have a son who is suffering from depression and very possibly bipolar disorder. His holistic psychiatrist has him trying EMPower Plus (www.truehope.com) instead of psychopharmaceuticals, but if we don’t see drastic improvement, will want to add in Lithium. I would like to first try Krill Oil, but need to know how much. Thank you so much for your time!
I use a product called MoodLift by Shaklee
and it has really helped me. Also, your son
may need more B vitamins. I also use Shaklee
B vitamins and their multi-vitamin and have
found them to be the best!
I hope this helps your son.
Hey, indeed krill is a very interesting creature. Antarctic Krill are just one of 85 species of krill found all over the oceans of the world. Krill are zooplankton invertebrates that float in huge swarms. Euphausia superba krill are the most common krill, found mostly in the waters of the Antarctic. Euphausia krill are at the very bottom of the food chain and can only found in the pristine oceans around Antarctcia, where there is very limited accumulation of contaminants. I recommend you to visit: http://www.krillfacts.org – a sea of information about krill and Antarctica.
Hi, I have read several websites that fish oil my be rancid if it is the cheaper brand, I just bought 3 bottles if natures made fish oil and it was very cheap, I can’t stand the taste of fish that is why I bought pills, now if I bite into pill and it is rancid it will be a strong taste right? Does this happen to krill oil also, do I have to worry about it being rancid when I buy it, I am already dreading it if I have to throw the fish oil away. Please let me know. Thank you!
Hi Dr. Mike,
I really enjoyed your article and responses to all questions. How can I find out which product sources NKO krill oil? I found this one called Everest Nutrition. http://www.krilloilreview.org/?gclid=CJ6T0abk860CFeUZQgodUFmDsA
Thank you.
Hi Dr.,
I am a 31 year old woman and working on starting a family now. 6 months back i was diagnosed with hypo thyroid (low metabolism one if i got it correct), very low Vit D and B12 levels (almost negligent).I was put on Mecofol and Calcimax Forte for both and Eltroxin 50 mg. Vitamin levels have since then improved.
Recently, my husband got me cod liver oil capsules from Seven Seas with 2 capsules 2wice a week to be taken. With the amount of mercury and possible rancidity and other problems i read on the net about it, am worried now. Your article on Krill oil looks promising. Given that am planning pregnancy, do you recommend it? if so, could you please advise how many (i also suffer from severe constipation for which i take 2 spoonfuls of softovac each night as well as asthematic). I am afraid you would advise consulting a local doctor, but any general information you could provide would be helpful.
Thanks.
There is one minor problem with this article. The statement “The phospholipid structure of the EPA and DHA in krill oil makes them much more absorbable and allows for a much easier entrance into the mitochondria and the cellular nucleus,” sounds great but there is one minor flaw.
Krill is not absorbed intact.
Omega-3s are broken down and metabolized and converted during the actual process of digestion. This is the flaw with the krill theory. Omega-3s have to get to the cells and they are converted long before they get there.
I live iin British Columbia, Canada and cannot get krill oil shipped here. Do you know who might ship it? Health stores have a little but sooo pricey.
my mom was resently prescribed krill oil by doctor…..its available here…..price is around 1200 INR for 100 capsules, which is around 25USD……………..
Will Amazon ship to B.C.? I’ve bought NKO Krill from NOW Foods through Amazon for a couple years. I buy 120 softgels of 500 mg each for about $31. With Amazon Prime I get free shipping, and with Amazon Subscribe and Save I get a 15% discount off the price listed above. I think it’s a good deal!
http://www.amazon.com/Foods-Neptune-Krill-500mg-Softgels/dp/B003O1Y4C2/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1330313830&sr=8-1
Enjoy!