What You Need To Know About Krill Oil

Krill are little shrimp or prawn-like beings that feed the world’s largest animals- the great whales. These toothless great whales guzzle down huge amount of krill to give the energy they need to fuel their enormous bulk- A blue whale eats up to 8,000 pounds of krill each day during the feeding season. These highly intelligent great whales are not the only animals that depend on krill for their nutritional needs, so do a variety of seals, penguins, sea birds, squid and fish. A krill oil supplement may be used in place of a fish oil supplement, or together with a fish oil supplement. A good alternative is to use a capsule or two of each. In fact, the strong Neptune kind of krill harvested from unkind Antarctic waters, krill that make up Antarctic Pure Krill Oil, are so important that they are considered by scientists to be a keystone species, a life form upon which many Antarctic predators depend. These semi-translucent crustaceans gather together in thick masses or hordes that can in fact turn the ocean’s surface pink or red. Collectively with plankton, krill make up the biggest biomass in the world. This makes them one of the most effortlessly renewable food resources obtainable and a brilliant dietary source from an ecological point of view. An extremely high quality krill oil product is derived from Antarctic krill grown in the wild ocean around Antarctica. This krill oil is processed without application of any solvents. Krill oil is a unique all-natural source of more than a few supplements in one. Firstly, we have the crucial omega-3 fatty acids EPA and DHA which are lacking in the diet of many people, particularly those who do not consume enough cold water fish. In addition to omega-3 fatty acids, krill oil contains the important antioxidant “Astaxanthin” which gives the pinkish or reddish color to the krill oil soft gels. Lastly, krill oil contains vitamins A and E. Krill Oil assists in improving your quality of life as you age. A recent study showed that Pure Krill Oil supports strong joint function and comfort. Many research findings have also confirmed the role of Pure Krill Oil’s antioxidants and omega-3 oils in combating the signs of aging. This oil contains a natural blend of phospholipids, antioxidants and omega-3 bonded together in a way that keeps them secure from oxidation and easily absorbed in the body.

What is the Glyconutrient D-Mannose and How Does it Benefit the Body

The glyconutrient mannose is named after the word manna, that is mentioned in the Bible as the food God provided to the Israelites during their flight from Israel after crossing the Red Sea. It occurs naturally in a number of shrubs.

Its main natural dietary source is cranberries, and is one reason for the popularity of cranberry juice as a dietary supplement. However, the acidity of the cranberry juice can detract from the effectiveness of the sugar as a bactericide since many bacteria love acidic conditions. A case in point is the use of D-mannose to fight e-coli urinary infections.

Cranberry juice has been found to be largely ineffective due to the acidity of the juice that can cause the bacterium to multiply. The mannose content does not, in many cases, appear to be effective in eradicating the bacteria. D-mannose supplement, on the other hand, sticks to the wall of your bladder like glue, and attracts the bacteria. That is then stuck to the D-mannose and when the D-mannose in passed in your urine, the e-coli bacteria go with it. Many sufferers of urinary infections and cystitis have found it to be a very effective treatment. Significantly more effective that proprietary or prescription drugs and certainly better than cranberry juice.

That apart, mannose is one of the eight essential glyconutrients without which the human immune system would not be able to function. They are sugars known as monosaccharides, as opposed to the disaccharides such as sucrose, or common sugar, that is formed from glucose and fructose. Glucose is another such essential sugar, though fructose is not, causing more harm than good. Each of these sugars is essential to the mammalian biochemistry that was evolved over millions of years of a vegetarian diet. Human biochemistry diverged to include an omnivorous diet that depended a great deal not only on animal flesh, but on roots, canes, corn husks and other cereal seeds in their original form. This is why whole unprocessed foods are important in the diet.

Now, however, the human diet has changed, with intensive agricultural techniques and the refinement of foods to eliminate fibers and husks combining with processing techniques to render much of our food deficient in many nutrients that were in abundance in years past. Our biochemistry took millions of years to develop, and is not going to change in a few thousand. Among those nutrients that have become relatively scarcer in our diet are the essential monosaccharides that, until recently, were not considered important.

In fact, just over ten years it was thought that all sugars were burned in the body to produce energy that, if not immediately used, was stored as glycogen as a short-term energy source or fats as a longer term source of energy. In effect, they were regarded as irrelevant to the diet and even by many medical practitioners as harmful. It is now known that these eight glyconutrients as they are called play a much more fundamental role in human biochemistry and in ensuring our survival than was previously understood.

Incidentally, you will generally see the word mannose related to D-mannose. The D stands for dextro which comes from the Latin root for right. Sinister and dexter are left and right in Latin, and the term dextrous was applied originally to one who could manipulate well with the right hand and fingers. Through time it became a definition for manipulation ability, or use of the fingers and hands, in general. However, in D-mannose it refers to the stereochemistry of the molecule, or the way that it is bent to the right. That is the common form, and will be referred to here as simply mannose.

Mannose is one of these eight sugars that are essential for the proper functioning of the mammalian immune system, and that includes humans. A deficiency in any one of them will lead to a deficiency in the effectiveness of the immune system to fight disease. Not only disease, but failure of the immune system will lead to conditions such as allergies, possibly psoriasis, various forms of arthritis, and infections of many parts of the body, particularly of the respiratory tract that is one of the main causes of death in AIDS victims, another immune system disease.

The science and biochemistry of allergies is also not fully understood, but the immune system is now believed to play a significant part. Knowledge of any dietary element pertaining to this as yet mysterious part of the way the human body fights infection must be taken seriously, and dietary deficiencies made up by the use of supplements.

There are those that believe supplements to be not only unnecessary, but also damaging to health. However, much of this is born from ignorance and superstition, and modern biochemical knowledge must be used to ensure that all of us are supplied with the chemicals necessary for our well being. All food we eat, and nutrients we consume, are chemicals. That appears to be a bad word to some, but it is fact and we have to ensure that our chemical intake is sufficient to meet the needs of the biochemistry of our bodies. Without that the chemical reactions that permit life would not be possible.

Those that suffer from urinary infections have generally found that regular doses of mannose during the day are more effective than one or two larger doses. What this indicates is that the sugar is rapidly metabolized by the liver and excreted from the body, and so needs frequent replenishment. Since the natural sources of mannose are so small in this modern age, it is little wonder, then, that deficiency can be relatively common and we are no longer able to shrug off illness as quickly as our forefathers were able to.

In order to understand the effect of modern day nutrition, keep in mind what has already been said. Mannose is not only able to control e-coli infections in the bladder, but is also a critical component in the biochemistry necessary to keep our immune system healthy. It is the immune system that controls disease, creates and releases antibodies to kill off invading cells, controls the disposition of white blood cells that envelope and devour foreigners and determines how quickly we recover from minor wounds or serious injuries.

In saying that, laboratory studies indicate that excessive amounts of mannose could lead to some birth defects, though this is only thought to be relevant for mannose supplements. Although these supplements are very effective for most people therefore, pregnant women should seek medical advice prior to using mannose supplements.

Keep in mind the benefits of mannose and those defects only occur with large excess intakes. Under medical supervision, mannose supplements should not present a hazard to anyone. This must not be considered a deterrent to others to whom that does not apply, since the glyconutrient mannose is too important a substance in the chemistry of life for us to ignore.

Choline is an essential nutrient but not, strictly speaking, a vitamin although it is often mistakenly thought of as a member of the B complex, with which it has numerous functions in common. Choline should be found in abundance in a normally healthy diet, but deficiencies have been linked with cardiovascular and liver disease, as well as impaired cognitive function.

Until as recently as 1998 it was believed that the body could manufacture an adequate supply of choline from the closely associated nutrients, vitamin B12 and folic acid. It is now accepted, however, that although the body can indeed synthesise choline in limited quantities, an adequate supply from the daily diet is also required for the avoidance of a number of potentially serious deficiency conditions and diseases.

Most choline in the body is contained in the phospholipids, a particular type of fat molecule of which the most common, phosphatidylcholine, more commonly known as lecithin, is also an important dietary source of choline.

Choline is known to be crucial for the proper functioning of the brain’s neurotransmitters, and in the form of lecithin is an important element in the composition of cell membranes and effective biochemical communication between cells.

Lecithin, moreover, is vital for the liver’s ability to break down fat and cholesterol into the “Very Low Density Lipoproteins” (VLDLs) which are carried around the body in the bloodstream. Any deficiency of choline or lecithin may therefore result in the liver becoming unable to metabolise dietary fat and cholesterol in this way, and the resulting accumulation may lead to the condition known as “fatty liver” and ultimately perhaps to serious liver disease. Some research even suggests that the changes in the liver brought about by choline deficiency may lead to an increased risk of liver cancer, although not all authorities regard this research as conclusive.

VLDLs are also necessary for the production of the High Density Lipoproteins (HDLs), the so-called “good cholesterol”, which is generally recognised as a significant protector against cardiovascular disease. There is also some evidence, although the research is not yet universally accepted, that choline may assist in the breaking down of homocysteine, a naturally occurring protein within the body, which is strongly associated with an increased risk of cardiovascular disease.

These protective effects may appear somewhat paradoxical, because the milk, eggs and liver which are the richest food sources of choline have been condemned in the past for the amounts of supposedly dangerous cholesterol they introduce to the body.

A small (3oz) serving of beef liver, for example, will provide more than 350 mg of choline, and a single large egg perhaps 125 mg or more. So strict vegetarians who adopt a low fat, and supposedly low cholesterol diet which excludes these choline rich foods, may paradoxically be placing their cardiovascular health at risk.

Fortunately, however, this is a relatively simple problem to resolve, as supplies of lecithin manufactured from soy beans are readily available from health food stores. A single teaspoon (3.5g) of the granular supplement may provide around 130 mg of choline and is reasonably palatable when sprinkled in suitable drinks or on cereals. Peanuts and wheatgerm are also useful vegetarian sources.

To put the quantities mentioned above in some kind of context: the US Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) has recommended an “Adequate Intake” amount for choline of 550 mg a day, or a mere 4-5 teaspoons of granular lecithin and it has been estimated that most adults are able to obtain between 700 and 1,000 mg a day from a normally healthy diet. Caution should be exercised, however, in the treatment of the FNB recommendation which appears to have been set at the lowest level necessary to avoid liver damage. And it may be noted also that the 700 mg figure for the lower end of the range of normal intake seems perilously close to the 550 mg a day regarded as adequate by the FNB.

But the avoidance of serious damage to a vital organ is, to put it mildly, the very minimum one would reasonably expect of a “healthy” diet, and a very long way indeed from the optimum health which nutritional practitioners insist should be the aim.

For example, although conventional medicine remains reluctant to accept the link as proven, there is some evidence that choline in amounts of up to 1g can improve cognitive function and particularly memory. Choline is known to act as a stimulant to the production of essential neurotransmitting chemicals, and there is also some evidence that high intakes during pregnancy may encourage optimal development of the foetal brain and nervous system.

Although the possible reasons are not fully understood, there is also good evidence that high doses of choline may significantly improve athletic performance in long distance endurance events such as marathon or triathlon.

So given that the FNB has established 3.5 grams (ie 3,500 mg) a day as the upper safe limit for choline intake before any potential (and minor) side-effects might be encountered, and that choline cannot be stored in the body, there seems no reason not to aim for an intake well in excess of the recommended minimum or “adequate” amount.

Granular soy lecithin can provide a simple and convenient means of supplementation with such doses.