Hello and welcome to a new podcast episode! Today, everything revolves around sports, specifically endurance sports. We are diving deep and finding good reasons why athletes should definitely discover krill oil for themselves!
Krill oil regulates inflammation
Krill oil is an excellent source of omega-3 fatty acids, particularly EPA and DHA. These fatty acids play an important role in regulating inflammatory processes in the body, which are significant in endurance sports such as running, cycling, and swimming. In competitive athletes, frequent intensive training often leads to many cellular inflammatory processes that can also affect the entire body and impair regeneration.
Various studies indicate that krill oil supports cell renewal, reduces the healing process for inflammation, and promotes recovery. By the way: all studies mentioned during this podcast can be found listed in the shownotes below this podcast.
What is the Omega-3 Index and why is it important for athletes?
It stands to reason, then, that athletes can perform better and recover faster if they take krill oil. And why? Krill oil promotes an optimal omega-3 level. This biomarker is normally associated with heart health. New research findings show that the Omega-3 Index is also a reason why athletes should integrate krill oil into their training and recovery routine.
Omega-3 Index? That sounds complicated, but it is actually quite simple. It measures two omega-3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) in the membranes of red blood cells, expressed as a percentage of total fatty acids.
In a meta-analysis (1), researchers from Stanford and colleagues found that an Omega-3 Index of at least 8 percent represents an ideal therapeutic goal for heart health. That is also the goal for athletic performance.
Now comes something you should definitely remember: Regular intake of krill oil over a longer period of time increases the Omega-3 Index. Unlike conventional omega-3 sources like fish oil, krill oil contains EPA and DHA bound to phospholipids. In this highly bioavailable form, the body can easily absorb these omega-3 fatty acids, which are then incorporated into the red blood cell membranes, thus supporting a healthy Omega-3 Index. This is why top athletes benefit from supplementation with krill oil.
High Omega-3 Index promotes competition performance
The renowned raw material manufacturer Aker BioMarine, in collaboration with the Oslo University Hospital in Norway, investigated the effect of omega-3 fatty acids from krill oil on athletic performance. For the pilot study (3), the researchers observed 50 top athletes participating in the Norwegian Norseman Xtreme Triathlon, one of the toughest triathlons in the world at the Ironman distance. Each athlete consumed krill oil from Aker BioMarine (4 grams per day) before and after the strenuous competition over a period of 5 weeks.
It turned out that the athletes' Omega-3 Index was one of the best predictors of competition performance. Athletes with an Omega-3 Index of over 8 percent completed the cycling segment on average 48 minutes faster than those with a lower value.
The researchers also found that taking krill oil after the race raised the average Omega-3 Index to over 8 percent (the optimal range). The athletes with the highest omega-3 levels (the top 50 percent) were also able to resume intensive training significantly faster after the triathlon than the bottom 50 percent. Thus, the Omega-3 Index proves to be the best predictor for optimal competition performance.
These preliminary results suggest that supplementation with krill oil after a high-intensity competition is particularly important for top athletes. The researchers are now planning a more robust placebo-controlled study to confirm these findings and investigate further benefits of krill oil for athletes.
Krill oil promotes immune function
But krill oil is not just for top athletes. In everyday life, this valuable raw material also promotes recovery for athletes.
In a 2015 study (2), researchers found that krill oil also offers fitness benefits for healthy adults. For this study, the researchers randomly assigned 37 healthy adults to take a krill oil supplement (2 grams) or a fake medication (placebo) daily for 6 weeks. Before and after taking the supplement, blood samples were taken at rest and after a high-intensity stress test (cycling time trial). This allowed the researchers to analyze immune biomarkers, the Omega-3 Index, and other parameters. Compared to the placebo, krill oil supplementation significantly improved immune function after intensive training. In addition, the Omega-3 Index in the krill oil group rose from an average of 5 to 7 percent.
Improvement of oxygen supply
Oxygen supply is also a prerequisite for optimal endurance performance in sports. Red blood cells are responsible for oxygen transport in the body. Krill oil can help support the health of red blood cells and thus improve oxygen uptake. Another study (4) from 2015 showed that long-term intake of krill oil supplies red blood cells with more omega-3, among other things. The high proportion of phospholipids in krill oil is responsible for this.
And so we come to the end for today. Thank you for listening. We hope you have now gained a deeper insight into the exciting world of krill oil and sports. Stay healthy and active!
Conclusion
Krill oil is an optimal omega-3 source for athletes. In addition to its already well-known health benefits, it can increase the Omega-3 Index, which is associated with good cardiac performance. Furthermore, it leads to faster regeneration after training by alleviating inflammatory processes. Additionally, regular intake of krill oil supports red blood cells, which in turn are important for oxygen transport.
References:
- 1.) Meta-analysis 2017: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28511049/
- 2.) 2015 study on immune function: https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26407095/
- 3.) Pilot study – Norseman study: https://www.qrillaqua.com/blog-and-news/study-looks-to-improve-performance-of-the-worlds-toughest-triathletes
- 4.) Study on endurance performance and oxygen supply: https://lipidworld.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s12944-015-0142-y
If you have further questions and would like to learn more about krill oil, do not hesitate to contact your trusted doctor or our free vital substance consultation team at Medicom by calling 0800 50 400 50. And, of course, you can also find more articles and podcasts here in our online magazine under our Krill Oil Special or under Podcasts
