Krill Oil As An Omega-3 Source

Krill oil is extracted from tiny crabs – the krill – from the Antarctic. The krill lives on algae, which are rich in omega-3 fatty acids. These fatty acids also go into the krill, which is now processed into an oil that is considered a good source of omega-3 fatty acids. We at the Health Center recommend taking the algae oil directly. It is not only vegan but also sustainable since the required algae are grown in closed systems – also in Germany.

Krill Oil – In which situations to use

Omega-3 fatty acids can be used for the following complaints:

• Do you suffer from PMS (Premenstrual Syndrome) and are you fed up with your monthly depression?
• Do you finally wish for painless and uncomplicated menstruation – and without having to resort to hormonal and risky aids such as the pill?
• Do you want balanced cholesterol levels to protect your heart?
  Would you be relieved if there was a natural anti-inflammatory that could relieve your joint pain or other chronic inflammatory health issues?
• Or are you even looking for a way to protect your skin, your brain, and even your whole body from the aging processes that afflict so many people today?
• Krill oil can help with this. However, you can also switch to the vegan algae oil from the algae Schizochytrium, e.g. B. this * algae oil, which is particularly highly dosed.

Krill oil – is krill fishing ecological?

Krill oil is extracted from a small crab called Euphausia Superba. This crab forms the largest biomass on earth in the Antarctic ocean. The krill mass is estimated at an unimaginable several thousand million tons. Only about 0.03 percent of them are caught each year. This catch quota was set by the International Commission for the Conservation of Antarctic Habitats (CCAMLR) and ensures the species conservation of Antarctic krill.

However, it is not only about the conservation of the species, but also about how the damage to the seas and the environment is caused when krill are caught. But this applies in at least the same way to fishing and shelling. High-quality krill oil is tested for heavy metals, PCBs, pesticides, and other contaminants. The measured values of the krill oil are all below the limit values.

Krill oil with a good omega-3-omega-6 ratio

Omega-3 fatty acids come in different forms: the short-chain omega-3 fatty acids are found in plant-based foods such as flaxseed, hemp seed, and walnuts, and small amounts in green leafy vegetables; The long-chain omega-3 fatty acids are contained in fish and krill, but also in meat and dairy products (in varying amounts).

It would be ideal if the body had the same amount of omega-3 fatty acids as omega-6 fatty acids. An omega-3/omega-6 ratio of 1:4 or 1:5 is also considered very good. Today, however, up to 20 times more omega-6 fatty acids are consumed than omega-3 fatty acids.

Omega-6 fatty acids are found in meat, eggs, dairy, and cereal products and most vegetable oils (e.g. sunflower oil, corn oil, safflower oil, etc.). Antarctic krill provides omega-3 fatty acids and omega-6 fatty acids in a ratio of 15:1.

Krill oil, fish oil, or algae oil – which is better?

Many people have been taking fish oil capsules to meet their omega-3 fatty acid needs. The fatty acids in fish oil are in the form of triglycerides. In krill oil, they are bound to so-called phospholipids and should therefore be easier for the human body to absorb and utilize than fish oil fatty acids.

The cell membranes of our approximately 100 trillion body cells consist of phospholipids. In combination with certain proteins, these molecules protect the cell from all adversities that could come at them from the outside, e.g. B. toxins, acids, pathogens, and especially free radicals.

In our brain, the cell membranes are particularly rich in phospholipids. This could be one reason the phospholipids from krill oil are so well absorbed and processed.

But algae oil is probably much more suitable than fish oil. In laying hens, feeding 1–2 percent of the alga Schizochytrium used for the algal oil resulted in higher omega-3 levels in the eggs than feeding them 4 percent fish oil.

Stop the inflammation in your body

In the meantime, it is strongly suspected that many of the chronic health problems that are so widespread today are related to “smoldering fires”, i.e. to chronic inflammations that are often unnoticed by those affected or are perhaps even primarily caused by them.

The flooding of our body with omega-6 fatty acids in combination with a lack of omega-3 fatty acids is one of the contributors to these inflammatory processes. The resulting chronic health problems include the following:

• Atherosclerosis and cardiovascular diseases
• Cancer
• diabetes mellitus
• Rheumatic diseases such as arthrosis and arthritis
• chronic inflammatory bowel disease (Crohn’s disease, ulcerative colitis)
• stomach ulcers
• Nervous disorders such as depression and Alzheimer’s disease

Omega-3 fatty acids, which can have an anti-inflammatory effect, should therefore be integrated into the therapy concept for any chronic disease in order to alleviate the corresponding inflammation.

Example rheumatism and joint pain

Joint pain due to chronic joint inflammation can make life no longer fun. Suppressing the pain with the help of drugs with many side effects is not a solution and does not really allow the joy of life to return.

The cause persists and soon the painkiller dose has to be increased. Krill oil can be a wonderful ingredient in holistic rheumatism, arthrosis, or arthritis therapy, which ensures even faster success.

An (unpublished) series of tests showed that joint pain – even without further measures – was reduced after just 7 days of taking krill oil, by up to 24 percent (according to the patients).

However, another source of long-chain omega-3 fatty acids can be used as well, e.g. B. the algae oil. A double-blind study with 38 rheumatism patients from 2018 showed that taking 2100 mg DHA (an omega-3 fatty acid) from algae oil over a period of 10 weeks led to a reduction in joint swelling and an improvement in rheumatism (in the ultrasound detectable) led.

Example atherosclerosis

The dreaded arteriosclerosis (so-called hardening of the arteries) is officially blamed on cholesterol. However, the cause of the pathological deposits on the blood vessel walls is most likely not cholesterol.

Chronic inflammatory processes – as explained by some experts – would lead to tiny injuries and tears in the blood vessel walls, which would then be repaired by the body with the help of cholesterol.

Cholesterol is therefore used by the organism only as an aid in an emergency situation. However, cholesterol can become a problem. Namely, when the cracks have long been repaired and yet more and more cholesterol is sticking to existing deposits.

But why are the cracks in the blood vessel walls taped over and not repaired – which would make much more sense? The human body would love to repair the blood vessel walls. But he can’t because he doesn’t have the necessary materials.

Various vital substances (e.g. vitamin C and vitamin E) are necessary so that collagen – the main building block of the vascular walls – can be formed and built into new vascular walls.

However, the usual diet today often only provides a few vital substances, while at the same time the modern way of life (stress, stimulants, drugs, medicines, environmental toxins, etc.) consumes a multiple of vital substances so that nothing is left for “little things” such as repairing blood vessel walls.

Three measures for arteriosclerosis

Atherosclerosis must therefore be tackled in a completely different way than with cholesterol-lowering medication:

• Measure 1 means: reducing inflammation by balancing fatty acids (i.e. reduce omega-6 in the diet and increase omega-3)
• Measure 2 means: increasing the number of vital substances (with a healthy, natural diet rich in vital substances, which can possibly be supplemented with high-quality food supplements)
• Measure 3 means lower cholesterol naturally, whereby measures 1 and 2 already belong to the holistic concept presented in this link for regulating high cholesterol levels.

Not only arteriosclerosis responds excellently to measures 1 and 2. All the other “smoldering fires” (chronic inflammatory diseases) should also be “extinguished” with these two basic measures.

Surprise your doctor with optimal cholesterol levels

In a 2004 clinical study, Canadian researchers from the University of Montreal, McGill University, and the Riverview Medical Center in Montreal examined the effect of Neptune krill oil on elevated cholesterol levels. The study was published in the medical journal Alternative Medicine Review. It was also interesting in this study that the mode of action of fish oil was also examined in comparison to krill oil.

The researchers divided 120 patients with hyperlipidemia (elevated cholesterol and triglyceride levels) into four groups:

• Group A received 2000 mg or 3000 mg of krill oil daily (participants with a BMI less than 30 received 2000 mg, participants with a BMI greater than 30 received 3000 mg)
• Group B received 1000 mg or 1500 mg daily (again depending on BMI)
• Group C received 3000 mg of fish oil
• Group D received a placebo

The duration of the study was 3 months. Both krill oil and fish oil lowered total cholesterol, LDL (“bad”) cholesterol, and triglycerides, while both raised HDL (“good”) cholesterol. However, the results were better for those participants who took krill oil than those who took fish oil.

For example, within 90 days, LDL blood lipid levels fell 37 percent in Group A, 32 percent in Group B, and nearly 5 percent in the fish oil people. So the higher dose of krill oil worked slightly better but was still lower than the dose of fish oil, which gave only a fraction of the benefit.

Algae oil to improve cholesterol and blood lipid levels

Algae oil also improves cholesterol levels and also triglycerides (blood fats). In a study (on rats), fish oil was not able to lower blood lipid levels, but algae oil was.

A 2011 review of algae oil showed that it increased cholesterol levels in people without cardiovascular disease, which was of course surprising. However, it could be observed that the lipid particles of cholesterol became larger. However, the small lipid particles are dangerous. When assessing the cardiovascular risk, the cholesterol level alone is therefore not decisive, but also the quality of the cholesterol (large or small particles).

Krill oil in PMS the premenstrual syndrome

In 2002, researchers from the University of Montreal, McGill University, and other Quebec medical centers conducted a randomized, double-blind study of the use of krill oil to relieve symptoms of premenstrual syndrome. It was published in the Alternative Medicine Review in 2003.

After 90 days, krill oil was found to reduce both the physical and emotional symptoms of PMS.

Almost immediately after taking the krill oil, the participants experienced fewer abdominal cramps during their menstrual periods, were less tired, suffered from less gas, had fewer headaches, and were significantly less moody. Period cravings also decreased, painful breast tenderness decreased, and PMS-related depression and anxiety improved.

Krill Oil: Omega-3 fatty acids and astaxanthin

Krill oil not only contains omega-3 fatty acids but also astaxanthin, a natural antioxidant. However, the amount of astaxanthin is small and is only 100 µg astaxanthin per daily dose of krill oil (usually 1000 mg). The antioxidant protects valuable fatty acids from oxidative decomposition. However, if you want to take astaxanthin as a dietary supplement in order to enjoy the astaxanthin properties and effects, then this dose is too low. The normal daily dose of astaxanthin is around 8000 µg (8 mg).

Antioxidants can inactivate oxidative stress/free radicals and thus limit their harmful effects. If there are no antioxidants in the organism, free radicals can lead to cell damage, which – to a certain extent – not “only” cause (chronic) diseases, but also contribute to the formation of wrinkles.

Cell damage in the brain causes the mental capacity to dwindle and is probably – together with chronic inflammation and a lack of vital substances – significantly involved in the development of dementia.

Cell damage to the blood vessel walls due to oxidative stress causes the dreaded deposits (arteriosclerosis) to form. The supply of sufficient antioxidants is therefore an important preventive measure together with omega-3 fatty acids.

How Much Krill Oil Daily?

A daily dose of krill oil is generally 1000 mg, taken with meals. Some manufacturers recommend starting with 2 to 4 capsules (500 mg each) per day – i.e. up to 2000 mg – and reducing the dose again from the third week and only taking 1 to 2 capsules per day.

Krill oil does not produce fishy-flavored belches like traditional fish oils sometimes do.