The Benefits of Krill Oil – How It Compares To Fish Oil

Do you give fish oil to your children?  Or omega-3 fatty acids in another form?

I do and have done for about the past 13 years. A diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder was the start of a journey into supplementations of all sorts… not all were a good idea!

Omega-3 fatty acids are the supplements which have stood the test of time in this household.

Here are the three reasons my kids get omega-3 supplements:

1. We never eat enough real fresh fish.

Every time I hand out a dose, usually of fish oil, I think to myself: ‘Must give these children more fresh fish.’

 2. Paediatricians and other doctors have advised us to use them.  

We have one son with ASD and one with ADHD and there are enough studies showing benefits to convince doctors and us too. The brand they usually recommend is Eye-Q, which has had positive results in clinical trials.

There’s also research in many other areas and the ones I look out for are depression and arthritis, for myself.

3. We come from a coastal dwelling folk.

Our families came from the low-lying coastal areas of northern Europe and oily fish was a staple of the diet for tens of thousands of years – maybe longer!  Then suddenly over a generation fish consumption has dropped a lot. Not wise… I know this and yet still never ever get enough real live (dead) fish into the kids.

I hadn’t tried krill oil until I was sent a bottle by Viva Labs. I’m mortified to admit that I wasn’t sure what krill is… so I’ve done a bit of research.

Krill Fast Facts

Krill is not plankton, in fact krill feed on some types of plankton. Krill are small crustaceans.

The omega-3s are in the form of phosphlipids, possibly easier for body to absorb so one needs to take less capsules.

The krill fishery benefits from being relatively new and is considered one of the best managed fisheries in the world.

There’s a lot less research done using krill oil as opposed to fish oil, although lots of krill oil research is under way.

‘If you weighed all the krill in the ocean it would weigh twice the weight of the entire human population,’ says Eric Anderson of Aker BioMarine, a company that sustainably sources krill oil (reported in Body + Soul.)

Krill oil has less pollutants since krill are far lower down the food chain – though all good quality fish oils should be pollutant free.

Krill oil has more antioxidents than typical fish oil.

Krill oil is more  expensive, but you need to take less of it.

So Is Krill The Good Oil For My Kids

Well, I love the idea of taking less capsules. For my little ones though the flavoured fish oils are still the most popular.

For myself and the big boys, krill is certainly appealling. I will use it, but I’m probably never be organised enough to have it to hand all the time.

Often I am grabbing some fish oil at the chemist when I need more.  All the while thinking: ‘Must buy some more salmon.’

 Have you ever used krill oil?

Do you give your kids fish oil, or feed them real fish instead?

All the best