Health Benefits of Krill Oil

Filed under: Cholesterol, Expert Tips & Advice, Nutrition


Neptune KrillKrill are shrimp-like crustaceans that measure one to five centimeters in length. They are commonly found in cold regions, mainly in the Antarctic and North Pacific Oceans.

Krill population is considered to be the largest source of animal biomass on earth. According to Neptune Technologies, the Canadian pioneer in krill oil extraction technology, there is approximately 500 million tons of krill inhabiting northern seas. Annual krill harvest is estimated at 110,000 tons.

Like fish oil, krill oil is a good source of omega-3 fats, docosahexanoic acid (DHA), and eicosapentanoic acid (EPA).

Omega-3 fats come in various forms. Fish oil’s omega-3 fatty acids are in the triglyceride form, whereas in krill oil, they are in double chain phospholipid structure. In humans, omega-3 fats are in phospholipid form.

The EPA leg of a krill phospholipid is attached to a molecule of astaxanthin, a very powerful antioxidant. Because of their phospholipid structure, EPA and DHA in krill oil are more absorbable. They can easily pass through the mitochondria and the cellular nucleus. Aside from EPA and DHA, krill oil has a complex phospholipid profile, which includes phosphatidylcholine. This substance contains reductive-stress-reducing choline, which has a potent emulsifying effect.

Other bioactive components of krill oil are vitamin A, vitamin D, vitamin E and canthaxanthin, a potent antioxidant. Based on ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorptance Capacity) values, the antioxidant potency of krill oil is 48 times higher than that of fish oil.

Astaxanthin in krill oil fights the harmful effects of ultraviolet light on skin. Scientific data prove that krill oil is very effective in:

* lowering LDL-cholesterol
* raising HDL-cholesterol (as high as 44% in some cases)
* reducing blood sugar

Krill oil is also an effective treatment for pain and inflammation from rheumatoid arthritis and pain in general. It has been proven that krill oil helps in alleviating symptoms in PMS and dysmenorrhea. Krill oil is also considered as an effective treatment for adult ADHD. The above claims were based on clinical trials that compared krill oil with fish oil rather than a placebo.

Because krill oil is rapidly absorbed by the body and has a high antioxidant content, fishy burping and aftertaste are never a problem. However, people with shrimp allergy are not encouraged to take krill oil.

Krill oil is slightly more expensive than fish oil. Nonetheless, the health benefits you will get from krill oil are worth the price difference. Krill oil is exclusively produced and sold to various supplement manufacturers by Neptune Technologies, thus all products containing krill oil just came from the same source. The only difference would be in the duration of idle storage in warehouse, which is unknown just like that of fish oil. Because krill oil has high antioxidant content, the shelf life is much longer as compared with that of fish oil.

There are some cases in which krill oil is more preferable than fish oil and cod liver oil. And more often than not, krill oil is even a better option for most, for a number of reasons (notably its fast absorption into brain tissues owing to its unique phospholipid structure).

The only disadvantage of krill oil is its low level of vitamin D, which is almost as important as omega-3 fats. But you can compensate for this deficiency by having a lot of sun exposure, which is actually the best source of vitamin D.