By David Liu, PHD

Friday April 27, 2012 (foodconsumer.org) -- We already know krill oil is a good source of omega-3 fatty acids.  But the tiny sea creature may do you more good than cutting risk of heart disease.  A new study released on April 24, 2012 in Metabolism suggests that krill powder may help people who follow a high fat casein diet lower hepatic and plasma triacylglycerol levels among other things.

The study led by Bodil Bjørndal of Institute of Medicine, University of Bergen in Norway and colleagues also suggests that krill powder may help lower cholesterol levels in those who eat a high fat casein diet, which may boost the risk of heart disease.

The study results are suggestive because the study was conducted on transgenic mouse models of chronic inflammation that were fed a high fat casein diet and did not have a good metabolic profile.

For the study, mice on the high fat diet were also either fed krill powder or control for six weeks and then they were tested for blood, liver lipid, and fatty acid composition and hepatic enzyme activities and gene expressions.

In addition to finding krill powder lowered cholesterol and levels of hepatic and plasma triacylglycerol levels, the study found that krill powder lowered hepatic gene expression of sterol regulatory element binding transcription factor 2 (SREBP2) and enzymes involved in cholesterol synthesis.

Krill powder also reduced endogenous TNF alpha in the liver, suggesting that it is anti-inflammatory.

It should be noted that people do not have to eat krill oil or krill powder to lower their risk for heart disease.  The best sure way to reduce the risk is to avoid eating too much fat and meat and eat lots of vegetables, particularly leafy green vegetables.

Dr. Dean Ornish, MD, professor of UC-San Francisco and other doctors tested plant-based diets on people with coronary heart disease and found nearly 100 percent of patients improved or reversed their heart disease.

Keywords: Cholesterol; Inflammation; Omega-3 fatty acids; krill powder, krill oil, heart disease