Filling the Hole in your Diet: Cod Liver Oil

Filling the hole in your dietary fats can help with inflammation, depression and blood sugar problems.

Cod Liver Oil and Your Health

Scientists at Cardiff University (Wales, UK) have confirmed what thousands of people with arthritis have known for years. Cod Liver Oil really is effective in treating joint pain and can slow, even reverse, the destruction of joint cartilage.

http://www.hdlighthouse.org

In inflammatory conditions such as arthritis, the presence of unusual fatty acids, Omega or n-3 fatty acids, (that are uniquely present in fish oils but not other oils common in the diet) in the cartilage cells reduces the activity of specific enzymes that are responsible for cartilage damage.

The Cardiff University scientists have confirmed that these unusual fatty acids are incorporated into the lipid membranes and vesicles of cartilage cells. Their findings were published in the Journal of Biological Chemistry, on January 14.

Curtis CL, Hughes CE, Flannery CR, Little CB, Harwood JL, Caterson B. n-3 fatty acids specifically modulate catabolic factors involved in articular cartilage degradation. J Biol Chem 2000 Jan 14;275(2):721-4

MY EXPERIENCE

Since I have been using Cod Liver Oil (in combination with High Vitamin Butter Oil) in my practice, I have had a number of patients say that they experience often dramatic relief from joint pain. Yesterday a patient told me that he got almost immediate relief from the pain in an arthritic knee equivalent to a cortisone shot.

But it's not just about joints. Omega 3 Fatty acids, also protect the heart, protect the prostate, help with some kinds of diabetes, are effective in depression, help with skin and hair and seem to help the immune system. The list is longer if you add the effects of the fat soluble vitamin complexes and vitamin-like nutrients found in Cod Liver Oil and High Vitamin Butter Oil.

To my knowledge these products are available locally only at my office.

The reason they are so effective is that we are probably all deficient in this and a number of other fat soluble nutrients found only in animal products. This is because industrialized food -- and this includes even "health food" beef, chicken, milk, butter and farm raised fish -- are all deficient in these special oils. And because these fatty substances make up the membranes of every cell in your body.

BUT YUCK!! Doesn't it taste AWFUL??? In a word NO. Blue Ice Brand Cod Liver Oil is packed FRESH and kept fresh by rosemary oil. The plain flavor does have a mild fish taste. The mint flavor is quite pleasant.

But I'm already taking Flaxseed Oil for Omega 3 fatty acids.

Flaxseed contains only short chair omega 3 fatty acids. Only the long chain omega 3 fatty acids have all the health benefits. Theoretically your body can convert short chain to long chain but the actual conversion is only about 2%. Flaxseed oil does contain other valuable ingredients such as lignans but you need an animal source to get the right kind of Omega 3 fatty acids.

But I'm already taking Fish Oil capsules.

Fish oil does contain the right kind of Omega 3 fatty acids. Most people are not taking enough. There are several reasons I prefer cod liver oil and specifically Blue Ice Brand.

Cod liver oil also contains high amounts of vitamin A and vitamin D complexes. That is not just the isolated vitamins. For example vitamin A complex includes carotenes, caretenoids, luteins and many related and synergistic compounds besides just the single named vitamin. Current research shows that these vitamins are even more important than previously thought. The diets of traditional societies (our ancestors) typically contain 10 times the amounts of these vitamins and related compounds as industrialized diets.

Gelatin perles - the little clear pellets used to make pills out of these oils - are air permeable. The perles create a very large surface area in contact with the oils, which can allow them to oxidize, or become rancid, making them a source of free radicals (not good).

Most perles are stabilized with soy based vitamin E even though this is not listed on the label. This is a problem in general and is specifically a problem for people who have soy sensitivities, which is becoming a fairly large segment of the population. Many people are sensitive and don't know it.

But I eat lots of fish ...

Most fish in the markets, including "health stores," is farm raised. Usually you have to take the fish department's word on the source. There is significant variation in the amounts of omega 3 fatty acids in these fish and there are reports of significant problems with contamination, particularly with PCB, mercury and other toxins. Even so, it is difficult to eat enough fish to equal daily supplementation. Other sources are grass fed beef and chicken that are allowed to scratch and eat bugs -- both quite difficult to find consistently, but it is a possible alternative to supplementation. And we all know that many ocean grown fish are just as much a problem. Blue Ice Cod Liver Oil comes from arctic waters off Norway and is guaranteed to be free of these contaminating factors.

High Vitamin Butter Oil - X-Factor™ Gold

This High-Vitamin butter oil is extracted from dairy milk produced by cows that graze exclusively on irrigated grass of the Northern Great Plains. The combination of climate and irrigation produces a rapidly growing specialized forage ensuing optimal levels of Activator X. The natural grain-free way with which the cows are cared for, combined with the unique patent pending extraction process ensures this oil is rich in essential oils required for a healthy life. X-Factor is a fat soluble vitamin like factor that Dr. Weston Price identified in the butter of Cows grazing on vigorously growing healthy grass. He concentrated this fraction of the butter oils into a very high vitamin content product. High in vitamin A, D and X factor. When he gave only 1/2 teaspoon of this to children their cavities would reverse, IQs would increase and their bodies would grow and thrive again. He also did animal studies with this butter and found he could reversed osteoporosis. With X-Factor oil in the diet of rats he could get them to grow 3 times the size of siblings. With the X-Factor butter and cod liver oil, rats grew five times the size of their siblings. In short, mineral absorption is greatly enchanced when X-Factor butter is used in the diet and is recommended for everyone who wants stong teeth and bones or who wants to reverse bone loss.

Now, I'm not sure we want big rats, but I have personally seen significant changes in skin lesions, chronic digestive problems and subtler changes in mood and memory with this product. The combination of 1/2 teaspoon butter oil and 1/2 teaspoon cod liver oil seems to be particularly effective.

The butter oil contains a variety of ingredients which help explain its healing properties, including conjugated linoleic acids, steric acid, sphingolipids, butyric acid, and lauric and myristic acids. There is much more information on the specific health benefits of these ingredients at the Green Pastures site .

But Isn't All This Oil and Especially Butter Going to Clog My Arteries?

Omega 3 fatty acids are accepted in the medical community to protect against heart attack and arteriosclerosis. The larger answer is that much of the conventional information on fats, cholesterol and heart disease is based on wrong interpretation of studies. If you want the full story, read The Oiling of America by Mary Enig and Sally Fallon, available on the web by clicking on this link.

Why We Have a Hole in Our Diet

Modern "farming" methods, which are better called agricultural factory methods, have stripped essential nutrients from our diets. This was first noticed in the 1920's and 1930's by a visionary nutritionist, Dr. Weston A. Price. Dr. Price was a dentist who noticed a major generational change in young patients who had been raised on industrialized diet compared to parents, cousins and sometimes even siblings, raised on a more traditional diet. He theorized that the "something missing" included a variety of fat soluble essential factors, including some we recognize as vitamins (D, A and E), essential fatty acids, and some factors which have not yet been fully characterized. He traveled literally around the world, visiting 94 societies in which at least some of the people were still eating a traditional diet. He found that in every one of them there was a special food -- always a raw animal food -- which was highly prized and specifically fed to children and pregnant women. In Northern Europe this was either fish liver or eggs or the rich, dark yellow butter produced only in early spring and early fall from cows grazing on fast growing grass. He developed a centrifugal method of concentrating the vitamin rich parts of this butter and, along with cod liver oil, found that it worked wonders when fed to children, and adults, raised on industrialized foods. That's us, in case you didn't recognize yourself -- unless you grew up on a farm and your family raised grass fed animals.

“When Dr. Weston Price made his pioneering studies of primitive peoples around the world, he was struck by the fact that almost every group he visited ate a certain amount of their animal protein raw. The proportion of raw animal protein in the diet varied considerably. Among the Eskimo groups it verged on 100 percent; natives of the Polynesian islands consumed a good portion of the seafood they caught without cooking it; African tribes valued liver in its raw state (and blood) essential to good health and optimum growth and strength. Tribes whose eating habits were largely vegetarian nevertheless ingested raw animal protein in the form of grubs and insects. The principle source of raw animal protein for European communities was unpasteurized milk products."

--Sally Fallon, Nourishing Traditions

From the Blue Ice Cod Liver Oil Label.

This unique cod liver oil is produced in Norway to our exact specifications. The cod is seasonally fished and exclusively harvested from the icy blue Arctic Ocean to ensure a premium quality natural High-Vitamin Code Liver Oil.
As discovered by Dr. Weston Price, always take Cod Liver Oil in conjunction with High-Vitamin Butter Oil (X-Factor Gold) for maximum effectiveness. His research showed that the two created a synergistic effect, and worked like magic with his patients.

Amount Per Serving %DV
Vitamin A 5750 IU's 115%
Vitamin D 575 IU's 140%
EPA (Eicosapentaenoic Acid) 145-600 mg *
DHA (Docosahexaenoic Acid) 168-700 mg *
Total Omega 3 oils 480-1800 mg 115%
Vitamin A under 4 years 1/4 tsp 2875 IU's 115%

From the Activator-X High Vitamin Butter Oil Label

This High-Vitamin Butter Oil is extracted from dairy milk produced by cows that graze exclusively on irrigated grass of the Northern Great Plains. The combination of climate and irrigation produces a rapidly growing specialized forage ensuring optimal levels of Activator X. The natural grain-free way with which the cows are cared for, combined with the unique patent pending extraction process ensures this oil is rich in:

CLA Isomer 9-11 1.5 - 3%
Butyric acid 6-12%
Stearic acid 9 - 15%
Caproic acid 3 - 5%
Caprylic/capric acid 5 - 10%
Myristic acid 10 - 15%
Laruic acid 3 - 6%
Oleic acid 12 - 20%
Palmitic acid 20 - 30%
Wulzen Factor
Trace vitamins and minerals
Activator X

There is much more information available on this large and complex topic:

Weston A Price Foundation website: http: //www.westonaprice.org

Green Pastures website : http://208.154.155.183:8013/index.php

and see these books:

Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats
by Sally Fallon, Mary G. Enig PhD

Nutrition and Physical Degeneration
by Weston A. Price

The Cholesterol Myths : Exposing the Fallacy that Saturated Fat and Cholesterol Cause Heart Disease
by Uffe Ravenskov

Disclaimer: The entire contents of this website are based upon the opinions of Dr. Manlove, unless otherwise noted. The information on this website is not intended to replace a one-on-one relationship with a qualified health care professional and is not intended as medical advice. It is intended as a sharing of knowledge and information from the research and experience of Dr. Manlove. Dr. Manlove encourages you to make your own health care decisions based upon your research and in partnership with a qualified health care professional.

These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. Products discussed in these articles are not intended to diagnose, treat, cure or prevent any disease. If you are pregnant, nursing, taking medication, or have a medical condition, consult your physician before using any product.