Green Lipped Mussel Extract Supplements – Are You Taking The Right Type?

Green lipped mussel extract has been increasing in demand because the mussels are known for providing many important health benefits because of the nutrients that make it up. In fact, this profile is so diverse and nutritionally beneficial that it viewed as one of the most complete whole foods that are known.

This became ‘discovered’ from studies that were done on the health of the Maoris. These were people indigenous to New Zealand, where these mussels are found, and who ate them raw daily as one of the basic foods in their diets.

Besides having very good general health, it was specifically noted that these people didn’t have the joint problems and arthritis that would be expected from working outside to old ages, in what could be a damp and harsh climate.

And the reason for this? The green lipped mussel nutrients had powerful anti-inflammatory properties, along with different compounds that are used in our bodies for caring for our joints.

But in order for us to get these same benefits, we also need to eat these mussels fresh and raw. Once they have been frozen or cooked, there is a degrading of the nutrients and the benefits that they can provide – so we need to get green lipped mussel extract supplements.

The Supplement Benefits Depend On The Type Of Extract Used In Processing

To get the maximum benefits from your green lipped mussel supplements, the right type of extract must have been used for making them. This is because the type of extract determines whether the supplement will retain the nutrients of the raw mussels.

There are two types of green lipped mussel extract: (1) mussel oil (2) mussel powder AND you only want supplements that have been made from the mussel powder - because the mussel oil supplements can’t provide the same benefits.

This is all related to what happens during the extraction process, and the retention of the same nutrient profile as the raw mussel after production. The mussel powder retains these nutrients [if they were properly processed – see below], and the mussel oil doesn’t.

Nutrient Extracting Process

When the nutrients are extracted from the mussels, the powder is extracted from the mussel, but the oil is actually extracted from the powder. It is this process of ‘extracting from extract’ that causes the mussel oil to lose nutrients, and to no longer be a whole food.

To look at this closer, the mussel oil extract is only 8-10 percent of the mussel powder. Even if all the nutrients were still available, you would still need 10-12.5 times more mussel oil to have the same quantity as what you would get from the mussel powder extract.

So, this is why I have said that you only want green lipped mussel powder extract supplements – you get the whole food nutrient profile of the raw mussel, and you get a far greater concentration of the nutrients.

How The Extract Is Processed Makes A Big Difference

You know you want your supplements made from the mussel powder extract, but the type of extract isn’t enough – how it is processed will ultimately determine how beneficial your supplements are.

Before buying supplements – here is what you want to be sure you are getting:

• Mussel powder
• That has been extracted from fresh mussels that are alive at the time of production• That are never frozen or cooked with high heat during processing
• And that are made in a minimum of time – like in 30 minutes –vs- the days that some manufactures take.

It is only then, that you can be confident that your green lipped mussels extract supplements have been made with the best extract, and that the nutrients from that extract have been properly processed.