The health enhancing micronutrients in fish and krill oil are omega-3 fatty acids, which are a type of essential fatty acid that are a type of vitamin. Technically, a vitamin is any organic substance the human body needs for proper functioning and can't manufacture and must acquire by diet. Essential fatty acids, or EFAs, are termed "essential" precisely for this reason. However the source, structure and function of these micronutrients are so different from other vitamins that scientists study them as omega-3 fatty acids rather than as vitamins.
The Science
Public awareness of krill oil as an optional source for omega-3 fatty acids is the result of marketing rather than scientific discovery. Further, krill fishing created a backlash from environmental circles because the major source of commercial krill oil is the Atlantic krill. The Atlantic krill is the major food source of hundreds of marine predators and according to the National Geographic Magazine, global warming has decimated krill numbers by 80 percent. Consequently there are real sustainability issues. Nonetheless, scientists have begun investigations and there are some reports as to which oil is superior for specific health benefits.
Normalizing Blood and Liver Lipids
In one study, krill oil performed better than fish oil in reducing the levels of cholesterol and triglycerides in the blood and liver of rats. The March 2011 edition of "Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition" discusses an experiment run by Italian scientists who divided rats into two groups fed diets that derived 2.5 percent of calories either from krill oil or fish oil. Krill oil was the clear winner, producing a 33 versus a 21 percent drop in blood cholesterol and a 20 versus a 10 percent drop in liver triglycerides.
Normalizing Blood Lipids in Humans
A team of Norwegian researchers reporting in the January 2011 issue of "Lipids" demonstrated that krill oil outperformed fish oil in lowering blood cholesterol while improving lipid ratios. The team assembled 113 subjects with normal or slightly elevated cholesterol and/or triglyceride levels for a seven week trial. They were randomly assigned to receive either krill or fish oil. The amount of krill oil administered was 37 percent lower than the fish oil omega-3. The fish oil and krill oil groups achieved equivalent improvement excepting that the krill group also improved their ratio of HDL cholesterol to blood triglycerides.
Alleviating Menstrual Pain
A study comparing krill and fish oil efficacies was performed by Canadian researchers on how well they relieve PMS symptoms and related pain. Acting on earlier studies showing that women suffering these symptoms metabolized fatty acids abnormally, the researchers reporting in the May 2003 issue of "Alternative Medicine Review " enrolled 70 patients in a 90-day trail. They were treated with either 2 g fish or krill oil daily for the first month, and then for eight days prior to and two days during their menstrual cycles for two months. Symptoms improved significantly better in the krill group.
References
- National Geographic: Krill
- "Journal of Animal Physiology and Animal Nutrition"; A Krill Oil Supplemented Diet Reduces the Activities of the Mitochondrial Tricarboxylate Carrier and of the Cytosolic Lipogenic Enzymes in Rats; Alsicso Ferramosca; March 2011
- "Lipids"; Metabolic Effects of Krill Oil are Essentially Similar to Those of Fish Oil but at Lower Dose of EPA and DHA, in Healthy Volunteers; Sven Ulven; January 2011
- "Alternative Medicine Review"; Evaluation of the Effects of Neptune Krill Oil on the Management of Premenstrual Syndrome and Dysmenorrhea; Fontini Sampalis et al.; May 2003
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