Thanks for your question. Yes, I recently completed a huge research project on fish oil in order to write a report for the Burn The Fat Inner Circle, and when I was finished, I also took a look at krill oil to do a comparison. Here's the scoop:
Krill oil is a nutritional supplement promoted as a highly bio-available source of omega-3 fatty acids plus antioxidants. Krill oil is made from krill, tiny shrimp-like crustaceans which flourish in all oceans of the world, especially the Antarctic.
Krill plays an important role in the marine ecosystem and food chain. Krill feeds on antioxidant-rich phytoplankton/microalgae, and in turn whales and other marine animals feed on the krill.
Supplement retailers and natural health websites claim that krill oil is better than fish oil as a source of the healthy polyunsaturated omega-3 fatty acids, However, casual web surfing will usually bring you about 1% science and 99% salesmanship, so you have to be careful what you read when the website in question is selling the supplement.
A definitive verdict is not in yet, but based on the science, it looks like Krill oil will probably do everything fish oil will do while having some potential advantages over fish oil such as a high antioxidant content.
However, it would be wise to keep cost effectiveness in mind and not to make your decision until you review the scientific evidence first. Although krill oil has some pros, there is also a con or two in there, and not much research to speak of, while fish oil has thousands of published studies supporting the proposed benefits.
Krill oil is also expensive, so your budget might make the decision for you.
Krill vs fish comparison:
Pros:
- Should provide all the potential health benefits that fish oil does
- Phospholipid form probably means higher bio-availability (smaller dose required)
- Contains interesting antioxidant; the carotenoid astaxanthin
- Naturally free of or low in contaminants such as mercury
- Might have longer shelf life; more resistant to oxidation
- No fish burps
Cons:
- Much more expensive than fish oil.
- Very few peer-reviewed, published clinical trials. Claims and excitement for krill oil seem to be ahead of the research
The longer list of pros might make krill look like the winner, however, con #1 may be enough to keep fish oil the better choice until con #2 is addressed (more research)
NOTE: for a full scientific review of krill oil, fish oil, as well as flax oil and dozens of other supplements, visit the Burn The Fat Inner Circle
Tom Venuto is a lifetime natural bodybuilder, an NSCA-certified personal trainer, certified strength & conditioning specialist (CSCS), and author of the #1 best selling diet e-book, Burn The Fat, Feed The Muscle. Tom has written hundreds of articles and has been featured in IRONMAN, Australian IRONMAN, Natural Bodybuilding, Muscular Development, Exercise for Men and Men’s Exercise as well as on hundreds of websites worldwide. Tom is also the founder and CEO of the Internet's premiere fat loss support community, the: Burn The Fat Inner Circle. To subscribe to Tom's free monthly newsletter, visit www.TomVenuto.com/free_newsletter.
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