Benefits of Krill Oil (v. regular fish oil)

Do you like upgrades? Stupid question, right? I mean who doesn't like going from the a regular room to a suite. Or from a full size to a BMW. Or from coach to first class.

Yeah, upgrades rock.

Well the other day I was talking about nutrition with the some of the hockey players we work with and I was asking how much cold water fish they eat? I ask this because it's usually a good indicator of how much omega-3 they get in their diet. If they answer rarely or maybe once a week then I'll ask if they take an omega-3 supplement to ensure they are getting enough of this fatty acid found in grass-fed beef, fish, seeds (flax, hemp, chia) and nuts (walnuts) among other foods.

One of the reasons omega-3 is so important is that it is an essential fatty acid which our body can't produce. And so we can only get it from the foods we eat. And while omega-3s are important for a number of reasons related to inflammation, anti-oxidation and indirectly to weight loss they are in short supply for most North Americans based on our nutritional habits.

On the other hand there are omega-6s which are also essential but which get more than enough in our diets. What kinds of foods contain omega-6? These are contained in oils such as corn, safflower and sunflower and exert the opposable effect to omega-3s. So think inflammatory as opposed to anti-inflammatory.

So while taking regular omega-3 supplementation is a great idea there is a better option. And while this better option, or upgrade, isn't anything new it only took a discussion with one of the hockey players to realize this would have benefit for many of our other clients as well.

The issue this hockey player had with taking with taking an omega-3 supplement is fish burps. And he's not alone. I know lots of people that can't handle taking this supplement for this very reason. This is where krill oil comes in. Krill oil is an excellent source of omega-3 but doesn't result in fish burps.

But what exactly is krill? Well you can think of it as a crustacean near the bottom of the food chain and feeds on phytoplankton. In recent years krill has been harvested for the production of the krill oil version of omega-3.

And in addition to no fish burps krill is a great upgrade because:

1. The anti-oxidant power of krill oil is 47x greater than regular omega-3 supplements.

2. Krill contains a specific anti-oxidant, astaxanthin, not found in regular fish oil. Astaxanthin is incorporated in the cell membrane and provides internal and external protection to the cell.

3. Because it is near the bottom of the food chain there is less of a chance of the krill accumulating toxins, such as mercury, that larger fish may take in while feeding. This means the krill may be a safer alternative with fewer contaminants.

If you are interested in trying krill oil to reap all the benefits of omega-3 supplementation, minus the fish burps, click on the link below to try one we recommend:

http://okanaganpeakperformance.getprograde.com/essential-fatty-acid.html

All the best,

Chris [fb-like]

full disclosure - we are an affiliate for Prograde Nutrition that produces the krill product