Krill
Elevate and add excitement to your pup's mealtime experience by sprinkling a little of our Krill Dog Food Topper onto their meal.
Why You Should Add Krill to Your Dogs Diet
- Krill can be an excellent and healthy addition to any dog's diet for multiple reasons, and the benefits of adding Krill to dog diets have been the subject of multiple peer-reviewed studies.
Among the benefits are an improvement in the omega-3 index, reduced inflammation, reduced markers of muscle damage, and reduced serum homocysteine levels while increasing betaine, dimethylglycine, and methionine.
Additionally, most dogs seem to love Krill, with a palatability study finding that 94% of dogs prefer food with Krill over food without krill.
Product information
Krill Nutrients & Compounds of Interest
EPA and DHA are the omega-3s that most dogs could benefit from adding to their diet.
The reason is that many dog foods on the market, even those that advertise the omega 6 to 3 ratio, often contain high levels of the omega-3 fatty acid Alpha Linoleic Acid (ALA) from ingredients like Flaxseed or, less often, Chia Seeds.
While ALA is an essential fatty acid, it does not have the same biological effects as EPA and DHA. Furthermore, the conversion of ALA to EPA and DHA is very low in dogs and almost non-existent in cats. (Humans are by no means good at it either, with some variations based on genetics.)
This is why fish oil and fish consumption are commonly recommended for multiple health conditions in dogs, cats, and humans; because the amount of EPA and DHA is more important than the omega 6 to 3 Ratio, and most of the health benefits are from EPA and DHA, not ALA.
To illustrate this, a 5 to 1 Omega 6 to 3 Ratio, where a large portion of the omega 3s are ALA, is very different than a 5 to 1 Omega 6 to 3 Ratio, where a decent amount of the omega 3s are EPA and DHA.
While the EPA and DHA in our fish, whether Sardines, Mackerel, Smelt, Salmon, or Herring, are largely triacylglycerols (Still superior to the ethyl-ester found in most fish oils), the EPA and DHA in Krill are largely phospholipids. The significance is that phospholipids are more easily taken up by the cell.
The primary polar lipid in krill is phosphatidylcholine, which is an integral part of the cell membrane. While the research on the impact of dietary Phosphatidylcholine is still ongoing, the results thus far are promising, particularly regarding the impact on brain health.
Astaxanthin is a ketocarotenoid responsible for the red color seen in Krill and Salmon, with Krill containing far higher levels. As an antioxidant Astaxanthin is approximately 100 times more potent than the common Vitamin E isomer, Alpha-Tocopherol.
Other Benefits
Sustainability
Currently, Krill is one of the most sustainable fisheries in the world, with less than 1% of Antarctica's Krill Biomass being caught each year.
Low Trophic Scale
All of the fish and marine species we use are low on the trophic scale, which is important as it means they don't bioaccumulate heavy metals such as mercury or other pollutants to the same extent.
The Krill we use is also caught in Antarctica, which has an additional benefit: given It has not been as heavily impacted by pollution as many of the Lakes, Seas, and Oceans worldwide.