Cod liver oil, fish oil and Omega 3

In my opinion, other than drinking more water and eating more fresh raw green vegetables, the most important addition to the diet to fight and prevent disease and live longer is fish oil. More specifically, fish oil in the summer months and cod liver oil in the winter months when we can't spend as much time outdoors.

People in the U.S. consume a dangerously inadequate amount of Omega-3, a fat which is essential to good health but is only found in fish oil and a few other foods. Meanwhile, our intake of Omega-6 fats, another fat found in soy, corn, sunflower and other oils, is much too high.

Experts looking at the dietary ratio of omega-6 to omega-3 fatty acids suggest that in early human history the ratio was about 1:1, however the typical American's ratio is around 20:1 to 50:1! Generally our diet contains far too much omega 6 fats. For most of us, this means greatly reducing the omega-6 fatty acids we consume and increasing the amount of omega-3 fatty acids.

I strongly recommend you avoid corn, sunflower, soy, safflower, canola, or products which contain these oils. This means no hydrogenated or partially hydrogenated fats, no margarine, no shortening, no vegetable oil. These oils are full of omega-6 fats and will only worsen your omega 6/omega 3 ratio. You want to emphasize high quality extra virgin olive oil, organic butter, coconut oil and avocados.

You don’t need to be concerned with the quantity of fat in your diet, rather you need to be concerned with the TYPE - and saturated fat is not the enemy. Saturated fats, found mostly in animal products like butter, cheese and fatty meats, are not as dangerous as you may believe. Saturated fats offer a number of health benefits and play many important roles in the body. Some vegetable oils (coconut and palm) also contain saturated fat. Coconut oil is a particularly healthy choice.

Trans-fatty acids, formed through a process called "hydrogenation", are found in processed foods and fried foods. Trans-fatty acids are much worse for you than saturated fats. Not only can they raise LDL (bad) cholesterol levels and lower HDL (good) cholesterol, but they have also been linked to heart disease.

Benefits of the omega-3 found in cod liver oil and fish oil

Omega 3 helps prevent and fight heart disease, cancer, depression, arthritis, Alzheimer's disease, ulcers, diabetes, hyperactivity and other diseases. Omega 3 increases your ability to concentrate as well as your energy level.

While a helpful form of Omega-3 can be found in flaxseed, walnuts and a few other foods, the most beneficial form of Omega-3 - containing 2 fatty acids, EPA and DHA which are essential in preventing and fighting both physical and mental illness - can be found only in fish. Unfortunately, however, I would advise you against consuming a lot of fish, whether naturally-caught or farm-raised, because fish of all varieties from any waters are now showing dangerously high levels of the highly toxic, tasteless metal, mercury.

I recommend the following addition to everyone's diet - children, seniors and everyone in between - cod liver oil and fish oil.

The main difference between fish oil and cod liver oil is that cod liver oil is high in vitamin D. The cod liver oil has the advantage of providing vitamin D, which is necessary for most of us in the United States in the cold months of winter, when we don't get very much sun exposure on our skin in order to make vitamin D.

Many people get confused about the difference between fish oil liquid and cod liver oil. You can consider cod liver oil as fish oil+. The 2 are the same except that cod liver oil contains natural vitamin D and A.

I would recommend limiting your fish consumption and I suggest you consider replacing it with cod liver oil. This is NOT the cod liver oil which typically comes to mind, from many decades ago. Most cod liver oil from the past was rancid and tasted terrible because it was improperly processed. It is now easy to find flavored cod liver oil and fish oil which have a much more pleasant taste.

An additional way to increase omega 3 fats in your diet would be to use freshly ground flax seeds (just use an inexpensive coffee grinder), but I would tend to favor cod liver oil and fish oil.

Cod liver oil, fish oil and heart disease

Several studies and trials in humans have shown a favorable effect of dietary cod liver oil and fish oil on various risk factors for cardiovascular disease.(1,2,3)

Supplementation of the diet with omega-3 fish oil and cod liver oil concentrates has shown the potential to reduce both the progression of cardiovascular disease and related mortality, including sudden cardiac death.(5,6)

Studies have shown (7) that the Greenland Inuit, when compared with the population of Denmark, has a significantly lower rate of death from acute myocardial infarction despite only small differences in blood cholesterol levels. So cholesterol is not everything.

The traditional high-fat Inuit diet provides several grams of omega-3 fatty acid (DHA and EPA) each day in the form of marine mammals (whale, seal), wildfowl (seabirds) and various fish.(7,8)

If you just listen to the 'experts', you would think that cholesterol is an evil substance and that most of us would benefit from lowering our cholesterol as low as possible. But it's not so. Cholesterol is a vitally important substance which is used for building our cell membranes and producing several of our hormones. If our cholesterol level drops too low, we are actually at increased risk for depression. (11)

Moreover, the higher fish intakes in the Japanese diet relative to that of the United States have been associated with considerably lower rates of heart attacks, other ischemic heart disease and atherosclerosis despite only moderately lower blood cholesterol levels in the Japanese.

A European study of the effect of dietary omega-3 fatty acids - such as cod liver oil and fish oil - on coronary atherosclerosis (measured with coronary angiography) in people with cardiovascular disease using a randomized, double-blind, placebo-controlled trial showed improved health from the omega 3.(9)

The study revealed that people with coronary artery disease given omega-3 (DHA and EPA) therapy (at levels of about 1.5 g/day) over a 2-year period had less progression and more regression of coronary disease, than did patients taking a placebo. Fewer cardiovascular events (fatal and non-fatal heart attacks, strokes) were noted in the omega-3 group. The omega-3 supplementation was considered safe and well tolerated.

Cod liver oil and depression

Research has found that people who suffer from depression who received a daily dose of 1 gram of an omega-3 fatty acid such as cod liver oil for 12 weeks experienced a decrease in their symptoms, such as anxiety, sadness and sleeping problems (10).

All the patients had already tried prescription drugs before enrolling in the study, including selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs) such as Zoloft, Paxil and Prozac, or drugs from an older family of drugs called tricyclic antidepressants, all of which are considered standard treatments for depression.

Previous studies have suggested that the balance of omega-3 fatty acids in the brain may be skewed in people with depression, and earlier studies have shown that cod liver oil and fish oil supplements can help alleviate the symptoms of depression and schizophrenia.

If you suffer from depression, I would also recommend you look into SAM-E which has been used for 20 years in Europe to treat depression and is very effective.

If the relationship between depression and omega 3 fatty acid interests you, I would highly recommend Dr. Stoll's book "The Omega-3 Connection". Dr. Stoll is a Harvard psychiatrist who has done a good job of compiling the evidence supporting the use of cod liver oil and fish oil to treat depression.

If you take your omega 3 in liquid form, as opposed to capsules, the dose for both the cod liver oil or fish oil liquid should be about 1-2 teaspoons per day. This is a good initial dose for most people but if you notice any belching, it is likely that your gallbladder is not digesting the oil properly and you may need to take a high potency enzyme with plenty of the fat digesting enzyme lipase.

Ideally, you would want to measure your vitamin D levels. Unfortunately very few doctors do this. But if you overdose on vitamin D you can actually cause hardening of your arteries and osteoporosis as it causes a reverse effect. In short, I would recommend you take cod liver oil during the winter months when our exposure to the sun is minimal, and fish oil during the summer months.

If you use beneficial products like cod liver oil without doing blood tests to check your vitamin D levels, you should keep the dose at 1 to 2 teaspoons per day to prevent overdosing or switch to plain fish oil (which contains no vitamin D).

Use 1 teaspoon per day for a child. When you give your child cod liver oil, you will also be supplying them with essential omega-3 fatty acids which will maximize their brain development.

Find out how to preserve your cod liver oil, what kind of supplement to look for, on page 2.

Cod liver oil, fish oil and Omega 3 - page 2

Code liver oil and its vitamin D for strong bone development

There are 2 major factors known to contribute to osteoporosis - peak bone mass during childhood and adolescence, and the rate of bone loss which occurs during aging.

Researchers found that hypovitaminosis D - deficiency in vitamin D - in adolescents has harmful effects on bone mineral growth, particularly at the lumbar spine, during a period of development when peak bone mass should be reached (1). They say that vitamin D supplements should be considered during the pre-puberty and puberty years which are a crucial stage in preventing osteoporosis later on in life.

Studies have found that intake of vitamin D from the diet is often not high enough to maintain optimal vitamin D levels during the winter months for many people(1). This points to the importance of making certain that your child gets enough vitamin D in the winter. If you live in the United States, you can be virtually certain that your child is not getting enough vitamin D from the sun in the winter months.

To solve this problem, you can give them cod liver oil as it has the type of vitamin D which can safely increase the vitamin D level to one that will help build strong bones in your child’s body.

Omega 3 helps prevent diabetes

3 months of daily supplementation with docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) - found in cod liver oil and plain fish oil - produced a 'clinically significant' improvement in insulin sensitivity in overweight study participants, according to nutrition researcher Dr. Yvonne Denkins, with the Pennington Biomedical Research Institute(2).

More than 9 out of 10 diabetics have the "type 2" form of the disease, in which the body's gradual failure to respond to insulin can cause blood sugar levels to rise to dangerous levels.

In the study, researchers had 12 overweight women and men, aged 40 to 70, consume Omega 3s at breakfast for 12 weeks. While none of the study participants had full-blown diabetes, they all suffered from insulin resistance - a pre-diabetic condition in which the body fails to efficiently respond to insulin.

Using blood tests done at the start and at the end of the study(3), the researchers measured changes in each person's insulin resistance.

They saw a change in insulin sensitivity after 12 weeks of Omega 3 supplementation. 70% of the study participants showed an improvement in insulin-related function, and in 50% it was a 'clinically significant' improvement.

I recommend a specific weight formula of one 180 /120 mg Omega 3 capsule for every 10 pounds of body weight. So for the average 150 pound person, 15 capsules a day is appropriate, preferably in 2 equal doses.

However, many diabetics are very heavy. So a 260 pound person would require 26 fish oil capsules a day. (Please note that this is for plain Omega 3 fish oil, not for cod liver oil, because of cod liver's oil vitamin D content! For the dosage for cod liver oil, see earlier in this page) It will also take some time for the fish oil to work. It is reasonable to expect a 3-month lag time to response.

Other studies have shown that fish oil might help protect against diabetes. There were epidemiological studies done on the Greenland Eskimos, a population which eats mainly whale blubber. These are people who are overweight, who should be diabetic and have heart disease, but they don't. The scientists who studied them thought it was probably because of their diet, and they found that it was the omega-3s.

Preserving your cod liver oil and fish oil

The cod liver oil does not have to be consumed with a spoon, it is far better tolerated if it is poured over vegetables, just as you would use olive oil as a salad dressing.

The key to remember here is that cod liver oil is very perishable and should not be cooked with or poured over hot food.

When you take cod liver oil or fish oil supplements in the doses I recommend please be sure to take 1 vitamin E 400 unit supplement per day as this will help to protect the fat from oxidation. This is less of an issue with the cod liver oil as the vitamin D itself is a very potent anti-oxidant.

Cod liver oil and fish oil processing

Most of the fish oil sold in the United States as dietary supplements come from Anchovies and Sardines caught off the coast of South America. Cod liver oil comes primarily from Nordic waters.

All cod liver oil and fish oil for dietary supplements is refined to a greater or lesser degree. Refining requires heat under vacuum, bleaching clays, deodorization (molecular distillation) and winterization. We cannot classify any of these processes as gentle or natural, however they are necessary in order to produce a safe and pure product for human consumption.

Molecular distillation is the only method currently which can remove metals, PCBs and other toxins to below detectable levels for human consumption. Cod liver oil and fish oil produced using molecular distillation is more expensive but it is a better product.

I spend a lot of time researching the best prices for supplements on the internet, and in my opinion the best prices for high quality cod liver oil are here. The best prices for high quality Omega 3 fish oil are here. You may also like Puritan Pride's special "Buy 1 Get 2 FREE" promotions on cod liver oil and fish oil.

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Cod Liver Oil: The Number One Superfood