Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil as The Omega-3 Most Beneficial

Major Difference is Absorption

When most people, physicians included, look at krill they are convinced, like I was when I initially reviewed it, that it’s a costly alternative to fish oil.  However what we have learned since then actually makes krill the value champion.  This is related to simple biochemistry. You see fish oil has its DHA and EPA attached as a triglyceride. It is impossible for your body to absorb it in that form so it must be digested in you gut to free floating fatting acids of DHA and EPA.

This is not a very efficient process and only about 15 percent of it actually makes it into your blood stream. The rest is digested in your gut and contributes to the reason why 50 percent of people can’t tolerate fish oil supplements due to burp back effect.  But once you absorb it, your body still can’t use it. It must attach a phospholipid to the DHA and EPA by way of your liver. Once it is in this form your body can finally use it. This wastes even more of the DHA and EPA.

With krill oil NONE of this is required because it is already in the form your body needs. This difference gives krill about a 10-15X increase over fish oil fat.  So if you take 100 mg of krill DHA and EPA, you are getting the equivalent of about 1000-1500 mg of DHA and EPA that you would from fish.

There are still many studies being done to work out the details, but it seems that even our recommendation of two 500 mg capsules is likely excessive and you only need one 500 mg capsule per day.

Antioxidants are Another Huge Advantage

Another major advantage of krill is that it comes loaded with its own antioxidant, Astaxanthin, which protects the DHA and EPA from going rancid.

Fish oil does not have this, and as a result, the large majority of fish oil supplements that you purchase are already rancid before you even open up the bottle.

Astaxanthin is such a powerful supplement that at doses of 4 mg it will likely be able to prevent cataracts and the most common cause of blindness: age related macular degeneration. Also, after being on it a few weeks, it virtually eliminates your risk of sun burn.

Amazing product indeed. It occurs naturally in krill but is supplemented in higher doses. In fact our krill has the highest amount of Astaxanthin on the market. But if you want to use it for the above indications you will need to take it at a bit higher doses than is in krill. We hope to have a pure Astaxanthin supplement out later this year.

I’ve taken 4 mg of this every day for the past few months now.

The Difference Between Plant- and Animal-Based Omega-3s

It is also important to note also that plant-based omega-3 fats do not provide the same benefits as animal-based, because most of us can’t convert the ALA in plant-based fats to the appropriate amount of DHA that is required.

So flax seeds, walnuts, and other plant sources of omega-3 should not be substituted for animal omega-3s. You simply will not receive the same benefits because they are not metabolized as efficiently.

You will ultimately be relatively deficient in DHA and EPA if you rely completely on plant sources of omega-3, which have no EPA and DHA and must rely on your body to make the conversion of the ALA to the higher carbon chain fats.

Further, in 2008 I also shared the major update that cod liver oil is not an optimal source of omega-3 fat either, because of potential problems with the ratios of vitamin A and vitamin D it contains.

Based on the research available, I believe the best source of omega-3 is not fish oil, not cod liver oil and not flax seeds, but rather krill oil … a supplement that is still very “new” to most mainstream health care providers.

It contains essential EPA and DHA in a double-chain phospholipid structure that makes it far more absorbable than the omega-3s in fish oil.

Krill oil also contains vitamin E, vitamin A, vitamin D and astaxanthin, which is a potent antioxidant. Research has shown the antioxidant potency of krill oil is, in terms of ORAC (Oxygen Radical Absorptance Capacity) values, 48 times more potent than fish oil.