My Krill Oil Mistake

Why I returned my Krill Oil pills back to the store

Guest blog by: Kathy Mankofsky, RD, LD.

I was out at Walgreens when my husband called to say he heard that krill oil is so much better than fish oil.

He said that I should buy krill oil instead of fish oil. I told him that I would check it out.

Just when I was looking at the the krill oil bottle, my cell phone rang and I got distracted by the call.

I glanced at the bottle and I saw what I thought was 900 mg of Omega-3.

Since I thought krill oil was sooo good, I must have imagined an extra zero on the end of the Omega-3 on the label.

I thought that I saw 900 mg of Omega-3 on the krill oil label. So I bought it and took it home.

When I got home, I looked at the label more carefully. I saw that I had misread it.

That bottle didn’t have 900 mg of Omega 3 per pill. It had only 90 mg Omega-3 per pill.

Big difference!

So if I wanted to get the 900 mg that I thought I was getting, I’d have to take 10 of the krill oil pills.

That’s nuts! I can’t take that many pills!

What’s The Big Deal About Krill Oil?

One study showed that people who took krill oil had 1.5 times more Omega 3 in their cell membranes than those who took fish oil. Source: Is Krill Oil 48 X Better Than Fish Oil?

According to that study, 90 mg Omega-3 in krill oil compares to 135 mg of Omega-3 in fish oil. (90 mg per krill oil pill x 1.5 = 135 mg Omega-3.)

Now, using this conversion formula, we can compare apples to apples.

The fish oil that I was taking at that time had 720 mg of Omega-3 per pill.

Did I want to switch from 720 mg Omega-3 down to 135 mg Omega-3 per pill?

Absolutely Not!

The krill oil would have to be 8 x more absorbed to have the same amount of Omega-3 as the fish oil I was taking (90 mg x 8 =720 mg Omega-3).

Granted krill oil has some antioxidants in it, I'm mostly interested in the benefits of Omega-3.

Let’s Compare Krill Oil To The Lowest Strength Fish Oil

Even the cheapest (lowest strength) fish oil has twice as much Omega-3 as krill oil! (Cheap fish oil=300 mg Omega-3 per pill vs 135 mg Omega-3 per pill in common brands of krill oil)

Krill Oil is Dramatically More Expensive Than Fish Oil

I knew it was more expensive, so I should get more for my money.

So I assumed that krill oil would be more concentrated in Omega-3.

Actually, I got less, way less, for more money.

You have to pay between 7 and 11 times more for the same amount of Omega-3 from krill oil.

What To Look For When Buying An Omega-3 Product

You want to look at the 3 most important things:

1. How much Omega-3 are you getting per pill?
2. What is it going to cost you? (Cost per 1000 mg Omega-3)
3. Is it independently certified for quality?

After comparing the the first two points above in krill oil vs fish oil, I went right back to the store and exchanged it for my regular fish oil!

*These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.