Are Krill Oil Capsules Better Than Fish Oil Capsules For Your Health?
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There is much debate today about the benefits of krill oil capsules over fish oils. On the surface they seem like a good choice, but it is important to get all the facts first and not only believe what the suppliers want you to think!
There are four main areas to compare: omega 3 levels, purity levels, antioxidants and price. The two main omega 3 fatty acids are DHA and EPA and while both are important, DHA provides most of the benefits, especially for heart and brain health.
A good quality fish oil will contain an average of 560mg of DHA per daily serving of two capsules while krill oil capsules only have an average of 90mg per two capsules.
This is a very large difference and means with the krill you are being robbed of most of the important benefits, as this amount can only help a little.
Prevention of heart disease, lower cholesterol, treatment for arthritis, better brain health and vision and many more benefits will only get a small lift from krill oil.
When it comes to purity, I believe that the average krill oil is more pure than the fish oil. This is because they normally come from the pristine Antarctica waters with little or no contamination. However, that is compared to average fish oils which tend to be poor quality.
If the oil has been molecularly distilled, all the contaminants from the fish are removed and the omega 3 content increased which puts them on an even footing with the krill oil capsules.
The high antioxidant levels in krill are a little misleading as they are mostly present to preserve the oil rather than to benefit your health!
Lastly on price, to get the equivalent amount of omega 3 and health benefits you have to pay at least four times as much for the krill. For example the fish oils I take cost $17 for a month and give me 560mg each day of DHA.
An average bottle of krill oil capsules costs at least $30 for a month and only gives you 90mg of DHA per day so you would have to pay over $180 dollars a month for the equivalent amount of DHA from my fish oil!
Krill oil capsules are nothing more than the latest hyped up supplement and raise more serious questions about sustainability and how this will affect the marine food chain which depends on krill to maintain the fragile balance.
If you would like to learn more about the high quality DHA omega 3 supplements I personally take, visit my website below.
Discover the best omega-3 fish oil today. Rich Hawkins is a dedicated researcher of nutrition, diet and the amazing health benefits of high-quality fish oil. Take a moment to visit his site now at www.best-omega-3-supplement.com and discover the latest DHA omega 3 fish oils he recommends after extensive research.
Learn about Omega 3 Fatty Acids for Children
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Let’s face it. A lot of people have no idea about the benefits of omega 3 fatty acids for children, but the truth is that there is an upside to your children being given fish oil at a very early age. They are already benefitting from a steady intake of omega 3s from the time they are born until they are weaned off formula or breast milk. Both sources of nutrition contain doses of DHA omega 3 fatty acids.
I’ll bet you didn’t know that the body prepares mother’s milk so that it has high levels of omega 3 fatty acids in it did you? A lot of people don’t realize it, but this is nature’s way of showing you just how important to the development of your infant this essential nutrient is. It is omega 3 fatty acids that are primarily responsible for the healthy cognitive development of your child.
A steady intake of omega 3 fatty acids for children does not have to begin after they are born either, because benefits can begin from the time of inception. It has been proven that women who begin taking fish oil supplements either before they become pregnant or sometime during the pregnancy will pass on the health benefits they receive to their unborn child.
For the benefit of the child there is no more important time for a woman to have high levels of DHA in her blood than during the third trimester of the pregnancy. This is when the most crucial cognitive development is taking place, and children who are suffer DHA deficiencies during this period are often born with IQ’s 6 to 10 points lower than those that enjoy high DHA levels.
Prenatal supplementation of omega 3 fatty acids for children will allow the child to have a longer attention span, better logic and reasoning skills, superior hand to eye coordination, and greater visual acuity. It is not unusual for children reared on DHA rich omega fatty acids to score higher in mental aptitude and knowledge tests. They are also less likely to suffer from mental and physical ailments that have become increasingly common in children.
Through dietary supplementation with DHA omega 3 fish oil it is possible to greatly decrease your child’s chances of developing attention deficit hyperactivity disorder, dyslexia, dyspraxia, allergies, and asthma. Continued use of DHA fish oil supplements can also prevent such ailments as adult onset non-insulin dependent diabetes, arthritis, gout, and inflammatory bowel disease later in life.
The many benefits of omega 3 fatty acids for children also extend to the prevention of cardiovascular disease, and a decreased probability of developing prostate, colon and breast cancer. There are just too many positive things that supplementing your child’s diet with omega 3 fatty acids can do for their health for you to ignore. You can virtually guarantee a healthy life for him or her, and a superior chance at a successful future.
So go ahead. There is no downside to omega 3 fatty acids for children, so be sure to include DHA omega 3 fish oil in your child’s daily routine.
Laurel Cohen is a strong advocate of natural health in all its forms: skin care, supplementation, and farm fresh foods. She enjoys introducing people to the best natural products she can find and uses herself daily. Visit her site http://www.omega-3-for-health.com to learn about the omega 3 fish oils Laurel uses daily for optimal health. Article Source:http://www.articlesbase.com/supplements-and-vitamins-articles/learn-about-omega-3-fatty-acids-for-children-1778356.html
Dosage of Fish Oil – If You Are Going To Take It, Make Sure You Get The Dose Right
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Taking fish oil omega 3 fatty acids is just about a no-brainer these days. However you have to make sure the dosage of fish oil you consume is the right amount.
There are three main issues you need to be aware of when it comes to taking these capsules — the dose, purity and the freshness.
So who do you believe when it comes to dosage of fish oil — each manufacturer has a different story?
There have been dozens if not hundreds of scientific studies and tests conducted over the last few years. Initially they figured out a high intake of EPA was preferable to a higher dosage of DHA.
However opinion has now changed and they tell us DHA is more beneficial for your system than EPA. Based on this information it appears that you should have a dosage per soft gel of at least twice as much DHA as EPA.
This new information now to hand makes it much easier to find a good brand of capsules. It seems most of the ones on the market still have more EPA in each soft gel than DHA.
The actual amount of fish oil in the capsule is of little interest to us because the ingredients that benefit us are the omega 3 fatty acids. Keep this fact in mind when you look for a product – make sure it contains at least 50% DHA, EPA and other omega-3 fatty acids in each capsule.
The other issue often confused by many people is the amount of capsules should you take each day. Here again most supplies of omega 3 fish oil products have different opinions on how many soft gels you should take daily.
Always keep in the back of your mind, if you consume too much of a specific substance including fish oil — it may do you more harm than good.
From the research I’ve conducted over the past few months, it seems to me the optimum dosage of fish oil is between 2000mg and 2500mg per day. Of course you must remember to consult your doctor if you have a specific condition, or you need dosage advice on treating conditions like arthritis.
Based on these figures you would be wise to use a product with a dosage of 2 x 1000mg soft gels per day, which will include at least 500mg of omega 3 fatty acids.
Always go to the manufacturers website before buying any new fish oil product. Evaluate their dosage recommendations and check that their product is the purest and freshest of any available on the market.
Would you like to learn more about dosage of fish oil issues? If so — visit John’s site where he discusses more about using natural pure substances that are extremely effective and 100% safe to use. Go to –> http://www.best-fish-oil-supplement.com today.
Are You at Risk of Postpartum Depression? How Fish Oil Could Banish Those Negative Feelings
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Are you at risk of, or experiencing, postpartum depression? Would you like a more natural alternative to drug therapies? Chances are your diet is lacking in essential fatty acids and eating more fish or taking fish oil supplements could make all the difference.
First, let’s clarify what we mean by postpartum depression, or postnatal depression. This is a form of clinical depression, usually lasting for several months. It’s characterised by feelings of sadness, anxiety and irritableness, fatigue, insomnia, appetite changes, reduced libido and crying episodes. It shouldn’t be confused with maternity blues or ‘baby blues’, which generally last only a few hours or days.
But whether you’re experiencing postpartum depression or a dose of the baby blues, it seems that fish oil could be the key to alleviating both conditions.
It’s not the oil itself but the omega 3 fatty acids in oily fish that can help to improve mood and behaviour.
It has been well known for some time that fatty acids are essential for the healthy formation of the brain’s nerve cell membranes and membrane fluidity. Because nerve cell function depends on proper membrane functioning and membrane fluidity, any changes can have a negative effect on behavior, mood and mental function.
A 1998 report in the Journal of Affective Disorders found that patients with depression had significantly lower levels of omega 3s in their red blood cell membranes.
It seems that omega 3 makes it easier for serotonin – the chemical that carries messages from one brain cell to another – to pass through cell membranes. Increasing the fatty acid levels has a direct effect on increasing serotonin levels and the more serotonin, the better a person’s mood and behaviour.
People with bipolar disorder can also benefit from increased omega 3s as their mood swings can be significantly smoothed out. Anyone taking antidepressants for postpartum depression should also consider boosting their intake, as studies show that the effectiveness of this medication can be improved.
To reinforce the connection between a good intake of omega 3s and reduced postpartum depression, people from cultures that consume a lot of these essential fatty acids have significantly lower rates of depression.
Fish or fish oil supplements?
In recent times, most of us have tried to reduce our consumption of fats in the interests of good heart health and our waistlines. But it seems that we may have gone a little too far.
Grass-fed beef and eggs are both good sources of omega 3 fatty acids but we have turned away from these saturated fat foods in favour of polyunsaturated plant fats, such as corn, soybean and sunflower oils.
Although these plant-based oils can help reduce bad saturated fats in our diet, they are low in omega 3s.
The best source of fatty acids is fish oil. This is because it contains the two main fatty acids, DHA and EPA. You can also get omega 3s from plants such as flaxseeds and walnuts but they don’t contain both EPA and DHA. Instead, they contain ALA, another type of fatty acid, which your body can convert to EPA and DHA. Unfortunately, the conversion process isn’t very efficient and you need about 11 grams of ALA just to get one gram of DHA.
So oily fish is the best source of omega 3s for postpartum depression.
But there is a downside to consuming more oily fish. Often, these fish are farmed or caught in waters that contain high levels of mercury and other heavy metals, as well as PCBs and dioxins. These substances can seriously damage your health over time and so many people turn to fish oil supplements instead.
A good quality supplement will be molecularly distilled to remove any trace of contaminants. It should also be fresh – check the manufacturer’s certificate of analysis (COA) on their website to make sure they test their product’s oxidation levels. An oxidised product will be full of free radicals, which damage cells and undo all the benefits of taking the oil.
So there’s no need to put up with the symptoms of postpartum depression, or the baby blues, when help could be at hand in the form of simple fish oil supplements. If you would like more information about omega 3 and its many benefits, or about the supplements I use daily myself, please visit my website.
My name is Therese Samson and I promote natural approaches to health and well-being for the whole family at http://www.my-omega-3.com, where you’ll find out about the many ways omega 3 fish oil can improve heart, brain, skin and immune system health.
Best Sources of Omega 3 Fatty Acids – How to Get Your Essential Omega 3s
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Looking for the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids? Nature has given us a number of different foods that contain these super-healthy essential fats – but not all of them contain useful amounts. So here I’ve gathered some research to help you work out which sources of omega 3 fatty acids are best for you.
We cannot produce essential fatty acids in our own bodies so we need to get them in our diet. There are several different omega 3s but the most important ones are eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA).
These are long-chain, highly unsaturated fatty acids. DHA is the most complex of these and it is responsible for building tissue in the brain and retina, as well as lowering triglycerides and improving brain function. EPA is beneficial for coronary heart disease, high blood pressure and arthritis. Your body can use EPA to make DHA but the conversion is not very efficient so it’s best to eat foods that contain more DHA than EPA.
Plant sources
Plant sources of omega 3 fatty acids include flaxseed, walnuts, pecans, hazelnuts and soybeans.
These plant-based sources generally don’t contain EPA and DHA, however. They contain another omega 3 called alpha-linolenic acid (ALA). Our bodies can convert ALA to EPA (and so eventually to DHA) but the conversion process is quite difficult. You need about 11 grams of ALA to get just one gram of DHA.
Animal sources
Animal sources of omega 3 fatty acids include fish oil, fish liver, grass-fed beef (not grain-fed) and milk from grass-fed cows, and eggs from chickens fed on greens and insects.
Animals sources contain EPA and DHA, with oily fish having the most concentrated amounts.
So, on the whole, it’s best to eat animal-based omega 3 products, particularly oily fish. If you really don’t want to eat fish or other animal products, you can find microalgae products (seaweed) that have been produced in bioreactors to increase their natural levels of DHA.
Fish oil supplements
While it’s a good idea to increase your consumption of oily fish as one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids, there are some drawbacks to eating more fish.
Unfortunately, many of the oily fish species caught in the world today, such as tuna, salmon and mackerel, may contain high levels of heavy metals (mercury and lead), PCBs and dioxins. These substances can cause cancers and developmental problems and many health experts now advise people to be wary of eating too much fish, even at the risk of eating too little omega 3.
Fortunately, there is an alternative. Fish oil supplements provide all the advantages of oily fish with reduced risk of contaminants.
This is because fish oil can be filtered to remove any contaminants. Many people also find that taking a fish oil capsule or two a day is easier – and even cheaper – than cooking and eating several meals of fish.
It’s very important that you choose your supplements carefully. Ideally, the fish used in the supplement should be as free from contaminants as possible before being treated. The best fish oil comes from the species hoki, which is caught in the clean waters of the Southern Ocean off the coast of New Zealand. Combined with tuna oil, it is molecularly distilled to reduce any last tiny trace of contaminants.
Overall, fish oil is the best of all sources of omega 3 fatty acids and it could be argued that supplements are even better than the fish itself, in terms of freshness, purity and safety. If you would like to know more about omega 3 and its benefits for your health, and about the supplements I use myself, please visit my website.
My name is Therese Samson and I promote natural approaches to health and well-being for the whole family at http://www.my-omega-3.com, where you’ll find out about the many ways omega 3 fish oil can improve heart, brain, skin and immune system health.
