The New Zealand green lipped mussel has been an extremely popular food source in New Zealand for ages already. It is a thriving industry which is worth nearly 300 million NZ dollars. Generally speaking, mussel farms yield approximately 10 tons of mussels per hectare. In terms of protein production, mussel farms are roughly 200 times more efficient than onshore livestock farms.
These days the mussels can of course be farmed in other countries but those farmed in New Zealand are considered to be superior in terms of quality. This is of course largely due to the water quality where they are farmed. The New Zealand government has some of the most stringent environmental laws and regulations in place, and water samples are taken regularly for independent analysis in order to check for traces of heavy metals, bacteria, and various other bio toxins.
Okay, we know that green lipped mussels from New Zealand are of the highest quality money can buy, but what makes this particular species of mussel so unique?
Green lipped mussels, when consumed fresh, are known to inhibit an inflammation-supporting pathway known as 5-lipoxygenase. For this reason, a number of dietary supplement manufacturers have started adding concentrated green lipped mussel extract to some of their products which are designed to combat ailments such as arthritis.
The big pharmaceutical companies are of course disputing the anti-inflammatory properties of these mussels, but as we all know, the large pharmaceutical companies dispute all natural remedies. They tried to convince the world that fish oil supplementation is useless, and yet today even the FDA recommends it.
The mussels are also a great source of lipids and omega-3 essential fatty acids. Many health conscious people have even switched from fish oil supplements to green lipped mussel supplements. While oily fish are a richer source of omega-3 fatty acids than mussels, many consider mussel extract to be a safer option. The reason for this being that only farmed mussels are used, and because of this, risk of heavy metal contamination has been eliminated.
Fish oil on the other hand is produced from fish which have been taken from the ocean, and of course it is a well known fact that heavy metal contamination in the world's oceans is getting steadily worse. Even the purest fish oil you can buy comes from fish that have at least some degree of contamination. This is why it is always wise to choose a supplier carefully.
In order to get a high quality extract, the New Zealand green lipped mussel must be freeze dried almost immediately after they have been harvested. They are then turned into powder in order to facilitate lipid extraction, and it this extract which you will find in a good supplement. Lower end manufacturers will however quite often purchase the powder which is left over after the lipid extraction process. This powder is of an inferior quality, but of course it is cheaper, and that equates to bigger profits. The moral of the story... think carefully before you buy.
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