Cholesterol & You

Krill Oil for reducing Cholestrol

Krill oil is oil from a tiny, shrimp-like animal. Baleen whales, mantas, and whale sharks eat primarily krill. In Norwegian, the word “krill” means “whale food.” People extract the oil from krill, place it in capsules, and use it for medicine. Some brand name krill oil products indicate that they use Antarctic krill. This usually refers to the species of krill called Euphausia superba.

Krill oil is used for heart disease, high levels of certain blood fats (triglycerides), high cholesterol, high blood pressure, stroke, cancer, osteoarthritis, depression, premenstrual syndrome (PMS), and painful menstrual periods.

 Uses

  • High cholesterol. Developing research shows that taking 1-1.5 grams of a specific krill oil product (Neptune Krill Oil, Neptune Technologies & Bioresources, Inc) daily reduces total cholesterol and “bad” low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, and increases “good” high-density lipoprotein (HDL) cholesterol in patients with high cholesterol. Higher doses of 2-3 grams daily also appear to significantly reduce levels of triglyceride, another type of blood fat.
  • Premenstrual syndrome (PMS). There is some evidence that taking 2 grams of a specific krill oil product (Neptune Krill Oil, Neptune Technologies & Bioresources, Inc) daily might reduce symptoms of PMS; but some experts question these findings because they believe the study was not well designed.
  • Arthritis. Some research suggests that people with arthritis who take 300 mg of a specific krill oil product (Neptune Krill Oil, Neptune Technologies & Bioresources, Inc.) daily have less pain and stiffness and function better after 30 days of treatment.
  • High blood pressure.
  • Stroke.
  • Cancer.
  • Depression.
  • Other conditions.

More evidence is needed to rate the effectiveness of krill oil for these uses of fish oil and krill oil on cholesterol. Daily doses of 1-3g of krill oil are significantly more effective in the treatment of hyperlipidemia than the same daily dose of fish oil. Also, the unique molecular composition of krill oil is much more diverse in active ingredients and because of that is more beneficial in the reduction of risk for cardiovascular disease.[8]

Considering the much higher price for krill oil, the potentially small increase in bioavailability may not be worth it. Until data exists comparing fish oil to krill oil on intermediate markers of risk and actual disease endpoints it will be difficult to say one is better than the other.