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Cod Liver Oil - modern health essential

Cod liver oil is a unique food. We often think of it as a supplement because it is usually sold as a dosing liquid or increasingly in capsule form. The reality is it is an oil, just like olive, vegetable or coconut oil. It is only needed for good health in relatively small daily amounts. Rich in many nutrients, particularly vitamins A and D and the omega 3 fatty acids EPA and DHA, this simple oil if properly prepared and cared for can serve as an excellent support to good health and a natural diet.

Many of the cod liver oil brands on the market today have been manufactured to meet pharmacopeia standards of cleanliness and processing. This exposes this fragile oil to many harsh processes including:

  • deodourising
  • winterisation (type of filtration)
  • alkali refining
  • and bleaching

These steps cause a significant loss of the fat soluble vitamins A and D. This is why it is often found that the large scale manufactured cod liver oil has synthetic vitamins added back into the oil to cover this loss. Unfortunately it has been shown time and again that synthetic vitamins just do not have nearly as great an effect on health as the natural more complex vitamin forms found in nature. It is important to buy cod liver oil that has been cleaned and had only natural vitamins added back into the oil. These nutrients have been found to work most effectively when they are in balance one with another to the tune of one unit of vitamin D for every 5 units of vitamin A. Brands such as Green Pastures, Dr Ron's and Radiant life have taken great care to ensure their oils have this beneficial balance of nutrients.

Whilst vitamin D can be made when the skin is exposed to UV light in the northern latitudes and cool winters found here in the UK there are approximately 5 months of the year when we will simply not get enough UV exposure to synthsize sufficient amounts of vitamin D even if we sunbathed from 12-1pm when the sun is at its highest. During the summer months we can do quite well and get a reasonable amount of vitamin from the sunlight if we get outdoors for 20-30 minutes every day. The required amounts of vitamins A and D for growing children, older adults, pregnant and lactating women and those under stress or suffering illness will be much higher. Therefore it is advisable that most people take cod liver oil during the winter months and those that fall into any of the circumstances above take cod liver oil all year long.

Cod liver oil will help support your efforts to eat a natural diet the way that Mother Nature intended.


Recent Studies on Cod Liver Oil

The following are references to recent articles published since 2000 in the scientific literature showing the myriad benefits of cod liver oil. Because modern diets are usually deficient in vitamins A, D and omega 3 fatty acids,  we recommend a daily dose of high quality cod liver oil for both young and old.

Vitamin D Status: In Norway, three mølje meals (consisting of cod liver and fresh cod-liver oil) provided an amount of vitamin D equal to 54 times the recommended daily dose. Subjects with food consumption habits that included frequent mølje meals during the winter sustained satisfactory vitamin D levels in their blood, in spite of the long "vitamin D winter" (Public Health Nutr. 2004 Sep;7(6):783-9).

Vitamin D Status and Bone Loss: Inclusion of cod liver oil in the diet appears to attenuate the seasonal variation of vitamin D status in early postmenopausal women at northerly latitudes where quality of sunlight for production of vitamin D is diminished. Cod liver oil can thus protect against greater bone turnover, bone loss and obesity (Bone. 2008 May;42(5):996-1003).

Hip Fracture: Multivitamin or cod liver oil supplementation was associated with a significantly lower risk of any fracture. "We found no evidence to support any skeletal harm associated with increased serum indices of retinol exposure or modest retinol supplementation in this population" (J Bone Miner Res. 2005 Jun;20(6):913-20).


Breast Cancer: Reduced breast cancer risks were associated with increasing sun exposure and cod liver oil use from ages ten to nineteen. "We found strong evidence to support the hypothesis that vitamin D could help prevent breast cancer. However, our results suggest that exposure earlier in life, particularly during breast development, maybe most relevant" (Cancer Epidemiol Biomarkers Prev. 2007 Mar;16(3):422-9).

Depression: Regular use of cod liver oil is inversely associated, therefore decreases the rate of depressive symptoms in the general population (J Affect Disord. 2007 Aug;101(1-3):245-9).


Arthritis and Joint Stiffness

  • Pain and Joint Stiffness: Cod liver oil application allows reduction of the dose of nonsteroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAID), and improves chief clinical symptoms, reducing pain and morning joint stiffness (Klin Med Mosk 2005;83(10):51-7).
  • Pain in Rheumatoid Arthritis: Cod liver oil supplements were better than controls in relieving pain and can be used as NSAID-sparing agents in rheumatoid arthritis patients (Rheumatology (Oxford). 2008 May;47(5):665-9).
  • Rheumatoid Arthritis: Use of cod liver oil decreased occurrence of morning stiffness, swollen joints and pain intensity in patients suffering from rheumatoid arthritis (Adv Ther. 2002 Mar-Apr;19(2):101-7).

Diabetes and Circulation

  • Diabetes: Use of cod liver oil in the first year of life was associated with a significantly lower risk of type 1 diabetes. Use of other vitamin D supplements during the first year of life and maternal use of cod liver oil or other vitamin D supplements during pregnancy were not associated with lower risk of type 1 diabete (Am J Clin Nutr. 2003 Dec;78(6):1128-34).
  • Diabetes-Related Cardiovascular Disorders: Cod liver oil treatment in diabetic rats completely prevented endothelial deficiency and partly corrected several biochemical markers for cardiovascular disorders (J Pharm Pharmacol. 2007 Dec;59(12):1629-41)

Birth Weight, Breast Milk, and Children's Health

  • Higher Birth Weight: Women who used liquid cod liver oil in early pregnancy gave birth to heavier babies, even after adjusting for the length of gestation and other confounding factors. "Higher birth weight has been associated with a lower risk of diseases later in life and maternal cod liver oil intake might be one of the means for achieving higher birthweight" (BJOG. 2005 Apr;112(4):424-9).
  • Breast Milk: Women using cod liver oil had a significantly higher levels of docosahexaenoic acid (DHA) and eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) in their breast milk. "As this may have an impact on the health and development of breast-fed infants in later life, regular maternal cod liver oil intake could be relevant for the infant as well as for the nutritional adequacy of the maternal diet" (Ann Nutr Metab. 2006;50(3):270-6).
  • Fat-Soluble Vitamins in Breast Milk: Maternal use of cod liver oil resulted in higher levels of fat-soluble vitamins in breast milk, especially vitamins E and A. (Ann Nutr Metab. 2001;45(6):265-72).
  • Intelligence in Children: Children who were born to mothers who had taken cod liver oil during pregnancy and lactation scored higher on intelligence tests at age four compared with children whose mothers had taken corn oil (Pediatrics. 2003 Jan;111(1):e39-44).
  • Upper Respiratory Tract Infections in Children: Children supplemented with cod liver oil had a decrease in upper respiratory tract infections and pediatric visits over time (Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 2004 Nov;113(11):891-901).

To buy high quality cod liver oil please visit our online shop. Your comments in response to this blog are much appreciated.


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