Many Men Risk Their Health by Taking Testosterone When They Don’t Need It

The male sex hormone testosterone plays many roles in men's health. Besides affecting your sex drive, it also helps maintain muscle mass, bone density, red blood cells, and a general sense of well-being. 

This post is on Healthwise

February 21, 2014 

Story at-a-glance

• Testosterone plays many roles in men’s health. Besides affecting your sex drive, it also helps maintain muscle mass, bone density, red blood cells, and a general sense of well-being
• Direct-to-consumer drug advertising is driving men to use testosterone when they’re really not good candidates for it
• Testosterone prescriptions have tripled since 2001, and men in their 40s represent the fastest-growing group of users. Half of them do not qualify for a diagnosis warranting the prescription of testosterone
• Recent research found that men aged 65 and older who took testosterone DOUBLED their risk of having a heart attack within the first three months of use
• Chronic stress can result in hypercortisolemia, which inhibits testosterone production. Stress relief, diet, and high intensity exercise are three potent lifestyle strategies that can reverse low testosterone

By Dr. Mercola

The male sex hormone testosterone plays many roles in men's health. Besides affecting your sex drive, it also helps maintain muscle mass, bone density, red blood cells, and a general sense of well-being. 

Beginning around age 30, a man's testosterone levels begin to decline, and continue to do so as time goes on—unless you proactively address your lifestyle. Symptoms of declining testosterone levels can include:

• Decreased sex drive
• Erectile dysfunction and/or problems urinating
• Depression
• Difficulties with concentration and memory
• Weight gain and/or breast enlargement

Unfortunately, direct-to-consumer drug advertising, which is permissible in the US, is driving men to use testosterone when they're really not good candidates for it. There are studies showing that testosterone therapy can be quite helpful and beneficial, but that's in men who actually have very low testosterone.

Lacking energy and sex drive does not automatically mean you have severe testosterone deficiency warranting taking this hormone. Yet "low T" has become a well-recognized mantra—created by some pharmaceutical PR department—even though there's no hard and set "normal" testosterone level.  

Your Lack of Libido Could Be Due to Other Hormonal Imbalance

For example, a recent study published in the New England Journal of Medicine (NEJM)1 found that there were significant individual variations in the amount of testosterone required for any particular man to maintain lean body mass, strength, and sexual function.

Other hormones, such as estrogen, also play a critical role in men's health, so the heavy focus on testosterone may be inappropriate. The NEJM study2determined that while testosterone deficiency accounted for decreases in lean mass, muscle size, and strength, estrogen deficiency was the primary culprit when it came to increases in body fat.

Both hormones were found to be important for sexual function, and a deficiency in either had a negative impact on the men's libido.

Please note that men are NOT advised to take estrogen replacement therapy, as this could cause feminization, such as enlarged breasts. As your testosterone levels rise, your body will automatically produce more estrogen.

So the key is to maintain your testosterone level—ideally by incorporating the strategies I will discuss below. Interestingly, simply having more sex has also been shown to boost testosterone levels in men.3 As reported by PeakTestosterone.com:

"One 1992 study4 examined four couples on days that they did and didn't have sexual activity... [T]hey found that testosterone levels increased on nights after sexual activity and did not on nights where there was no intercourse. The authors noted that their study showed that it was likely sex that increased testosterone and not the other way around."

Low Testosterone—An Invented Condition?

It's important to realize that all of this fake "low T" advertising is merely a PR strategy to sell an expensive treatment. In 2012, prescription testosterone gels generated over $2 billion in US sales. Abbott Laboratories alone spent $80 million on seductive direct-to-consumer advertising for its testosterone product AndroGel that same year.

According to a survey by CMI/Compass, 63 percent of physicians polled feel that drug ads misinform patients.5 And truly, it's worth keeping in mind that advertising is far from realistic or even truthful in most cases. It's about creating a perceived need where there might not be one, in order to sell a product. As reported by the New York Times:6

"In the view of many physicians, [low testosterone] is in large part an invented condition...

Once a niche treatment for people suffering from hormonal deficiencies caused by medical problems like endocrine tumors or the disruptive effects of chemotherapy, the prescription gels are increasingly being sold as lifestyle products, to raise dipping levels of the male sex hormone as men age."

Many people feel so bad they're willing to take just about anything to feel better. Unfortunately, many fail to realize that that "something" probably isn't a drug treatment. Instead, flagging energy levels may be an indication that you're eating too much processed food. Perhaps you're not exercising enough, or failing to address chronic stress or lack of sleep.

How Stress Affects Your Testosterone Levels

Chronic stress may in fact be a major contributing factor to decreasing testosterone levels. Stress, when chronic and unaddressed, can result in hypercortisolemia, which in and of itself inhibits testosterone production.7 The cortisol produced in response to stress also interferes with your insulin. As described by chiropractor Kyl Smith, D.C.:8

"This is seen when healthy men exhibit fasting plasma glucose concentrations and degrees of insulin resistance that are directly correlated with fasting plasma cortisol concentrations (i.e., when cortisol goes up, insulin goes up, insulin resistance goes up, and insulin sensitivity correspondingly goes down)...

The subject of insulin and insulin sensitivity ties directly into testosterone, as 'testosterone and insulin status are also directly correlated.' Among adult men, the insulin secretion rate and fasting plasma insulin concentration are inversely proportional to serum testosterone concentrations (i.e., high insulin levels are associated with low testosterone and low insulin levels are associated with high testosterone), while whole-body insulin sensitivity is shown to be positively correlated with serum testosterone concentrations.

In other words, in men who have challenges with high postprandial blood sugar levels, simple carbohydrates that evoke an insulin spike/increase will sabotage the production of healthy testosterone." [Emphasis mine]

Testosterone Is Widely Overprescribed

According to the Endocrine Society, which is responsible for setting the clinical guidelines for testosterone replacement therapy, testosterone should only be given to men with persistent symptoms and "unequivocally low testosterone levels," a condition known as hypogonadism. According to a 2012 study9 looking at the sensitivity and specificity of total testosterone (total T) as an indicator of biochemical hypogonadism found that a total T level below 150 ng/dl is indicative of hypogonadism, while levels above 350 ng/dl excludes the condition in most cases.

Despite that, testosterone prescriptions have tripled since 2001, and men in their 40s represent the fastest-growing group of users. Only about half of men taking testosterone have an actual diagnosis of hypogonadism. Even more curious, recent findings10, 11, 12 also indicate that 25 percent of men given a prescription for testosterone did not even have their levels tested prior to receiving a prescription, and of the remaining 75 percent, it was unclear as to how many actually had a testosterone deficiency.

In short, there appears to be an awful lot of men out there taking testosterone who probably shouldn't. Using hormones as a "cure-all" is a risky proposition, especially if your problems are related to lifestyle opposed to an actual medical condition that severely impairs your hormone production. What most men need is really a lifestyle change, in order to optimize their body's natural secretion of testosterone and other hormones.

Recent Research Highlights the Dangers of Testosterone Misuse

According to one recent study published in the journal PLoS ONE, men aged 65 and older who took testosterone DOUBLED their risk of having a heart attack within the first three months of use, even if they did not have heart disease prior to starting the therapy. The result was similar in younger men diagnosed with heart disease. The study was prompted by a 2010 clinical trial that was shut down before completion due to the increase in heart-related problems occurring in the testosterone treatment group.13

Other research14 published earlier this year found that testosterone replacement therapy did not appear to have any positive effects on the cardiovascular health of men who took it, noting that the "cardiovascular risk-benefit profile of testosterone therapy remains largely evasive."

Interestingly, the analysis does suggest that low testosterone and heart disease might both be caused by "poor overall health," as stated by lead researcher, Dr. Johannes Ruige.15 This, again, is why I recommend focusing your efforts on healthy lifestyle strategies such as exercise rather than taking synthetic hormone replacement, the risk/benefit ratio of which is still largely unknown.

The latest results have caused enough concern that the US Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has launched a safety review16 to ascertain the safety of testosterone therapy. In the meantime, the FDA has instructed doctors to "consider whether the benefits of FDA-approved testosterone treatment is likely to exceed the potential risks of treatment."

Lifestyle Factors Influence Your Hormone Levels

Despite the above objections it would seem a more conservative approach would be warranted. While a man's testosterone level does decline with age, starting around the age of 30, there are many other factors that play a role. Think of generations past, when men were active and healthy well into old age. Clearly, it's possible to grow old without losing your "oomph." It really boils down to lifestyle. Diet and exercise are critical factors. But chemical exposures, including prescription drugs like statins, can also play a role by having an adverse effect on your testosterone production. And, as reported in another more recent New York Times17 article:

"Testosterone appears to decline naturally with aging, but internal belly fat depresses the hormone further, especially in obese men. Drugs like steroids and opiates also lower testosterone, and it's suspected that chemicals like bisphenol A (or BPA, commonly found in plastic food containers) and diseases like Type 2 diabetes play a role as well." [Emphasis mine]

Testosterone production follows a similar decline with age as human growth hormone (HGH), illustrated below. Fortunately, your body has a natural ability to optimize hormones, even as you age. It does require you to address important factors such as your diet and exercise, however.

To Raise Your Hormone Levels, Exercise Intensely, But Briefly

Both testosterone and HGH are boosted in response to short, high intensity exercises. I personally do not take any hormone or prohormone supplements. Instead, I've been doing Peak Exercises for just nearly four years now, and at the age of 59, my testosterone and HGH levels are still in the normal ranges for a young adult male without the aid of ANY prescriptions, hormones, and hormone precursor supplements.

Keep in mind that high intensity interval training is the only type of exercise that will help boost your testosterone and HGH levels. A slow one-hour jog will not have this effect, so it's critical to make sure you're exercising correctly if you want to affect your hormone levels. Below is a summary and video demonstration of what a typical high-intensity Peak Fitness routine might look like:

• Warm up for three minutes
• Exercise as hard and fast as you can for 30 seconds. You should feel like you couldn't possibly go on another few seconds
• Recover at a slow to moderate pace for 90 seconds
• Repeat the high intensity exercise and recovery seven more times

///

Weight training will also have a beneficial impact on your testosterone levels. When you use strength training for this purpose, you'll want to increase the weight and lower your number of reps. Focus on doing exercises that work a wider number of muscles, such as squats or dead lifts. You can take your workout to the next level by learning the principles of Super-Slow Weight Training. Whole body vibration training using a Power Plate is yet another effective ancillary method.

Besides raising testosterone and HGH, aerobic exercise in general is known to benefit your heart, in part by promoting the production of beneficial nitric oxide, which helps relax your heart and improves blood flow.18 Recent research also suggests that skin-derived nitric oxide metabolites may also play a key role in heart health by normalizing blood pressure when your skin is exposed to UV rays from the sun19 --yet another reason for making sure you're getting enough sun exposure.

Your Diet Affects Your Testosterone and HGH

While high intensity exercise is perhaps the most effective strategy to raise your testosterone levels, your diet also plays a critical role. First of all, if you're overweight, research shows that simply shedding the excess pounds may increase your testosterone levels.20

Testosterone levels also decrease after you eat sugar. This is likely because sugar and fructose raises your insulin level, which is another factor leading to low testosterone. Ideally, keep your total fructose consumption below 25 grams per day. If you have insulin resistance and are overweight, have high blood pressure, diabetes, or high cholesterol, you'd be well advised to keep it under 15 grams per day.

The most efficient way to shed excess weight and normalize your insulin levels at the same time is to strictly limit the amount of sugar/fructose and grains in your diet, and replace them with vegetables and healthy fats, such as organic pastured egg yolks, avocado, coconut oil, butter made from raw grass-fed organic milk, and raw nuts. Saturated fats are in fact essential for building testosterone. Research shows that a diet with less than 40 percent of energy as fat (and that mainly from animal sources, i.e. saturated) lead to a decrease in testosterone levels.21 My personal diet is about 70-80 percent healthy fat, and other experts agree that the ideal diet includes somewhere between 50-70 percent fat. I've detailed a step-by-step guide to this type of healthy eating program in my optimized nutrition plan.

Another effective strategy for enhancing both testosterone and HGH release is intermittent fasting. It helps boost testosterone by improving the expression of satiety hormones, like insulin, leptin, adiponectin, glucagon-like peptide-1 (GLP-1), cholecystokinin (CKK), and melanocortins, which are linked to healthy testosterone function, increased libido, and the prevention of age-induced testosterone decline.

Helpful Supplements

There are also nutritional supplements that can address some of the symptoms commonly associated with low testosterone. Some may even help boost your testosterone levels as well. These include:

• Saw palmetto. Besides addressing symptoms of low testosterone, this herb may also help to actually increase testosterone levels by inhibiting up-conversion to dihydrotestosterone.22 When choosing a saw palmetto supplement, you should be wary of the brand, as there are those that use an inactive form of the plant. According to industry expert Dr. Rudi Moerck, what you want is an organic supercritical CO2 extract of saw palmetto oil, which is dark green in color. Since saw palmetto is a fat-soluble supplement, taking it with eggs will enhance the absorption of its nutrients.
• Astaxanthin in combination with saw palmetto. There is also solid research indicating that if you take astaxanthin in combination with saw palmetto, you may experience significant synergistic benefits. A 2009 study published in theJournal of the International Society of Sports Nutrition23 found that an optimal dose of saw palmetto and astaxanthin decreased both DHT and estrogen while simultaneously increasing testosterone.
• Ashwagandha. This ancient Indian herb is known as an adaptogen, which can help boost stamina, endurance, and sexual energy. Research published in 201024 found that men taking the herb Ashwagandha experienced a significant increase in testosterone levels.
Ashwagandha also helps promote overall immune function, and can help increase your resistance to occasional stress.25 It also supports healthful levels of total lipids, cholesterol, and triglycerides already in the normal range. While some adaptogens are stimulants in disguise, this is not the case with Ashwagandha. It can give your morning exercise routine a boost, and when taken prior to bed, it can help you get a good night's sleep as well. I recommend using only 100% organic Ashwagandha root, free of fillers, additives, and excipients to ensure quality.

Do You Really Need Testosterone Therapy?  

The take-home message is that taking testosterone if you're otherwise healthy could jeopardize your health for virtually no gain. And, if you're using a topical gel or cream, you're also jeopardizing the health of anyone in your family that you end up having skin to skin contact with. I personally do not use any hormone or prohormone treatments as I've been successful in getting my hormone levels in the healthy young adult range using the protocols described above. However, if you do chose to use hormones, it is really crucial to use bioidentical versions.

I advise using bioidentical hormones like DHEA if you opt for this route. DHEA is a hormone secreted by your adrenal glands, and is one of the most abundant precursor hormones in your body. It's crucial for the creation of testosterone and other sex hormones. However, it's important to monitor your levels and work with an experienced professional before you start using DHEA (or any other hormone, bioidentical or not.) If you use trans-mucosal applications you will likely only need a few milligrams a day, not 50mg, 100mg, or more that is typically used. There are still questions about long-term safety, and there's still the potential for side effects.26

I also recommend trans-mucosal (rectal) application, as this allows for the most effective absorption, and inhibits the production of unwanted metabolites of DHEA. All of that said, I do NOT recommend prolonged supplementation of hormones, even bioidentical ones. Doing so can trick your body into halting its own DHEA production and may cause your adrenals to become impaired.

Your best bet really is to address your diet, and incorporate high intensity exercise into your lifestyle. For even more information on how exercise can be used as a natural testosterone booster, read my article "Testosterone Surge After Exercise May Help Remodel the Mind."

http://fitness.mercola.com/sites/fitness/archive/2014/02/21/testosterone-prescription.aspx

Go to Healthwise for more articles

• 
  
• Natural ways to boost testosterone
• How to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally
• Do You Really Need to Take Testosterone?
• How to Increase Testosterone Levels Naturally in Women
• 10 foods to boost testosterone naturally
• Many Men Risk Their Health by Taking Testosterone ...

Eat More Baked Fish

Story at-a-glance

• People who consumed baked (or broiled) fish at least once a week had more grey matter in their brain in regions responsible for cognition and memory
• One type of omega-3 fat, DHA, has unique structural properties that provide optimal conditions for a wide range of cell membrane functions, and grey matter is a particularly membrane-rich tissue
• Eating fried fish did not lead to this benefit, because fried fish contains trans fats and other oxidized aldehydes, which have been linked to brain damage
• Past research found older women with the highest levels of omega-3 fats had better preservation of their brain as they aged than those with the lowest levels
• Sardines, anchovies, herring, and/or wild-caught salmon are the best dietary sources of omega-3 fats, and you can also increase your levels with a high-quality krill oil supplement

18 August 2014

By Dr. Mercola

Fish is often described as “brain food,” and that is largely because it contains omega-3 fats. Docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, an omega-3 fat, is an essential structural component of your brain.

Approximately 60 percent of your brain is composed of fats — 25 percent of which is DHA. DHA is found in high levels in your neurons – the cells of your central nervous system, where it provides structural support.

Low DHA levels have been linked to memory loss and Alzheimer's disease, and since your body cannot produce omega-3 on its own, you must get it from your daily diet. DHA-rich foods include fish, liver, and brain, so it’s easy to know why (in the US, at least) fish is the preferred dietary source.

Eating Baked Fish May Improve Your Memory

A new study has added further support for adding more fish to your diet, although there are some important caveats to consider. The study found people who consumed baked (or broiled) fish at least once a week had more grey matter in their brain.

Specifically, compared to those who didn’t consume fish on a regular basis, regular fish eaters had 14 percent greater grey-matter volume in the area responsible for cognition and more than 4 percent greater volume in the area responsible for memory.1

The DHA molecule has unique structural properties that provide optimal conditions for a wide range of cell membrane functions, and grey matter is a particularly membrane-rich tissue.

Eating fried fish did not lead to this benefit, which isn’t surprising since carefully choosing your cooking methods, and your cooking oils, can make or break your meal from a nutritional standpoint.

Past research has also found that while eating baked and broiled fish improves heart health, eating fried fish increases heart failure risk.2 This is likely due to the trans fats and oxidized aldehydes in fried fish, which are not only linked to heart damage but also to brain damage (including brain shrinkage linked to Alzheimer’s disease).

While both broiled and baked fish were linked to better brain function, I would suggest sticking with baking (particularly at lower temperatures). I don’t generally recommend broiling, since high-temperature cooking (grilling, broiling, barbecuing, and frying) can lead to the formation of cancer-causing substances like heterocyclic amines (HCAs) in your food.

One surprising element to the study was that there was no association found between blood levels of omega-3s and brain benefits, which suggests there may have been other brain-boosting lifestyle factors at play in the frequent fish eaters.

Perhaps their diets were healthier in other respects as well. Still, the research speaks for itself when it comes to the health benefits of omega-3 fats, including for your brain.

Your Brain May Degenerate Without Enough Omega-3 Fats

The introduction of high-quality, easily digested nutrients from seafood into the human diet coincided with the rapid expansion of grey matter in the cerebral cortex -- a defining characteristic of the modern human brain.

Research is showing that degenerative conditions can not only be prevented but also potentially reversed with omega-3 fats. For example, in one study, 485 elderly volunteers suffering from memory deficits saw significant improvement after taking 900 milligrams (mg) of DHA per day for 24 weeks, compared with controls.3

Another study found significant improvement in verbal fluency scores after taking 800 mg of DHA per day for four months compared with placebo.4 Furthermore, memory and rate of learning were significantly improved when DHA was combined with 12 mg of lutein per day.

Interestingly, research suggests that the unsaturated fatty acid composition of normal brain tissue is age-specific, which could imply that the older you get, the greater your need for animal-based omega-3 fat to prevent mental decline and brain degeneration.

Still, omega-3s are also incredibly important for brain health during development, both in utero and during childhood. One study of 8- to 10-year-old boys looked at how DHA supplementation might affect functional cortical activity, and the results were quite impressive.

The data indicated that there were significant increases in the activation of the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex part of the brain in the groups receiving supplemental DHA. This is an area of your brain that is associated with working memory.

They also noticed changes in other parts of the brain, including the occipital cortex (the visual processing center) and the cerebellar cortex (which plays a role in motor control).5 Of course, the overall health benefits of omega-3 fats go far beyond brain health.

Omega-3 deficiency is believed to be a significant underlying factor of up to96,000 premature deaths each year! Yes, this deficiency was recently revealed as the sixth biggest killer of Americans, so taking this recommendation to heart could prove to be lifesaving.

Omega-3 Fats Might Help Your Brain Heal and ‘Preserve’ Your Brain in Old Age

It appears there is virtually no area of brain health left untouched by omega-3s. After a traumatic injury, the brain inflammation that occurs can continue for long periods of time unless, as leading omega-3 expert Dr. Barry Sears stated, "there's a second response that turns it off." Fish oil, it appears, can help do just that, when given in sufficiently high doses.

You can read about one remarkable case of omega-3 fats for healing brain injury here. Another study, published in the journal Neurology, reported that "older women with the highest levels of omega-3 fats… had better preservation of their brain as they aged than those with the lowest levels, which might mean they would maintain better brain function for an extra year or two."6

The researchers assessed the omega-3 fat levels in the red blood cells (RBCs) of more than 1,100 women then, eight years later, their brain volumes were measured using an MRI scan.

The women whose omega-3 levels were the highest—7.5 percent—at the outset of the study had 0.7 percent larger brain volume. Their hippocampus, which plays an important role in memory formation, was also 2.7 percent larger.

The researchers summarized their findings stating that "we did not find an association between RBC DHA + EPA levels and age-associated cognitive decline in a cohort of older, dementia-free women." However, their findings dosuggest that omega-3 can be helpful in slowing down age-related brain atrophy. The study’s lead author also indicated that previous studies have shown eating non-fried oily fish twice a week and taking fish oil supplements can raise your mean red blood cell level of EPA and DHA to 7.5 percent—the same level as the women with the highest omega-3 levels had in his study.

Is Fish a Good Source of Omega-3 Fat?

It can be. Interestingly enough, and fortunately for us, the types of fish that tend to suffer the least amount of toxic contamination also happen to be some of thebest sources of fat and antioxidants. So, by choosing wisely, the benefits of a diet high in fish can still outweigh the risks of contamination. Most major waterways in the world are contaminated with mercury, heavy metals, and chemicals like dioxins, PCBs, and other agricultural chemicals that wind up in the environment. There are a couple of exceptions to this rule, one being wild-caught Alaskan salmon. I eat about three ounces of Wild Alaskan salmon every other day or so.

The risk of authentic wild-caught Alaskan sockeye salmon accumulating high amounts of mercury and other toxins is reduced because of its short life cycle, which is only about three years. Additionally, bioaccumulation of toxins is also reduced by the fact that it doesn’t feed on other, already contaminated, fish. You will want to avoid farm-raised salmon (and other types of farm-raised fish), which are notorious for being heavily contaminated (and disastrous for the environment).

Not only that, but farmed salmon may contain only about half of the omega-3 of wild salmon. Other fish with short life cycles also tend to be better alternatives in terms of fat content, so it’s a win-win situation – lower contamination risk and higher nutritional value. A general guideline is that the closer to the bottom of the food chain the fish is, the less contamination it will have accumulated. This includes:

• Sardines
• Anchovies
• Herring

Sardines, in particular, are one of the most concentrated sources of omega-3 fats, with one serving containing more than 50 percent of your recommended daily value.7 They also contain a wealth of other nutrients, from vitamin B12 and selenium to protein, calcium, and choline, making them one of the best dietary sources of animal-based omega-3s. If you eat fish frequently and want to take precautions, you can also do what I do: whenever I eat fish, I eat it with chlorella tablets. Thechlorella is a potent mercury binder and if taken with fish will help bind the mercury before your body can absorb it, so it can be safely excreted in your stool.

Fish Oil Versus Krill Oil: What’s the Difference?

You’re probably aware that if you don’t eat a lot of fish, you can supplement your diet with omega-3 fats with fish oil. Less widely known is that you can also get your omega-3s from krill oil, and it may, in fact, be preferable to do so. A helpful form ofplant-based omega-3 can also be found in flaxseed, chia, hemp, and a few other foods, but the most beneficial form of omega-3 (animal-based) -- containing two fatty acids, DHA and EPA, which are essential to fighting and preventing both physical and mental disease -- can only be found in fish and krill.

Why might you be better off with krill? The omega-3 in krill is attached to phospholipids that increase its absorption, which means you need less of it, and it won't cause belching or burping like many other fish oil products. Additionally, it contains almost 50 times more astaxanthin, a potent antioxidant, than fish oil. This prevents the highly perishable omega-3 fats from oxidizing before you are able to integrate them into your cellular tissue. In laboratory tests, krill oil remained undamaged after being exposed to a steady flow of oxygen for 190 hours. Compare that to fish oil, which went rancid after just one hour. That makes krill oil nearly 200 times more resistant to oxidative damage compared to fish oil!

When purchasing krill oil, you'll want to read the label and check the amount of astaxanthin it contains. The more the better, but anything above 0.2 mg per gram of krill oil will protect it from rancidity. To learn more about the benefits of krill oil versus fish oil, please see my interview with Dr. Rudi Moerck, a drug industry insider and an expert on omega-3 fats. If you don’t eat fish regularly, a krill oil supplement is one of the few supplements I recommend to virtually everybody. If you prefer to get your omega-3s from your diet, then be sure you’re eating sardines, anchovies, herring, and/or wild-caught salmon on a regular basis.

[+] Sources and References

Go to Healthwise for more articles

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2014/08/18/baked-fish-memory-improvement.aspx?