Krill oil is probably more bio-available than standard Omega-3 – Oct 2017

Note: One form of Omega-3 is ~8 X more bioavailable, thus ~4 X better than Krill oil

KRILL OIL AND THE OMEGA 3 INDEX FxMedicine

Clipped from above link

A number of studies support the hypotheses of enhanced absorption facilitated by the molecular structure of krill oil:

  • Ulven et al. administered different doses of krill oil (3g per day, equiv. 534mg EPA and DHA) and fish oil (1.8g per day, equiv. 864mg EPA and DHA) in a seven week randomised trial. A significant increase in plasma fatty acid levels was noted for both groups; however, there were no significant dissimilarities between the fish and krill oil groups despite the difference in omega-3 dose, leading to the conclusion that krill oil and fish oil represent comparable dietary sources of omega-3 fatty acids, even if the EPA and DHA dose in the krill oil was 62.8% of that in the fish oil.[4]
  • Ramprasath et al. also found krill oil to be more effective than fish oil in increasing omega-3 levels and improving the Omega-3 Index following four weeks of supplementation. However, dosages of omega-3 fatty acids were kept identical in this study to enable direct comparison between the two supplements.[5]
  • In a yet unpublished study, 2g per day krill oil administered for eight weeks increased the Omega-3 Index about 70% more than the group taking 2g per day fish oil.[1]
  • Another unpublished study found that even in patients with heart disease and a high starting Omega-3 Index, krill oil was able to increase the Omega-3 Index even higher than those taking fish oil. The effect was significant after four weeks of treatment.[1]

These results support the hypothesis that EPA and DHA from krill oil may have a better bioavailability compared to those from fish oil.

Interestingly, Kohler and colleagues compared the absorption rates of krill oil, krill meal and fish oil (matched to 1700mg EPA/DHA in each group) in a single-dose, blinded, cross-over trial. Fatty acid composition of plasma triglycerides and phospholipids were measured repeatedly for 72 hours. The EPA and DHA in krill oil was found to have a higher 72-hour bioavailability than in krill meal or fish oil, possibly indicating a faster absorption rate. However, as the bioavailability for the krill meal was the same as for the fish oil, these findings argue against the theory that phospholipids are better absorbed than triglycerides.[6]

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