Is krill oil better than fish oil for omega-3?

Krill oil and fish oil supplements are two sources of omega-3 fatty acids including DHA and EPA. While oil from both krill and fish provide health benefits, their origin, price, and benefits may differ.

Fish oil comes from oily fish, such as tuna, herring, or sardines. Krill oil comes from a small, shrimp-like animal called krill.

Krill oil has a distinctive red color, while fish oil supplements are typically yellow or gold. Krill oil is usually more expensive than fish oil.

While each supplement type contains omega-3 fatty acids, taking each supplement type presents various risks and benefits. Read on to find out more.

Benefits of krill oil and fish oil

Omega-3 fatty acids are present in krill oil and fish oil.

Both krill oil and fish oil contain omega-3 fatty acids. Some of the most popular and beneficial omega-3 fatty acids are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).

When a person consumes these fatty acids in fish, they demonstrate supportive effects on overall heart health and a reduction in the risks of heart attack and coronary artery disease.

However, while research has shown eating whole fish can have heart-protecting benefits, scientific studies have not yet proven that taking omega-3 supplements offers the same benefits as eating fish.

The National Institutes of Health (NIH) state that the specific benefits of taking omega-3 supplements include:

• Reducing high triglyceride levels. High triglyceride levels have links to an increased risk for heart disease.
• Relieving rheumatoid arthritis. Evidence suggests that omega-3 supplements may help relieve the symptoms of rheumatoid arthritis.
• Relieving dry eye symptoms. Some people use omega-3 supplements to help improve eye moisture and reduce the symptoms of dry eye disease. However, large-scale studies have found that taking omega-3 supplements are no better than a placebo for eye dryness, so more research is necessary.

Drug stores and online supermarkets sell both fish oil and krill oil supplements.

What does the research say?

A study from 2011 compared the effects of fish and krill oil, finding that they resulted in similar blood levels of EPA and DHA. However, people took 3 grams (g) of krill oil and only 1.8 g of fish oil, which may suggest that a person needs to take almost twice as much krill oil as fish oil to get the same benefits.

According to the study’s authors, 30–65 percent of krill oil’s fatty acids are stored as phospholipids, while the fatty acids in fish oils are instead stored primarily as triglycerides.

The researchers suggest that the body may able to use fatty acids stored as phospholipids more easily. However, despite this possibility, a person may still have to take more krill oil capsules than fish oil to get an equivalent amount of omega-3s.

The amount and concentration of omega-3 in krill and fish oil also vary depending on the product. Some krill oil manufacturers claim that the krill oil omega-3s are better absorbed than fish oil omega-3s, so a lower concentration works just as well. However, there is no current proof that this statement is true.

Another small-scale study published in 2013 found that after 4 weeks of taking only one of the supplements, krill oil led to higher levels of EPA and DHA in a person’s blood compared with fish oil. Although both supplements increased levels of healthful omega-3 fatty acids, they also increased levels of low-density lipoprotein (LDL) cholesterol, which is the ‘bad’ cholesterol.

Studies are not consistent, though. A study from 2015 found no differences in krill oil and fish oil in the blood after 4 weeks of taking supplements.

While some research suggests that the body might better absorb krill oil, other studies find no difference between fish and krill oil. More research is therefore needed.

The above research only looks effects of the oil on blood levels, which is just one marker of their potential benefits. No study has compared these products to see if one works better than the other for the specific uses that people are interested in, such as bodybuilding or promoting heart health.

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