Krill Oil May Help Preserve Muscle During Fasting-Based Weight Loss
This 8-week randomized trial looked at adults with overweight or obesity who followed an alternate-day fasting plan, a diet approach where people eat normally one day and eat very little the next. Participants took either krill oil capsules (providing EPA, DHA, choline, and astaxanthin) or a vegetable oil placebo each day during the fasting program.
Both groups lost a similar amount of total body weight, about 4.5 to 4.6 kg on average. However, the two groups differed in what kind of weight they lost. The placebo group lost meaningful amounts of fat-free (lean/muscle) mass and saw a drop in hand-grip strength, a common marker of overall muscle function. The krill oil group did not show these losses in either lean mass or grip strength.
The researchers concluded that adding krill oil during a calorie-restricted fasting period appeared to help protect muscle mass and strength, even though it didn’t change the total amount of weight lost.
What this means for you
If you’re following a fasting or calorie-restricted weight loss plan, this small study suggests that krill oil supplementation may help reduce the muscle and strength loss that often comes along with dieting, without affecting how much total weight you lose. Larger and longer studies would help confirm these findings.
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Obesity (Silver Spring, Md.) · 2025-09-01 · DOI: 10.1002/oby.24354
Read the original source ↗This summary is for educational purposes only and is not medical advice. Always talk to your healthcare provider before making changes to your supplement routine.