…But what about krill oil?

Comparing krill oil and fish oil are like comparing apples and oranges. The benefit of krill oil MAY (clinical studies need verification) increase HDL cholesterol and this would have a benefit on the progression of atherosclerosis.

On the other hand, krill oil is rich in phosphatitic acids and phosphoinositols, not EPA and DSHA. Granted krill does have some EPA and DHA but not enough to provide health benefits from these fatty acids.

             

High potency liquid omega 3 oils such as SFH Products, treat inflammation and cardiovascular disease.  High dose omega 3 oils lower dose dependently serum triglycerides (Krill oil does not do this).  Recently the pharmaceutical company, Amarin (google them) showed that their omega 3 oil product was highly effective to lower triglycerides. Their product will be expensive and available only as a prescription product. SFH omega 3 oil is very potent and has comparable efficacy to the Amarin product. Our product is available without a prescription, all natural and at a much lower price point.

               

Do omega 3 oils induce weight loss?


The data here is still evolving…

- Omega 3 oils decrease inflammation and this indirectly increases muscle gain.

- Effects on insulin are neutral to beneficial. Fats do not increase insulin release.

The key to weight control is to decrease sugar intake, which increases insulin release and weight gain. 


Marketing or Science: Know the Difference! 


At SFH, we provide Evidenced Based Medicine on our products.  Our CSO (Chief Scientist Officer) has been working in the field for 40 years (bio on our website). 

In traditional medicine, the “risk to benefit” ratio is assessed. Does the drug do more good than bad? In evidenced based medicine of natural products, risk is minimal. We assess benefit to cost ratio.  High grade, very potent omega-3 oils such as SFH are expensive to produce.  If you can take only one health product then it should be a very potent omega 3 liquid oil.  The possible other non omega 3 benefits of krill oil can be had by adding on a small amount of niacin. 

However, clean eating and low sugar ingestion usually takes care of HDL Cholesterol levels.  If one’s HDL cholesterol levels are very low, we would suggest adding on a dose of niacin. Of course, an omega-3 product could be produced containing niacin if there were sufficient interest.

PROTEIN: THE BIG PICTURE

Protein is a part of the plant and animal kingdom and is found in all plants and animals.  Proteins are composed of amino acids and all proteins must be broken down to amino acids to be absorbed from our G.I. tract.

What is an ideal protein source?

  • An ideal Protein source needs to be rich in protein! Not all sources are dense in real protein.
  • An ideal protein needs to disperse easily in water.
  • An ideal protein needs to have high bioavailability to be absorbed quickly as amino acids. (This is very important)

The source of protein should come from “clean” farms: no antibiotics, no hormones, grass fed, free range no insecticides (if a plant source), not genetically modified (if a plant, eliminates soy in general), contain no gluten (eliminates many plant sources).

When these factors are considered, whey protein is the best source of quick release protein, followed by egg white protein, followed by certain plant proteins.  Soy protein should be avoided as virtually all soy is derived from genetically modified plants.  Genetic modification caused the synthesis of unnatural proteins which can lead to food allergies and disease associated allergies.  Because virtually all soy has some genetically modified product, one should avoid all soy based supplements and all foods that have soy in them (a much larger challenge). 


Why should a protein supplement be quick release?

  • Quick release means that the protein is very digestible and will be absorbed as amino acids quickly.  Exercise induces inflammation and is stressful. This causes the release of TNF alpha, Interleukins such as IL6, also CRP and cortisol.  All of these factors induce muscle breakdown and inflammation induces (protein catabolism).  Amino acids are essential to force the equilibrium from catabolism to anabolic muscle building.  

  • Food containing protein such as lean meat is about 80% protein.  Whey protein varies from 80 to > 90% protein.  Protein from lean meat is a form of slow release protein and is essential to nutrition every day.  If we assume that about 35 to 40% of a daily calorie intake of 2000 calories should be protein then not less that 700 calories should come from protein. At 4 cal/gram, 700 calories equals 175 grams of protein or about 1 to 1.5 grams of protein/lb of body weight.  We believe that 20% to 40% of this protein should come from quick release sources such as whey or 30 to 70 grams (one to three 30 grams servings of whey protein), depending on your training goals.  Slow release protein should come from a combination of lean meat sources and vegetables (extra slow release protein complex with fiber) not casein based protein.

The Bottom Line:

All protein is not the same. You have to be careful what you put in your body. READ LABELS! Make sure your protein is coming from a grass fed source, and is FREE of hormones, antibiotics, soy, and gluten.

What You Should Know About Staying Healthy and Fit.

              

1. Exercise 

  • Exercise is one key to good health. There is no substitute for exercise. Supplements can make a big difference when used properly. However, exercise can also lead to health problems. See below.

 
2. Maintain and Build Muscle Mass:

  • Skeletal muscle can and should be a large percentage of our body mass. Muscle needs to be metabolically active, to burn calories and to re-energize our bodies by synthesizing high energy molecules such as ATP through maximally active mitochondria. Many scientists believe that this is a major key factor in health and ageing. Daily Balance, Fortified

              

 
3. Facilitate Post Exercise Recovery

  • Exercise and post exercise recovery are periods of physiological stress on our bodies. Energy is drained from cells throughout our body during exercise. Our cells become energy starved, and some cells die. Help your cells regenerate cellular energy (ATP) by activating your cellular power house, a.k.a. your MITOCHRONDRIA. Post Workout

 
4. Decrease States of Inflammation

  • Exercise induces a state of inflammation which slows our recovery period. The old saying “NO Pain NO Gain” is incorrect!!! Exercise should not hurt. Pain is the product of inflammation. Inflammation is the result of high levels of cytokines and stress factors. These stress factors induce muscle degradation. Work hard …yes! But protect your body against inflammation. If you do not protect against inflammation, every exercise period will not only build muscle mass, but will degrade it. Inflammation makes exercise inefficient and can have long term health consequences. SFH Omega-3

 
5. Optimize Metabolic Rate

  • Metabolic rate relates to how fast calories are burned. It is not the amount of calories we eat /day; it is all about their quality and the calorie load with each session of eating. Genetically, our bodies believe that excess calories need to be stored away for a “rainy day”. For this reason, fats are stored throughout our bodies. Mesenteric, omental and subcutaneous are common fat storage sites but fat also occurs in the liver (fatty liver disease) within and between muscle bundles (think of a steak streaked with fat) and around our hearts. Fat is easy to acquire with our standard diets and hard to remove; often it is the last substance to go when dieting. Hunger and Weight, Rejuvenate

6. Sleep well

  • Sleep is essential for good health. Bedtime is not necessarily sleep time. One needs 7-8 hours of high quality sleep time to allow our bodies to re-generate from the previous day of activities. Failure to sleep well affects all aspects of our lives: behavioral, quality of life, mental energy, ability to learn, physical energy and even our rate of aging. Sleep Well (coming soon)

 
7. Prevent and Fight Infections

  • Gyms environments are great for fitness, but they can and do facilitate infections. Sweating and exhaling viruses and bacteria in a relatively closed environment will lead to colds and flu. Vi Dab


8. Eat Right

  • You are what you eat. The American diet is fast food based. So what? Fast food is quick release food. Foods as calories are quickly absorbed and flood into our bodies. Calorie overload induces fat storage and excessively high insulin levels. All process foods are guilty of this and you should avoid them. They are poisoning your body. Secondly, we now know that fat free means carbohydrate rich. The carbs are largely high glycemic in nature and quickly break down to sugars which drive excessive insulin, weight gain and poor health outcomes. Most processed foods are rich in omega 6 fatty acids. These fats, while essential to our bodies, are in all foods. These fats drive inflammation and may even have a role in cancer initiation.
  • Complex foods, not processed foods, with high fiber content and low omega-6 content are the best for you. These foods should also contain a high level of anti-oxidants. Best general advice: shop only the periphery of your grocery store. The internal isles are full of foods that are bad for you. Avoid processed foods!

              

 
9. Read the Labels: Beware of Marketing

  • Don’t believe what you read in the big print. Read the labels. Most material on food packages and supplements (yes even supplements) is either wrong or grossly misleading. The food industry now markets foods that are ‘healthy alternatives”. These foods may be marginally better but are largely over advertised and unsubstantiated. One should think of these healthy alternatives as not as bad as the others, but not necessary good for your health!
  • For protein supplement, buy quality, very high protein content products with no added sugars or carbohydrates.

              

  • For omega-3 oil products, buy liquid formulations that deliver at least 3.5 grams of EPA+DHA/dose.