Fish oil is a product that is widely available in stores under many different brands. It is advertised to promote heart and brain health, reduce inflammation, and maintain healthy cholesterol that is within normal range. But while it's proven to give your body benefits, is it worth the investment?

Considering the wide availability and affordability of fish oil, many question if it really is a supplement that can promote heart health to significant degrees. If you are among these people, there is an alternative that you could look into, known as krill oil. Krill are small crustaceans that resemble shrimp. While they are a canned delicacy in some countries, their fluids are made into supplements here in America. 

What Is Krill Oil?

Krill oil is another type of soft-gel supplement that can be consumed orally, like fish oil. It is not as common as other cholesterol products on the market, but independent tests suggest that krill oil is more effective in maintaining cholesterol than its fish counterpart. Both products contain Omega-3 fatty acids, phospholipids and other ingredients designed to give the user health benefits, but many experts favor krill as the recommended product to consumers.

Three Parts Of Total Cholesterol

One of the key selling points in krill oil is how it works to regulate cholesterol levels more effectively compared to fish oil. For those that aren't fond of cholesterol, it is made up into three parts:

LDL is low-density lipoprotein. This is considered "bad" cholesterol. Most of your total cholesterol consists of LDL, and if there is too much for your body to handle, you could be at risk for heart problems such as cardiovascular disease and stroke.

HDL is high-density lipoprotein. This is considered "good" cholesterol. HDL is used to absorb LDL and transfers it to the liver, which will work to purge it from the body. Raising your HDL will reduce your risk of the aforementioned heart problems.

Finally, there are triglycerides, another harmful aspect of cholesterol that comes in the form of fat that lives inside the bloodstream. While triglycerides can be formally measured by testing, symptoms of high levels of triglycerides include chest pain and pancreatitis. 

How To Determine Your Cholesterol Levels

Unlike with height or weight, there is no simple way to measure cholesterol on your own. You can find out your body's levels by conducting a blood test with your doctor. While these tests results vary depending on your doctor or medical practice, your doctor would be able to give you a clear indication if you need to work towards lowering these levels.

How Krill Works To Improve Cholesterol

While krill concentrate is still being studied and tested to prove its full range of benefits for consumers, many krill oil manufacturers and merchants claim that its effects are greater in reducing HDL compared to fish varieties.

Both krill and fish products contain Omega-3 fatty acids. There are two primary types of acids that each of them consist of: Docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and Eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA). These two acids are known to diminish triglycerides and manage inflammation, which are two things that are detrimental to a person's blood vessels.

What is different about krill concentrate, however, is that its fatty acids are more absorbable inside a person's body, and contain more antioxidants. What this means is that the concentrate is likely to do more and be put more to use when inside your body, in comparison to fish oil.

Therefore, if you consume krill oil, more of the substance inside of its soft gel coating will work inside your body. With fewer antioxidants and less absorption in fish oil, a percentage of that substance may go unused, being transported to the liver and turned to waste without interacting with the person's bloodstream or vessels. With krill oil, consumers can count on working towards health milestones quicker by taking krill oil over its fish counterpart. 

What Should You Know When Taking Krill Oil For Cholesterol?

While krill oil can be an effective contributor to improved HDL levels and promote a healthier heart, it should not be the only treatment to achieve these goals. On its own, krill oil will have little to decent change in HDL and triglyceride levels, and other options to address high cholesterol levels, such as exercise and changes in diet, are recommended alongside taking krill oil.

What Krill Oil Products Are Recommended?

Daiwa Health Development offers and recommends two krill oil supplements for maintaining healthy cholesterol already within the normal range: Daiwa Krill Oil and Daiwa Super Krill Oil.

Both supplements are considered to be very helpful products that are worth the investment, as they provide better bio-availability compared to fish supplements. Daiwa Super Krill Oil is made from a unique technology that extracts salts and other unwanted ingredients from each concentrate. This in turn increases the Omega-3 index, making it more effective than Daiwa Krill Oil to justify the higher cost. Daiwa Super Krill oil also features no fishy aftertaste and is more easily absorbed into stomach fluids in comparison to fish supplements.

Learn more about Daiwa Krill Oil and other Daiwa products by clicking here.

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