The health benefits of green lipped mussel oil are well known, but is mussel oil really the best form in which to consume this wonder food?
The alternative, the powdered form of the mussel, is often viewed as being less potent than the mussel oil. The reason why is that the oil is extracted from the powder and contains concentrated lipids.
Yet, there are two very important factors that many people aren’t aware of:
- The quality of mussel oil varies widely.
- There’s a whole range of nutrients and health benefits that are lost in the extraction process.
Why Aren’t All Green Lipped Mussel Oils the Same?
The main factors is that most manufacturers blend the mussel oil with other oils, such as olive oil, fish oil, or grape seed oil. These oils provide little benefit.
This means that you really need to be careful and check the ingredients in any supplement.
You’ll find that most mussel oil supplements contain between 25 mg and 65 mg of mussel oil per capsule — and substantially more other oils.
Why Green Lipped Mussel Powder is More Nutritious than Mussel Oil
As can be seen from the graph, the mussel oil represents only 8-10% of the powdered form that it’s obtained from. The remaining 90% of the mussel powder, which isn’t used in the extraction process, goes to waste.
Hence, while you’ll get some of the health benefits by consuming the oil form, you’ll miss out on many of the additional green lipped mussel benefits.
Now, assuming you’ve found a couple of quality mussel powder and mussel oil products that have been processed to retain their potency, how do you compare them to find out which is stronger and better?
Comparing the Potency of Mussel Powder and Mussel Oil
Unfortunately, comparing potency isn’t as straightforward as looking at the ingredients and comparing the quantities of mussel extract. If you did this, you’d mistakenly conclude that the mussel powder is way more potent than the mussel oil.
This is because most mussel oil supplements contain between 25 mg and 65 mg of mussel oil per capsule. On the other hand, green lipped mussel powder commonly comes in 500 mg capsules. It’s quite a difference, isn’t it?
Here’s the trick to the calculation.
Assuming a 8% yield of mussel oil from the mussel powder, multiply the milligrams of mussel oil in the product that you’re looking at by 12 (this is the constant/number to use in order to roughly equate an 8% yield). This will give you the powder equivalent.
Lyprinol Mussel Oil and Xtend-Life Mussel Powder Compared
Let’s compare two products and see how they fare:
- Market leader in mussel oil extract, Lyprinol. Lyprinol capsules usually contain 50 mg of mussel oil and come in packets of 50 capsules.
- Our preferred brand of green lipped mussel extract, Xtend-Life Green Lipped Mussel Powder. Each bottle contains 120 capsules with 600 mg of mussel powder in each capsule.
To equate the mussel oil in one capsule of Lyprinol with mussel powder: 50 mg of mussel oil x 12 = 600 mg mussel powder. Since there’s 600 mg of powder in one Xtend-Life capsule, both brands have the same strength.
Now, to see how mussel extract is in each container.
Assuming 50 capsules in each packet of Lyprinol: 600 mg powder equivalent x 50 capsules = 30,000 mg powder equivalent per packet. There are 120 capsules of mussel powder in one bottle of Xtend-Life product (and of course 600 mg powder in each capsule), so 600 mg powder x 120 capsules = 72,000 mg mussel powder per bottle.
This calculation indicates that overall, you get over double the amount of mussel extract in one bottle of Xtend-Life product than in one packet of Lyprinol!
But what about price? Xtend-Life Green Lipped Mussel Powder costs around half as much as Lyprinol. This makes it a very cost effective yet powerful form of green lipped mussel extract indeed.
And, unlike most other formulas being sold, taking Xtend-Life Green Lipped Mussel Powder is the same as eating raw mussels from the freshest and most pristine location in the world. The secret is in the way it’s processed in a way completely unique to the industry. No heating or freezing, and it’s completed in just 30 minutes so that oxidization doesn’t have the chance to occur. This eliminates the need for chemical stabilizers.
Why not compare your brand of mussel extract today? Or see how popular brands shape up in this popular green lipped mussel brand comparison.
