You’ve heard of fish oil, but what’s all this talk about krill oil? With a quick glance at both labels’ supplement facts, you might not see any noticeable differences. In fact, you’ll probably find that krill oil has less amounts of EPA and DHA! Bear with us…there are good (and really important) reasons for this difference between krill oil and fish oil.

• Phospholipids
• Bioavailability
• Sustainability

The Key to Krill Oil…
Krill oil is more efficient than other omega-3 marine oils out there (like fish oil) and it’s all due to phospholipids.

You might be thinking, “What are phospholipids? And what makes them so special?” Phospholipids make up the membrane of every cell in your body and are the gatekeepers for particles, molecules, and various nutrients from entering or leaving. In the case of triglyceride-bound fish oil, only some of its nutrients will make its way inside our cells.  On the other hand, phospholipid-bound krill oil is able to more easily pass through our cells’ phospholipid membranes. This easy entrance into cells is what gives krill oil a high bioavailability.

Why does “bioavailability” matter when considering a supplement? “Bioavailability” might sound like a heavy-duty scientific term, but all it really refers to is the amount of nutrients that your body uses after it absorbs them into your bloodstream and distributes them to your cells. In other words, if a nutrient is highly bioavailable…it means that it, well, works! Learn the difference between bioavailability, absorption, and digestion, here.

Krill Oil: Good for the Environment, Good for You Using krill oil as a source and base for omega-3 fatty acid supplementation goes even further than just being more bioavailable. We can’t speak for all krill oil brands, but our krill oil is harvested and extracted by the world’s first and leader in krill oil: Neptune Krill Oil. Not only do they have state-of-the-art facilities, they adhere by the CCAMLR’s strict standards and harvesting quotas of the Southern Antarctic Ocean and hold the highly regarded “Friend of the Sea” certification. This means:

• The krill species remains preserved and protected
• The Southern Antarctic Ocean is kept clean and respected

Protecting the environment translates to a better product too! Thanks to the pristine, deep waters of the Southern Antarctic Ocean and the fact that krill as a species are located at the bottom of the food chain, krill oil is less likely to come into contact toxins, contaminants, heavy metals, and pollutants!

Take a deeper dive into krill as a species and it’s benefits, here.

Do you suffer from bone or joint discomfort? Nutrients like zinc are considered critical to ensure proper bone growth. Zinc’s role in the structure, growth, and maintenance of our joints is essential. When we say “essential,” we aren’t exaggerating: you can find zinc in every tissue type that exists in our bodies.

• It helps in the synthesis of DNA and proteins
• It’s a significant player in immune system functioning (e.g., wound healing)
• It ensures smooth cognitive processing
• It contributes to healthy skin and connective tissues and more

Work to avoid zinc deficiencies by consuming foods that contain or are fortified with zinc, or consider taking a daily supplement.

Want more of an in-depth look at this mineral?  Click here.

If we think of our cells as locked cars and phospholipids as the keys to getting inside, omega-3 fatty acids would be a component in the fuel to get the cars moving. They play many roles within our bodies:

• brain health
• heart /cardiovascular) health
• immune system
• bone & joint health

When you’re doing your own research on omega-3’s or if you’re scanning the supplement aisle in the grocery store, you might come across two abbreviations: EPA and DHA.  They are the two most common omega-3 fatty acids and have the most published research. Need ideas on what foods you can incorporate into your daily meals that are high in omega-3’s?

Check out this post: “4 Summer Recipes High in Omega-3s”

What about omega-6 fatty acids?

Omega-3 fatty acids are widely known–at least in name–by the public, but others do exist like omega-6’s and omega-9’s. Should you be concerned about them? The answer is “yes”…learn more about them and the ratio between them and omega- 3’s here.

Certain vitamins and minerals, such as Vitamin D, are essential to maintaining strong bones.

In fact, Vitamin D plays a major role in bone formation and other joint-related health benefits. Consuming Vitamin D-rich foods, supplements, and/or basking in the sun every now and then is a great way to improve bone health.

Research has clearly demonstrated the effects Vitamin D has on the enhancement of calcium and phosphorus absorption, bone mineralization, and bone mineral density (2,10).

The Artic Flex formula provides a supplemental way to strengthen bones by positively influencing the processes of bone development and maintenance.

Are you worried about the strength of your bones diminishing? Consuming strontium as part of a healthy diet or via supplementation will not only help to strengthen your bones but improve your overall bone health.

Strontium is an element similar to calcium, helping to spur on the repair and regeneration of new bone (18). By stimulating bone-building cells and inhibiting cells that break down bone, strontium is an effective, powerful ingredient in Artic Flex.

Learn more about strontium here!

Antioxidants protect our bodies from oxidative stress, the inevitable breakdown of tissue due to stressors such as age, weight-bearing movements, and mental/emotional stress.

Astaxanthin is an antioxidant found primarily in marine life–especially krill–and works in the body to decrease the levels of chemical markers our bodies that play in the role of inflammation.

It’s a little-known antioxidant, but has a powerful punch!

Wondering how it compares to other antioxidants? See how here!

Vitamins and minerals are a group of nutrients called micronutrients.  They help to fuel many of our bodies’ systems. When it comes to bone and joint health, this is especially true!

Minerals

The minerals calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, and potassium provide our bones with the bone mineral density (BMD) they need to stay strong under loads of weight and impact. They also help them to regenerate and heal.

• Reinforce Your Bones with these Must-Have Minerals
• 7 Foods Naturally Loaded with Zinc

Vitamins

Vitamins, on the other hand, play a huge role in the soft (yet strong) material that allows our joints to move: cartilage.

• 7 Simple Sources for More Vitamin D
• 4 Vitamins to Grease Your Joints
• 5 Bone-Fortifying Vitamins You Might Be Skimping On
• Vitamin C
• Vitamin D
• Vitamin E

Antioxidants

Most of us know that we should be getting antioxidants through our meals each day, but do we know why?

The biggest and simplest reason is that they scavenge the body for cell-damaging free radicals and neutralize them. They help support a healthy immune system and have roles in many regularly occurring cellular processes.

Fun fact: they’re what make superfoods so “super”!

Artic Flex’s krill oil naturally contains a powerful antioxidant called astaxanthin. Jump up to the top of this page or learn more about it, here.

The topics above are more informational; this section is more practical. Here you’ll find articles that include foods that we should try to incorporate into our daily meals more, as well as those researchers have found to do more harm than good.

Eat More of These Foods

• Foods high in omega-3 fatty acids
• Foods rich in Vitamin D
• Foods rich in Zinc
• Nutrients that support bone mineral density
• Ways to sneak more vegetables into your meals
• Probiotics for gut health
• Foods high in antioxidants
• Post-exercise snacks
• Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate!
• Eating Seasonal Fruits & Veggies: Winter, Spring, Summer, and Fall (coming soon).

Eat Less of These Foods

• Cut back on these bone-damaging foods
• Omega-6 fatty acids

Collagen

Collagen is known to be beneficial and useful in the worlds of skincare and joint health.

Is there any merit behind it?
We took a look at what researchers have found…and the results look promising!

So, what is collagen exactly?

It’s one of the most prevalent proteins of the body that serves many purposes.

Although your body naturally produces collagen, as you get older this production wanes.
Low levels of collagen can present manifest as follows:

• Problems with loss of bone mass
• Weakened muscles and less dense muscle tissue
• Weakened or fragile arteries in the heart
• Brittle hair and nails or slowed hair and nail growth

The good news is that there are foods that either contain collagen or help to boost your body’s ability to keep producing it naturally.
Learn more about collagen supplementation, here.

Hyaluronic Acid

Another supplement that’s known for its use in skincare and joint health is hyaluronic acid (HA).
Are the rumors true or is just hype around another supplement?
Let’s dive into what it is and how it is used…
HA, also known as hyaluronan, is a naturally occurring substance in the body. It has a “clear, gooey” consistency and is found in high concentrations in the eyes, the skin, and in the connective tissue surrounding joints.
When shopping for it, you can usually find it as a topical cream.
Researchers have found that HA oral supplements and creams are safe to use.
They may assist people in several areas of life such as:

• Reducing joint discomfort
• Helping to minimize discomfort from dry skin
• Reducing fine lines associated with wrinkles
• Having a calmative effect on dry eyes

Find more on hyaluronic acid, here!