The best Omega-3 money can buy...from krill?

That's right, krill--the tiny crustacean that whales eat by the ton.  Apparently it really is as good for you as the marketing hype, but read on, because it's not without it's fair share of concerns.

A friend of mine had questions about the glucosamine post regarding MSM (methylsulfonylmethane, an inflammation reducer often found in glucosamine/chondroitin supplements).  He was wondering how MSM combined with Omega-3, which got us on the topic of Omega-3 supplements.  I had mentioned that I've been getting my Omega-3 from krill oil, but during the course of our discussion, I realized that I really don't know all that much about krill oil.  I decided to change that.

I bought krill oil from GNC when I ran out of my fish oil supplements.  I saw it on the same shelf with the resto of the Omega-3 products, and it looked interesting.  While I prefer to research something using the internet, I often find that I educate myself on the spot (spoken "impulse buying")--not my best quality.  Anyway, I was surprised to read that a published study showed that krill oil caused a significant decrease (increase?) in C-Reactive Protein (CRP), which is a marker for general inflammation in the body.  I learned earlier this year that inflammation is perhaps the most damaging of bodily responses over time, so I decided to go with the krill.

So is there any truth to the claim that krill oil reduces CRP, and is it really a good source of Omega-3?  I called on Dr. Weil for advice.  From his Q&A Library (published 7/3/2007):

A study involving 120 people at McGill University in Canada found that one to three grams of krill oil per day reduced LDL ("bad") cholesterol by 34 percent and boosted HDL ("good") cholesterol by 43.5 percent compared to placebo. In contrast, here is the effect of fish oil seen in this study: a 4.6 percent reduction of LDL and an HDL increase of 4.2 percent compared to placebo.

As for the claim about inflammation, he had this to say in the same article:

A study published in the February 2007 issue of the Journal of the American College of Nutrition found that a daily dose of 300 mg of krill oil inhibited inflammation and reduced the symptoms of arthritis within seven to 14 days among the 90 patients participating.

Seems that krill oil is the perfect Omega-3 supplement, but it is not without it's opponents.  Krill oil is not nearly as well researched as fish oil, so it's a little more difficult to find reliable information about it.  Wikipedia cautions that toxic residues have been found in krill oil, citing an article published in 1987 regarding the contamination of penguine food with organochlorine pesticides (OCPs) and polybrominated diphenyl ethers (PBDEs).  Now I have no idea what these things are, but I'm not a fan of consuming contaminated ANYTHING.  Unfortunately, fish oil is not without the same concern, as wikipedia also cites a study (in the krill oil article) published in 2007 that found anthropogenic and naturally occurring organobrominated compounds in fish oil supplements.  Ugh!!!

Of the few resources out there that discuss krill independent of marketing, healthyomega3.com seems to offer some good insight.  They appear to be a not-for-profit, informational website about Omega-3.  They make a strong (if not thorougly supported) argument for supplementing with fish oil.  They claim that, while both krill oil and fish oil have the potential for contamination, only fish oil undergoes a decontamination process.  While this is not true of ALL fish oil supplements, they recommend that you look for the certificate of analysis when considering any fish oil supplement, which should be posted on the company's website.

Another argument that healthyomega3.com makes is that krill oil supplements are typically low on DHA, which they claim is the more important aspect of Omega-3 supplementation (over EPA, which fish oil tends to be high in).  I don't know enough about this claim to weigh in yet, so stand by...

WebMD actually has some good info about krill oil.  While krill oil seems fairly safe, they recommend you avoid it if you're pregnant or breast feeding, as not enough is known about krill oil to make any conclusions.  Since krill oil obviously is derrived from a crustacean, you should not supplement with it if you are alergic to shellfish.  And apparently all Omega-3 supplemets have blood-thinning properties, you should discontinue use 2 weeks prior to surgery and consult your doctor if you are on any sort of blood thinning medication or are on an aspirin regimin.  Also, WebMD states that krill oil "seems to be safe for most adults when used appropriately for a short amount of time (up to three months)."  It's the only site that I've seen so far that recommends a term of use for krill oil.

So what's the bottom line?  I think I'll continue to use the krill oil that I have while looking for a better Omega-3 supplement.  Krill oil really does seem to offer significant benefits over traditional fish oil, but being a nitche product--the majority of the attention and money going to fish oil supplements--I'm concerned that the supplement is underfunded in general.  This could result in a lower quality product, regardless of what the companies claim.  I'm not uber-concerned about the contamination right now, but that's probably because I'm only on my second month of the supplement.  And if I find something that I like better before I finish my second month, you can bet I'll be switching to that.  Stay tuned...