What's the differences between fish oil and krill oil?

Does one have less contaminantes (mercury level) than the other?

Also why is it that when you first started out on krill oil, you need to take 2 pills a day for the first month and then move on to 1 pill a day? Do we need to follow this instruction?

[SassyLassie]

I did a search, and here is what I found:

"There is no real comparison when looking at krill oil versus fish oil. It is like comparing night and day. Many people think krill oil and fish oil are the same. This is a common misconception. Both fish oil and krill oil contain Omega 3 fatty acids. These fatty acids have been shown to possibly reduce the risk of heart disease.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration stopped just short of stating that Omega 3 fatty acids conclusively reduced the risk of heart disease. It was enough though, to fuel a craze about fish oil. Studies would go on to find that the Omega 3 fatty acids had other benefits than just cardio.

After the initial fish oil craze, krill oil benefits began to emerge. Krill oil had actually been studied over twenty years ago. These studies and more would begin to show that krill oil was much more beneficial for your health than fish oil.

Some of the reasons why krill oil was found to be superior to fish oil are:

■Pure concentrate: Krill make up the second largest biomass on the earth. This amazing since krill are very tiny crustaceans that look like shrimp. The oil that is made from krill oil is pure and concentrated. This pure oil in concentrated form provides much more benefit than regular fish oil.

■Absorption: Krill oil is absorbed much more quickly into our blood streams as opposed to regular fish oil. This rapid absorption is why you do not get “fish burp” affects when taking krill oil

■Omega 3: The fatty acids in krill oil bind into our cells much easier than regular fish oil. The Omega 3 fatty acids are better in krill oil.

■Contamination: Fish oil is made from large fish. These large fish have been known to be contaminated with mercury and other pollutants. We have been warned not to eat more than two fish a week. Krill oil has not been affected by pollution. It is pure and chemical free. Some people use the word “organic” when describing krill oil.

■Antioxidant: Perhaps the biggest difference between fish oil and krill oil is that krill oil contains an antioxidant and fish oil does not. The highly concentrated antioxidant levels of krill oil help your body fight damaging free radicals.

Krill oil has been proven to be much more beneficial to your health as opposed to fish oil. No matter what, you should take one or the other. They both are good for you. The fact remains that krill oil is better than fish oil.

Krill oil is significantly better than fish oil and should be added to your daily supplement intake. You should do so slowly and only after you have consulted your doctor."

Now, I take Carlson fish oil, and it has helped me immensely. It is very pure and you do not have to start out the way they say for the Krill oil. I would say it is a matter of opinion, but, I have to admit, that the search I did, did say that Krill was better.

[Paxiled]

Although there are some studies on krill oil and some studies on fish oil, none of them are conclusive because the cost involved in long-term studies are prohibitive if you can't patent the stuff.  Krill oil has the reputation of having more omega 3 oils.  But some fish also have high levels of antioxidants -- wild salmon, for one, it's pink color coming from sea weed it eats and is high in certain flavonoids (not true of farm-raised, which is painted pink with food coloring).  Krill also tend to be where a lot of oil is being drilled, so there's that -- crustaceans eat anything.  They probably also have mercury in them, since the entire ocean has now been found to be contaminated with it from the burning of coal for energy, but they would have less because they are only found in waters that are difficult to get to.  However, what hasn't been answered is what happens to all the creatures, such as whales and so many other cold water creatures that feed mostly on krill?  Krill are tiny, and so you have to catch huge amounts to produce supplements from them.  They are also the main food supply for extremely cold waters.  This is a question and the answer would be, is it that much better than sustainable fisheries as a supplement source given where krill are located they are often the main food source because of the extreme conditions?  I don't know the answer, but it is something to consider given that fish oil will do whatever you need it to do.  Then again, we're fishing all the fish, too.  These are becoming very complicated questions.