Content
- Differences Between Omega-3 and Krill
- What Is Krill Oil?
- What Are Antioxidants?
- Why Krill Oil Is So Expensive
- Conclusion
Learn everything about why omega-3 supplements are great for your health and well-being and all the nitty-gritty of how we make our krill oil (and why it’s expensive, but worth the money!!)
We will start out with explaining the differences between omega-3 and krill oil so you know right from the get-go, what we are talking about. We’ll then follow up with the super power of krill oil: the antioxidant Astaxanthin and finish off with a closer look at our 12-step refinement process here at Omega 3 of Norway.
Let’s go!
What Are The Differences Between Omega-3 and Krill
Getting into nutrition and food-supplements is a fascinating topic, but at the beginning it can be a bit overwhelming to hear all those different words and ingredients, so we want to make things easier for you.
What Is Omega-3
Omega-3 fatty acids are a specific type of essential fatty acids, which means that our body is not able to produce them itself, but that we have to consume them through food or supplements.
There are several types of omega-3 fatty acids, the most important ones being EPA, DHA and ALA. When we talk about marine based omega-3 fatty acids like we do in this article, EPA and DHA are the main players.
These fats play an important role in our bodies and form part of the membranes of our cells, which basically mean that they are some of the main building blocks of our body and therefore impact almost everything we do.
What Are The Benefits of Omega-3?
EPA and DHA have a lot of benefits for our heart, body and mind. This is not just a pretty slogan but they are literally beneficial for heart health, overall fitness and may even have a positive effect on our mental health and impact the development of our brain even before we are born.
Let’s look at these three points one by one.
1. Heart
Omega-3 fatty acids have been associated with a positive impact on our heart health for a while now. There is evidence that it can support your heart to beat at a steady rate, may help against the accumulation of plaque that can cause our arteries to stiffen thicken, which in turn can increase the risk of irregular heart rhythm and other cardiovascular diseases.
EPA and DHA have also been associated with a lower blood pressure, which could be due to their anti-inflammatory properties that we will talk bout in more detail below. This can have a positive influence on our heart health and possibly reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and even impact our blood cholesterol levels.
2. Body
Omega-3 fatty acids may be beneficial for our whole body because they could possibly strengthen our immune system and support it in defending our body against bacteria and viruses. This is a very complex process but research shows, that EPA and DHA may help our body to prevent chronic inflammation. While inflammations are a natural and healthy reaction of our immune system against an invading pathogen, these inflammations can cause damage to our bodies when they don’t get “switched off” properly.
EPA and DHA can also play an important role in muscle regeneration after exercise, which is just one of the many reasons why pro athletes and Olympians include omega-3 supplements into their diet.
3. Mind
Even before we are born, the omega-3 fatty acid DHA is important for the proper development of our brain. Research shows that DHA is one of the main fats in our brain and also over proportionally represented in the retina of our eyes, so it heavily influences the in utero development of the visual and neurological systems. A sufficient omega-3 intake is therefore recommended for pregnant and breastfeeding women, but DHA continues to be important for our brains throughout life.
It is save to say that omega-3 fatty acids have a positive impact on almost all parts of our body. EPA and DHA have strong anti-inflammatory properties, which impact various processes in our metabolism.
What is Krill Oil?
Krill oil is an omega-3 supplement similar to fish oil, but is made of krill, a small crustacean living in the oceans of the world.
It contains the powerful antioxidant Astaxanthin next to the omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA and therefore has some additional health benefits in comparison to fish oil supplements.
The benefits of Astaxanthin
Astaxanthin is the special ingredient that gives krill oil its red color and some extra superpowers. It is a strong anti-inflammatory and antioxidant that can have a positive impact on our whole body.
Below we will explain what antioxidants are in more detail and also tell you, why they are so important for our overall health and well-being.
What are Antioxidants?
Antioxidants are substances that fight oxidation in our bodies and can help to protect us from so-called oxidative stress caused by free radicals.
That’s a lot of technical terms, so let’s explain.
This is what oxidation, free radicals and antioxidants mean
Oxidation is a normal function of the human body at the level of our cells, where high reactive molecules are created as a by-product. These very reactive molecules “want” to interact with whatever they come in contact with, which can lead to unwanted consequences. These “free radicals” are very unstable and are a waste substance that naturally occurs in our body. Normally our body can get rid of them on its own, but when we get out of balance and our body is not able to process them in time, “oxidative stress” happens.
This can harm body functions and cells in our body and is linked to several diseases and conditions such as heart disease, cancer and others.
This is where antioxidants come into play. They help our body to neutralize these free radicals and may boost our overall health.
Why is Krill Oil So Expensive?
Krill oil can be more expensive because of the more labor-intensive harvesting procedures and processing steps. It contains many important and high-quality substances like Astaxanthin or Choline, which are beneficial for our body when the krill oil has been processed properly.
Here at Omega 3 of Norway we use only the best quality krill that is sourced from the pure waters of the Southern Ocean around Antarctica.
Our krill oil runs through a total of 12 points of refinement to guarantee the best possible product. Here is a more detailed description of these steps.
- After the krill is sourced, it is stored at -18 degrees until the next step takes place: the ethanol extraction.
- The defatted Antarctic red krill and ethanol-oil solution are then separated.
- The solution is filtered to remove any particles and if needed, pH adjustments take place during this step as well.
- The next step is the purification phase, followed by a concentration of the ethanol-oil through evaporation of the ethanol under vacuum.
- This concentration serves to reach a higher concentration of phospholipids in the final product. This happens through multiple evaporation-steps.
- The product then goes through tests and might be adjusted to meet the quality control specs.
- The krill oil is then filtered again and filled into 200kg steel drums and stored at -25 degrees.
- Each batch is analysed and tested for conformity with the product specifications.
- The final step is the encapsulation which is done with Swiss Caps “TM” by Aenova of Switzerland, where the oil gets filled into Vanilla infused 500mg capsules of highest quality.
Quality is very important to us and we make sure, to oversee the whole production process and deliver the highest possible standard throughout. We also care a lot about the oceans where we fish and work together with the Marine Stewardship Council (MSC) and constantly work on improving our business practices towards more sustainability.
Conclusion
In this article we wanted to shine a light on the differences between krill oil and omega-3 and their health benefits. We also explained why krill oil has so many health benefits and why it can be the ideal supplement for you to keep you body fit and healthy going into the colder seasons of the year.
Krill oil benefits
- Contains the antioxidant Astaxanthin
- Contains omega-3s which are anti-inflammatory
- Is good for the heart, body and mind
If you want to learn more about omega-3 and nutrition, check out our blog or head to the shop to browse our wide variety of krill oil and fish oil products.