What is the maximum daily dosage of krill oil for an adult?

February 8, 2024 10:54 PM

I bought some krill oil that was on sale because the expiry date is quite near. Will bad things happen to me if I take 2 x 1000mg capsules a day?

I bought the cheap krill oil for the Omega 3s because I'm having trouble eating enough oily fish per week (I average about one can of sardines per week). I am not taking any other supplement or medication other than a regular women's multivitamin.

I would like to finish these capsules before they expire because it seems like a waste to chuck them. I'm certainly no medical expert but it seems that studies have used 1-3g of krill oil in the past so it seems that I would be fine if I take 2 1000mg capsules per day?

Each 1000mg of krill contains 400 phospholipids, 240 mg of Omega-3s (EPA 120 mg DHA 60mg) and 300 mcg of astaxanthin. Two capsules will be 480 mg of Omega-3s in total which doesn't seem to be a lot though krill oil is supposedly more bioavailable than fish oil omega 3s.

While this is the first time I'm taking krill, I had no issues with taking fish oil or astaxanthin(from algae) in the past.

What do more scientifically-informed Mefites think?

posted by whitelotus to Health & Fitness (4 answers total)

Things that can happen if you take too much krill oil:

fishy burps;

fishy acid reflux;

stomach ache;

in high doses, increased bruising.

Be careful if you are on blood thinners, krill oil can have a blood-thinning effect.
posted by chariot pulled by cassowaries at 2:15 AM on February 9, 2024

Is it an expiry or best before?

If best before, just take them normally.

I feel the same way about expiry dates for many things, but I can't imagine krill oil will spontaneously become toxic on a specific date.
posted by Ftsqg at 5:16 AM on February 9, 2024 [2 favorites]

Response by poster: Ftsqg: It's an expiry date. It was manufactured exactly two years before the expiry date. I believe two years after manufacture is standard for supplements. I don't know how krill oil keeps though.
posted by whitelotus at 5:31 AM on February 9, 2024

Best answer: The US government FDA's GRAS ("generally recognized as safe", which implies you don't need to get a physician to supervise) level of omega-3s from fish oil is 3 grams per day, which is what's in about ten of the usual 1000 mg fish oil capsules, every day. (I take it as treatment for Grave's Eye Disease, it's quite helpful, and lots of people take it for dry eyes). Taking that much does not make me, personally, bleed excessively UNLESS I'm also eating excessively large amounts of ginger or garlic, for example when pigging out on candied ginger or when eating 40-clove-of-garlic chicken. I very much doubt you'll have a problem from doubling your intake to a mere two capsules. Keep an eye out for whether a scratch takes an unusually long time to stop bleeding, and of course avoid if on blood thinners as mentioned above.

Don't take these pills a long time after their expiration date. While expiration dates may not deserve the respect they are typically given, you really don't want to be consuming rancid fish oil, it's not a great thing because rancid oils can produce damaging free radicals.
posted by metonym at 8:05 AM on February 9, 2024 [3 favorites]