Finding the most effective version of any supplement online is difficult at best. But when it comes to krill oil things get even more confusing really fast. The good news is once you know what you’re looking for, a quick glance at the supplement facts will tell you everything you need to know.
What You’re Looking For
Serving Size: The most common is 1,000 MG. Smaller isn’t necessarily bad as long as the percentages of other ingredients holds up. But in most cases smaller serving size masks low quality and allows for a cheaper product.
Total Omega-3’s: These are what make Krill oil so good for you.
Total Phospholipids: How much of your Omega-3’s are in phospholipid form is also crucial. It’s this form that makes the Omega-3’s in Krill Oil better than those in fish oil. If the phospholipid count is too low you’re dealing with some very poor quality Krill Oil. Might as well just stick to fish oil.
EPA and DHA: These are the specific Omega-3’s that deliver the big health benefits. More is better. Less is… well, less. And it’s also less quality most of the time.
Astaxanthin: The super-antioxidant that sets Krill Oil apart from fish oil. Astaxanthin is just an amazing powerhouse, and the higher the number here also the better.
Comparing Krill Oil Labels
Lets start with what is probably the best selling Krill Oil supplement: Mega Red by Schiff.
- Mega Red Krill Oil: Smaller Serving Size
- 300 MG Serving size means smaller pills and lower price
- Only 90 MG Omega-3’s
- Only 45 MG EPA/ 27 MG DHA
- No Mention of Phospholipid Content
- No Mention of Astaxanthin
As you’ll see in a moment, even at the smaller serving size these numbers are much lower than other brands.
Dr. Mercola’s Pure Antarctic Krill Oil
Moving to the online world, Dr. Mercola probably has the best selling Krill Oil supplement.
Dr. Mercola: Less EPA/ DHA and Astaxanthin
- 1, ooo MG serving, but…
- Only 90 MG EPA/ 50 MG DHA
- 600 mcg Astaxanthin = .6 MG – still a very small amount
When looking at the label, Dr. Mercola’s Krill Oil just does not have the concentrations of phospholipids, EPA/DHA and Astaxanthin that other brands do.
Wonder Labs Krill Oil
- Wonderlabs: Low Phospholipids
- 1000 MG Serving
- Only 135 MG of “phospholipid – Omega-3 Complex”?
- Only 80 MG EPA/ 40 MG DHA
- 1.5 MG Astaxanthin
We’re not sure what a “phospholipid – Omega-3 Complex” is, but either way the number here is very low. And at only 80 MG and 40 MG of EPA and DHA.. this is not high quality krill oil.
Krill Doctor Professional Krill Oil
Krill Doctor: No Phospholipids?
This is one of the cases where you have to really look out. All the numbers look good, except for one glaring omission: Where are the phospholipids? Since those are the most important, we can’t recommend this brand.
- 1,000 MG Serving
- 300 MG Omega-3’s
- 150 MG EPA/ 90 MG DHA
- 1.5 MG Astaxanthin
Viva Labs Krill Oil (AKA KrillOil.com)
Here we have Viva Labs Krill Oil, sold at krilloil.com. This product has a higher serving size which can make it seem that the numbers here are better. But if we look closely, that isn’t necessarily the case.
- Everest: Playing With The Serving Size
To make the comparison easier, an equal (to the previous products) serving size of 1,000 MG would contain:
- 240 MG Omega-3’s
- 132 MG EPA
- 76 MG DHA
- 400 MG Phospholipids
- 1.28 MG Astaxanthin
So as you see, Everest is higher quality than some, but not the highest quality available.
Captains Krill Oil™
As Krill Oil has grown in popularity, we’ve seen a disturbing trend towards mass production. Many of the products listed above have made some unsettling adjustments as the need for more and more output placed demands on their processes.
In many cases this has led to extraction methods that use chemical solvents, and to giant warehouses where extracted oil waits for months at a time in metal drums to be encapsulated.
These methods and wait times have added even more steps to the process as manufacturers have to further manipulate the products to achieve even the basic label numbers mentioned above.
Captain’s Krill Oil comes at the process from the opposite angle. They believe that fresher, purer, unaltered krill oil will meet nutrient numbers naturally.
In the beginning, they marketed the product on freshness and purity alone. They don’t list nutrient numbers on the label. But since so many have asked, they’ve recently begun testing Captain’s for nutrient breakdown, and can now definitively say that their small-batch processing leads to not only the freshest, purest krill oil on the market, but also delivers the nutrient numbers you want to see:
For this reason, we are proud to wholeheartedly recommend Captain’s Krill Oil.
What testosterone supplement would you recommend if any and are any safe to use for those with BPH?
Hi Dennis. I am afraid that my best advice would be to consult your physician, or a specialist in hormone therapies.
I hope that helps
I heard an infomercial this morning on astaxanthin from Purity Products. It was 30 minutes long and very effective. They must have spent a fortune for that time in the NY Metro market. They have 4mg of astaxanthin and use olive oil and a pepper based additive to help absorption. I don’t see any comments about their product. Could you provide some thoughts on it?
Hi Adamsri! The type of oil emulsion system you describe is good, but not as good as the natural availability of a phospholid base. You see, in order to use the astaxanthin contained inside the fats (whether phospholids or olive oil), and body has to use the oil. In the case of phospolids, they body takes them in whole. In the case of olive oil, which contains many different types of fatty oils, the oil must first be broken down. That causes loss of some of the astaxanthin. The additives help bind the astaxanthin to the different fatty oils, but it can only help so much. At the end of the day, a phospholid base is better.
I hope that helps!
Geek10
What I would like to know is why it matters that Everest krill is a 1250 mg serving size.
Is there an appreciable difference between Everest and Red? Aside from the astaxanthin, of course.
It would be good to explain why a “better quality” oil is better, because the Everest brand is cheaper, and one could use the leftover money to, say, buy an astaxanthin supplement to take simultaneously.
Hello Eirem. I am terribly sorry that it has taken me this long to respond to your comment; the honest truth is that the difference in serving sizes didn’t really click in my mind under a short while ago. The quality of the krill oil is at the heart of the matter, and shows the primary difference between Everest and Red Krill Oil. The quality of a krill oil determines the concentration of compounds per volume, as well as its shelf life. A lower quality oil can deliver similar benefits, but it takes more of the oil and is not as readily absorbed. In the case of Everest Krill Oil, it appears on the surface that it is superior the Red Krill Oil; even I thought so, but then I saw the serving size and realized that, in order to see those numbers, it took 25% more oil in order to do so!
If you adjust the Everest numbers down for a similar serving size, you get:
•240 MG Omega-3′s
•132 MG EPA
•76 MG DHA
•400 MG Phospholipids
•1.28 MG Astaxanthin
I hope that helps
Geek10
On the aprovenproduct.com site you claim Red W Krill Oil contains “2.5mg of astaxanthin, the anti-inflammatory powerhouse – more than any other supplement available”
However I noticed that Jarrow Formulas contains 4 mg of Astaxanthin, which is clearly more than 2.5mg. I am just curious as to why such a false claim would be made? I am very interested in buying the product but only if genuine and reliable information is provided. One such false claim can bring on doubts regarding the accuracy of all other claims.
Many thanks!
Hi Latkins86. I’m sorry for the confusion. The comment on the Red Whale Krill Oil describes astaxanthin-fortified krill and fish oil products.
Very helpful information.
Thank you!
You’re very welcome, gfenwick!