Omega 3 Fatty Acids – Krill Oil vs. the Competition

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Omega 3 fatty acids are missing from most American diets, which can account for the rise in cardiovascular problems and depression, among other things.  So many nutrition and dieting gurus have, in recent years, really pushed individuals with chronic health problems to either eat more fish or take an omega 3 supplement.  Until recently, the options for an omega 3 supplement was either nasty tasting cod liver oil or a large pill with varying oils in them that were sometimes hard to swallow.

Fish Oil is the first type of oil that people think of when doctors mention omega 3.  It was widely believed that fish oil was the way to go, however, many have found that it tends to go rancid far too quickly to be beneficial.  In addition, most has been contaminated by mercury and other heavy metals.

Cod Liver Oil is good, but only if you also need a lot of Vitamin D.  Most people are Vitamin D deficient, especially during winter months as we get most of our Vitamin D from sun exposure, or when people use sunblock far too often, preventing the body from absorbing natural Vitamin D.  Like fish oil, cod liver oil is very often contaminated with heavy metals such as mercury.

Flax Seed Oil is my omega 3 supplement of choice, personally, as I’ve found one with the higher concentration of omega 3 fatty acids per dose and there’s nothing fishy about it.  It won’t go rancid, though it still needs to be refrigerated, and I don’t have to worry about whether or not it came from mercury infested fish.  However, there is a downside to this, and that is the recommendation from some doctors that we need an animal based essential fatty acid source in order to speed up the creation of long tail omega 3 fatty acids in the body like EPA and DHA.  There also isn’t sufficient Vitamin E in Flax Seed Oil, but there is plenty in animal based omega 3 oils.

Krill Oil is the latest and greatest of the Omega 3 Fatty Acids, and something that excited me deeply for several reasons.  First, the pill was so much smaller.  Each caplique of krill oil equaled the power of 3 fish oil capsules.  That made me smile, because there were days that I couldn’t swallow those huge things.  It was awful.

However, I chose Flax seed oil over krill oil because the flax seed oil had more omega 3′s per dose than the krill.  My Flax seed oil has 1,000 mg of Omega 3′s per 2 capsules, which is a single dose.  Whereas the krill oil contained far less than that per dose. Why would I want to take additional doses?

Here’s the rub, though.  When it comes to krill oil, or just animal based oils in general, the thing you’re missing out on when you use a plant based oil, like flax seed oil, are the DHA and EPA, as stated above.  What do these do for you?  It improves insulin action and increases insulin receptors, which can be beneficial to individuals who are at risk of developing diabetes.  In addition, DHA, which is lacking in plant based oils according to some doctors, is essential.  Low DHA levels have been linked to depression, schizophrenia, memory loss and Alzheimer’s disease. (source: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2002/04/03/evolution.aspx)

So while the miligrams per dose in krill oil is less than that of flax seed oil, each dose of krill tends to pack a bigger punch, so to speak.

At least, this is what the doctors are saying.  I, personally, will have to do some more research on the matter before I decide whether or not I’m going to switch oils to help me manage my depression.

So, perhaps a plant based oil isn’t a good solution if you’re looking to increase your omega 3 fatty acids.  But there are many animal based oils – fish, cod liver and krill.  Why choose krill?

1. Smaller capsules…easier to swallow;
2. Smaller capsules…easier to swallow…yes, I realize I said that already, but that’s a big plus for me.  I have a sensitive gag reflex.
3. They come from the Antarctic, where we haven’t polluted the water with our industrial waste and heavy metals (yet).

If you think that omega 3 supplements are created equal, you now know differently.  The next time you’re looking into a good omega 3 supplement for the things that ail you, check the labels, do your research and consider the krill oil benefits before making a choice.

And seriously, you can’t beat smaller capsules.  I still can’t swallow those huge ones when I have a sore throat.  It’s horrible.