Welcome to the Omega 3 Resource Guide.
I'm very concerned about the inadequacies of mainstream medicine in addressing chronic disease, and one of my main missions in retirement is to do all I can to help people become more aware of effective ways to promote high level wellness.
There is now strong evidence that we are genetically programmed to eat as our paleolithic ancestors did and that, to the degree we deviate from that kind of diet, we increase the likelihood of developing chronic degenerative diseases of all kinds.
Since the modern diet has very little resemblance to that of our ancestors, it's no big surprise that chronic degenerative and metabolic diseases have reached epidemic proportions.
I believe, therefore, that corrective nutrition, including supplementation with key nutrients that are missing or insufficient in our prevailing diet, is one of the most effective ways to reverse this tragic trend.
In this regard, supplementation with omega 3 essential fatty acids(EFA's) is of urgent importance. Studies show that from 85% to 95% of Americans are deficient in this key nutrient. To make matters worse, they ingest far too many omega-6 EFA's. This imbalance leads to an over-production of pro-inflammatory substances in the body that are a major contributing factor in many chronic diseases.
Until recently, fish oil as been regarded as the best source of omega-3 EFA's. Its increasing contamination with heavy metals, dioxins, PCB's, and other toxins, however, has become a major problem, as has the consumption of large quantities of fish. The only completely effective way to avoid this problem is to use molecularly distilled fish oil.
Fortunately, there is now an excellent alternative to fish oil that is derived from tiny shrimp-like zooplankton called krill. They are harvested from the icy waters of Antarctica; and since they are at the very bottom of the food chain, they are completely free of all of the industrial contaminants that are prevalent in most large species of fish.
An added advantage of krill is that the oil derived from them contains at least three unique ingredients that enhance its effectiveness. One of these ingredients is anastaxthin, a very powerful anti-oxidant that has a double benefit of protecting the krill oil itself from becoming rancid and is also very effective in helping the cells of our bodies combat free radical damage.
Secondly, krill oil contains a unique phospholipid that makes it much more bioavailable than fish oil and thus accelerates its absorption into our cells. Fish oil, by comparison, includes triglycerides, which have to be metabolized in the body before the EFA's can be absorbed fully. This inevitably slows their absorption. As a result of this unique advantage of krill oil, only one-fifth as much of it is needed to provide the same amount of EFA's to our cells as would be obtained from fish oil.
The third special ingredient in krill oil is a flavonoid--the very first ever discovered in the animal world. Initial research suggests that, like many flavonoids in the plant world, it's an important co-factor that adds significantly to the health benefits derived from the other ingredients. Similarly, plant flavonoids have been found to be essential co-factors in potentiating the effectiveness of anti-oxidants, such as vitamins C and E.
Since many people are not yet aware of krill oil as an alternative source of omega-3 EFA's, I've chosen to give it precedence here. The following summary is intended to provide up-to-date information about it.
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I hope that you'll find this summary helpful and that it will be beneficial to you and/or to those who are special to you.
Neptune Krill Oil, which is the premium form of this new omega-3 supplement, is available for purchase at the following website.
If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me at:
gshears@arrowheadtel.net
651-204-0523
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A Summary of Research On The New Neptune Krill Oil
It's important to understand that all of the research reported here has been conducted using Neptune Krill Oil (NKO). This is the only krill oil on the market that is processed using an exclusive patented method called Neptune Ocean Cold Extraction specifically designed to preserve all of the bioactive compounds in the krill. It results in a very high quality finished product that is sterile, free of heavy metals, dioxins, and pesticides, and is completely safe for human consumption.
Other forms of krill oil that are extracted using less highly controlled methods may not have the same degree of effectiveness.
Although this unique product has been available for a relatively short time, it has been tested in a number of clinical trials, as well as in a few double-blind, placebo-controlled studies. The results of these studies, which were carried out over a period of time ranging from one month to six months, will be summarized here.
In brief summary, they show the following beneficial health effects:
1) Improvement in heart health, reducing heart damaging inflammation.
2) Improved concentration, memory, and learning efficiency.
3) Stabilization of blood sugar levels.
4) Healthier joints, with a decrease in pain associated with arthritis.
5) Reduction in the damaging effects of aging.
6) Improved development and functioning of the brain and nervous system.
7) Protection for cell membranes.
8) Improvement in cholesterol and other blood lipid levels.
9) Improvement in liver functioning.
10) Reduction in painful menstrual periods and PMS symptoms.
11) Improvement in immune system functioning.
12) Improve in mood regulation.
13) Improvement in skin health.
14) Improvement in subjective quality of life indicators.
Anti-Aging Benefits:
Our bodies age primarily through progressive free radical damage to our cells that is basically similar to the rusting of metals. Free radicals are produced in our bodies as a result of environmental toxins, such as pollution, radiation, cigarette smoke, herbicides, etc. The older we become, the less able we are to counteract this onslaught of free radicals, and they cause progressive damage to the cellular structure of our bodies.
As is now widely recognized, free radical damage is a major factor in nearly all chronic degenerative diseases. Therefore, the more we include high potency anti-oxidants in our diet, the more we are able to fight and slow down this insidious process.
The accepted standard for assessing the the potency of anti-oxidants is the Oxygen Radical Absorbance Capacity (ORAC) test. The higher the ORAC value of a food substance, the more effective it is in counteracting free radicals.
Here are the ORAC values for some commonly used anti-oxidants as compared to NKO:
Vitamin A & E - 1.25
Lutein - 8.0
Fish Oil - 8.0
Coenzyme-Q10 - 11.0
Astaxanthin - 51.0
Lycopene - 58.0
Neptune Krill Oil - 378.0
NKO, therefore, is 300 times more effective as an anti-oxidant than vitamins A or E and 48 times more effective than fish oil.
Reduction in Level of Inflammation in the Body:
As mentioned earlier, excessive inflammation is a common contributing factor in many forms of chronic disease. Many pharmaceutical therapies, therefore, are aimed at reducing the level of inflammation.
In several clinical studies, as well as in one placebo-controlled study, NKO has been shown to reduce inflammation greatly. Here's a summary of the results in the latter study:
After 7 days, there was a 19.3% reduction in inflammation level for the NKO group, as compared to 15.7% increase in the placebo group.
After 14 days, there was a 29.7% reduction for the NKO group, compared to a 31.1% increase for the placebo group.
After 30 days, there was a 30.9% reduction for the NKO group, compared to a 25.1% increase for the placebo group.
In other words, after 30 days, the NKO group showed a positive difference of over 56%.
Benefits to People with Arthritis:
Arthritis is one of our nation's most common and crippling diseases and also one of the most common causes of disability among Americans over age 15. There are now an estimated 29.5 million women and 16.8 million men who have been formally diagnosed with arthritis in the U.S.
It results in 39 million physician visits and more than a half-million hospitalizations every year. It costs the U.S. economy more than 86.2 billion dollars annually. It affects people of all ages, including nearly 300,000 childen. More than half of baby boomers under 65 are affected by this disease.
A placebo-controlled study on the effects of NKO on the degree of arthritic pain shows that, after 30 days subjective pain levels are reduced by over 30%. By contrast, subjects in the placebo group experienced a 2.3% reduction.
Similarly, there was a reduction in stiffness in subjects receiving NKO for 30 days of 26.8%, compared to less than a 1% reduction for the placebo group.
Finally, the degree of functional impairment was decreased by 18.1% in the NKO group, compared to a 2.7% decrease in the placebo group.
Benefits of NKO on Total Cholesterol and Triglycerides:
In a clinical study conducted at McGill University, NKO reduced total cholesterol by 18.9%, compared to a reduction of less than 2% for subjects receiving six times as much fish oil. There was an 8.2% increase in total cholesterol in the placebo group.
The NKO group showed a reduction in LDL cholesterol of 44.4%, as compared to a 2.5% reduction in the fish oil group. There was an increase of .4% in the placebo group.
The corresponding effects on HDL were equally impressive. Subjects receiving NKO showed a 33.4% increase in HDL, whereas those receiving fish oil had a 4.6% increase. Subjects in the placebo group had a 11.8% increase.
So, in summary, NKO not only helps to reduce total cholesterol but also significantly improves the LDL/HDL ratio.
This same study found a 24.5% reduction in triglycerides in the NKO group, while those taking six times as much fish oil showed a reduction of 4%. Those receiving a placebo showed a decrease of 9.6%.
Effects of NKO on PMS:
In a clinical study on PMS carried out by a group of physicians at the University of Montreal and McGill University, the effects of NKO were compared with those of fish oil on ten common symptoms of PMS. These included joint pain, irritabiity, overwhelmedness, breast tenderness, depression, bloating, weight gain, abdominal pain, swelling, and stress.
The reductions in these symptoms ranged from 21% to 64% (average 36.1%) for the krill oil group and from 4% to 23% (average (14.4%) for the fish oil group.
Effects of NKO in Preventing Skin Cancer:
Another study focused on the effectiveness of NKO, applied topically and taken orally, in preventing skin cancer.
The findings were that there was a 47.9% reduction with oral ingestion of NKO, compared to a 49.7% reduction with a topical application of NKO. Those subjects who received NKO both orally and topically showed a striking 66.6% reduction.
To appreciate the potential significance of this finding, consider the following fact: An estimated 1 million people contract skin cancer each year, and 10,000 die from it. The results of this study suggest, then, that Neptune Krill Oil could contribute potentially to saving around 6,600 lives a year.
In the conclusion of this study, the authors stated: "The results of the present study clearly indicate that omega-3 krill oil can significantly prevent skin cancer induced by chronic exposure to ultra-violet radiation."
On the basis of these findings, a new NKO skin care product will soon be released.
NKO in Improving Quality of Life:
A meta-analysis of the above studies indicates that NKO has a dramatic positive effect on the following measures related to quality of life: Physical function; fatigue reduction; pain reduction; level of social functioning and mental clarity; emotional well-being; mental capacity; general health improvement; and physical appearance.
The average rated improvement on these variables for subjects receiving NKO ranged from 31% to 52% (average 40.8%). By comparison, subjects receiving fish oil showed improvements ranging from 2% to 21% (average 10.2%).
Summary of Research Findings on NKO:
These studies indicate very clearly that Neptune Krill Oil has a number of very robust positive health benefits. More studies are in progress and their results will be added here when they become available.
George Shears
651-204-0523
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Important Disclaimer
The statements found within this blog have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. If a product or treatment is recommended here, it is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. The information contained herein is meant to be used to educate the reader and is in no way intended to provide individual medical advice. Medical advice must only be obtained from a qualified health practitioner.