Health Benefits of Seal Oil for humain and animals

Omega-3s reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease, improve circulation, reduce the risk of blood clots, and fight plaque build-up in arteries. Both Health Canada and the American Health Association have long recommended the consumption of omega-3 fatty acids by anyone at risk of cardiovascular disease.  All Omega-3s, however, are not created equal.

Part of seal oil’s superior cardiovascular health benefits is the presence of DPA, an essential Omega-3 not found in fish oil.
In a 2010 study, Mann et al.Mann, N. J., O’Connell, S. L., Baldwin, K. M., Singh, I., & Meyer, B. J. (2010). Effects of seal oil and tuna-fish oil on platelet parameters and plasma lipid levels in healthy subjects. Lipids, 45(8), 669-681. found that DPA, even the amount in a low-dose seal oil supplement, appeared to induce changes protective of cardiovascular health in healthy subjects. The researchers noted that seal oil appeared to increase HDL (“good”) cholesterol levels and decrease plasma triacylglycerol (a lipid associated with cardiovascular disease). While both fish oil and seal oil improved blood DHA levels; only seal oil also raised DPA and EPA levels.
In other words, seal oil seems to better promote healthy blood plasma lipid profiles than fish oil does, in turn reducing the risk of blood clots, among other benefits.

A better cholesterol balance

Watching your cholesterol levels? Seal oil can help promote a better cholesterol balance and help in the battle against high cholesterol.

Seal oil is natural higher in HDL or “good” cholesterol than in LDL or “bad” cholesterol —a more favourable balance even that you will find in fish oil. As Dubey et al. (2001) found, a seal-oil enriched diet led to lower plasma lipid and lipid peroxidation levels than a diet enriched with fish oil.Dubey, Pratibha et al. “Diets Enriched in Fish-Oil or Seal-Oil have Distinct Effects on Lipid Levels and Peroxidation in BioF1B Hamsters.” Nutrition and metabolic insights vol. 4 7-17. 23 Mar. 2011, doi:10.4137/NMI.S6728.

DPA—found in seal oil, but not in fish oil or plant-based sources of Omega-3s—is of particular benefit to the circulatory system. The consumption of seal oil, and specifically the DPA in seal oil, has been linked to the historically low levels of cholesterol and heart disease among Inuk populations.