Krill Oil vs. Fish Oil

I have historically avoided pushing supplements, I’m more of a get what you need through wholesome foods kind of guy. One supplement though that I do use myself and can wholeheartedly recommend to my athletes, family and friends is a quality, pure fish oil supplement.

Fish oil supplementation (again, a quality one that is micro-distilled at least once to remove impurities like mercury) has several health benefits and zero downsides as far as I can tell and according to the research I have referenced. The big ones are the natural anti-inflammatory effects and the positive effects on blood lipid profiles. Although both of these major benefits of fish oil supplementation are in the wellness/health category, they both benefit training and recovery from training.

Recently krill oil has hit the market, essentially providing the same active indgredients as fish oil (EPA/DHA) but having a host of claims that it is superior: sustainability, bioavailabilty (due to phospholipid binding), high antioxidant content compared to fish oil (due to axtasxanthin content in shellfish), better stability, and higher purity (lower on the food chain, Antarctic waters far from pollution) are among the major benefits touted by krill oil purveyors.

I did some major digging and found “reserach” that both supported that krill was more effective, etc. and some that said it wasn’t. I kept digging and digging and interestingly enough, the outcome of the “studies” or the slant of the writing was dependent on who was funding it. It took a while but I did finally find a reputable study in my opinion, on PubMed, which is a reference source of the US National Library of Medicine/National Institutes of Health. Although the krill oil used in this study was provided by the largest manufacturer of krill oil, the study parameters were what you would expect of a “real” study. Here is the abstract of the study below:

Start abstract

Evaluation of the effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the clinical course of hyperlipidemia.

Bunea R, El Farrah K, Deutsch L.

Source

Department of Internal Medicine, McGill University, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.

Abstract

OBJECTIVE:

To assess the effects of krill oil on blood lipids, specifically total cholesterol, triglycerides, low-density lipoprotein (LDL), and high-density lipoprotein (HDL).

METHODS:

A multi-center, three-month, prospective, randomized study followed by a three-month, controlled follow-up of patients treated with 1 g and 1.5 g krill oil daily. Patients with hyperlipidemia able to maintain a healthy diet and with blood cholesterol levels between 194 and 348 mg per dL were eligible for enrollment in the trial. A sample size of 120 patients (30 patients per group) was randomly assigned to one of four groups. Group A received krill oil at a body mass index (BMI)-dependent daily dosage of 2-3 g daily. Patients in Group B were given 1-1.5 g krill oil daily, and Group C was given fish oil containing 180 mg eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and 120 mg docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) per gram of oil at a dose of 3 g daily. Group D was given a placebo containing microcrystalline cellulose. The krill oil used in this study was Neptune Krill Oil, provided by Neptune Technologies and Bioresources, Laval, Quebec, Canada.

OUTCOME MEASURES:

Primary parameters tested (baseline and 90-day visit) were total blood cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, HDL, and glucose.

RESULTS:

Krill oil 1-3 g per day (BMI-dependent) was found to be effective for the reduction of glucose, total cholesterol, triglycerides, LDL, and HDL, compared to both fish oil and placebo.

CONCLUSIONS:

The results of the present study demonstrate within high levels of confidence that krill oil is effective for the management of hyperlipidemia by significantly reducing total cholesterol, LDL, and triglycerides, and increasing HDL levels. At lower and equal doses, krill oil was significantly more effective than fish oil for the reduction of glucose, triglycerides, and LDL levels

End abstract

I also found a study, this time by a university in Norway that found krill oil and fish oil had the same benefits on blood lipid profiles but krill oil did it at a lower dosage of EPA/DHA (37.2% lower). This suggests that krill oil has higher effectiveness due to the improved bioavailability from the phospholipid binding. Norway is a world leader in fish oil production and other “studies” I found from that country touted that fish oil was better for several different reasons so it was interesting to me that this legitimate study from the same country found otherwise.

Although these studies were limited to the effects of krill oil vs. fish oil on the blood lipid profile and not other benefits of supplementation such as anti-inflammatory effects, it is enough for me to make the switch to see for myself. Krill oil is generally more expensive than fish oil but I am still going to give it a test run. The cost difference, to me, is worth getting improved results in an area that has such an impact on overall well being.

Just posting for your reference, hopefully it helps you in your decision making process.