COD LIVER OIL SERIES
First, some cod liver oil updates:
- Important update!
- Info on possible vitamin toxicity from Chris Masterjohn & Sally Fallon.
- Be sure to read about FERMENTED COD LIVER OIL. The fermented is nutritionally much much more power-packed!
Part 1 – Cod liver oil: do we really need to take it?
Part 2 – Cod liver oil: tips for getting it down
(Or see the complete index of posts about CLO)
This is Part 3 – What to buy & where to buy it
There really is a difference between the various brands of cod liver oil, some are a much higher quality than others. Besides the differences in manufacturing methods, there are also differences in the amounts and types (synthetic or natural) of vitamin A & D. See part 1 for more detailed information or see below under “related sites”.
HOW MUCH COD LIVER OIL SHOULD I TAKE?
Information on the correct amount of cod liver oil needed daily for adults, children, and pregnant or nursing moms (or just read the amounts on the bottle when you get it!)
***Read this to find out if you should limit the amount of cod liver oil you take
Be sure to see part 1 for answers to questions on possible toxicity.
Read the other parts of the series below to find out more…
- Part 1: Cod liver oil: do we really need to take it?
- Part 2: Cod liver oil: tips for getting it down yourself or getting kids to take it
- Are supplements necessary?
- Where is the truth on health and nutrition?
- Meatless/Vegetarian/Lenten meal ideas
- Read about where exactly cod liver oil comes from and why some brands are much superior to others.
- Information on the correct amount of cod liver oil needed daily for adults, children, and pregnant or nursing moms.
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{ 21 comments… read them below or add one }
Jennifer C 01.17.08 at 4:58 pm
hey kelly!! I bought some cod liver oil at meijer…I am not a good pill taker so I didn’t want to spend much until I knew if I would really make myself take it. Do you think this was a good move or should I have bought a better brand? The brand i got is called Natures Bounty. One more question, do you have to use whole milk in the pancake batter? Does the whole milk do something that the lowfat milk can’t?
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Kelly 01.17.08 at 6:58 pm
Hi Jennifer,
Thanks for the comment, and I hope to see you at Frenz Tuesday! To answer your first question, I hope you didn’t open the pills from Meijer yet. Most likely they don’t have the vitamin A & vitamin D content that better quality cod liver oils have, and if they do, it’s probably the synthetic kind. Sometimes the differences in brands don’t matter, but with this there is a BIG difference. It’s not that the other pills would cause any harm, but it’s just no where near as beneficial, when for a little more $ you could be getting what is truly a powerful part of good health. Regarding your 2nd question about whole milk… You could use lower fat milk, but I don’t recommend it, not for anything! I know this is a tough thing for many people, when for years we’ve been told that low-fat is good, but it really isn’t! I’ll be getting a post out about this soon, and I can explain more when I see you, but for now, try to get away from all low-fat foods.
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Sue E. 02.11.08 at 7:06 am
Kelly, and any other interested party:
We were out of our Carlson cod liver capsules, so we ordered from iHerb.com and I wanted to tell you a price change. It was only $12.32 per 250 capsule bottle! I ordered 3, and then there was a flat rate of $4.00 UPS ground shipping. Wow, did we save a bunch of money! Thanks for the info!
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David W. 01.26.09 at 11:59 pm
Really enjoyed your blog on CLO. Was at the Green Pastures website and noticed they have a raw fermented CLO that’s $39 ($10 cheaper than the fermented CLO). What are your thoughts on it? I’m not into just eating raw food but I’m into saving $10 if the two products are the same otherwise.
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Kelly 01.27.09 at 6:51 pm
David, good question. I sent Gr.Pastures an email about this and I’ll let you know when I hear.
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Tammy 02.09.09 at 5:05 pm
Hi. My 4 yr old granddaughter has chronic constipation. She has seen a pediatric gastoenterologist for this condition and he put her on Miralax. She has been taken this daily for the past year and a half. I don’t agree. Upon talking with a friend, they suggested that I use cod liver oil. I picked up a bottle of capsules from Walmart that include Vitamin A & D. The brand is Spring Valley. Is this a good brand or do you have any other suggestions or remedies? Thanks
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Kelly 02.09.09 at 9:11 pm
David, I thought for sure I posted the response from Green Pastures about the raw CLO, but now I don’t see it here…his response was short and sweet, “no anti-oxidant and fewer nutrients tests and this is the way I priced it.” I’ll probably stick with the fermented CLO.
Tammy, I would suggest the Green Pastures fermented CLO – there are capsules if she’ll take those better. Even more I’d suggest her parents look into the GAPS diet! http://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/09/autism-add-adhd-constipation-candida.html
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Francesco 03.08.09 at 12:58 pm
Hey Kelly,
About 3 weeks ago I bought the blue ice cod liver oil here in Holland. Each time immediately after I used it I felt very tired, a little depressed, cold, and my hair got very thin and dry after a week. Also I had a little pain in my knee and some of my joints were ‘clicking’ alot. So basically cod liver oil gave me the opposite effects as what it should give, very strange dont you think? I tried taking it together with butter, taking a very small dose but nothing really helped. Im a 22 year old male, and as far as I know I dont have any medical problems.
I was wondering if you maybe heard about this effect before, or maybe you have a clue about what could be the cause?
I hope you want to respond to this, thanks !
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Kelly 03.08.09 at 5:20 pm
Hi Francesco,
No, I’ve never heard of that, but by all means, if you have that reaction, please stop taking it! You may want to contact GreenPasture.org and see if they’ve heard of this before…?
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anna block 01.20.10 at 8:57 am
Hi Kelley,
Just getting into your site and love it. I’m here in GR and have been using the generic ( Harvest Health) brand CLO. Because of very limited budget, I buy that instead of more expensive name brands. Do you think it is of good quality and provides the nutritional benefits? Thanks
Anna
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KitchenKop 01.20.10 at 1:29 pm
Hi Anna,
I doubt that it’s *harmful* or anything, but it certainly isn’t packing the nutritional super-punch that the fermented CLO does. Plus if you take the liquid, you only need a small amount and the bottle lasts a while. There are just SO many more nutrients in the FCLO than in an over-the-counter brand. It’s one of those things that is a non-negotiable here, then the rest of the budget gets figured out after that.
Kelly
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olivia 01.21.10 at 8:35 am
Hi, Your page on brands of cod liver oil does not seem to work. Currently I have seven Seas brand. Is this a good one? How can I know from the package if the vitamins are synthetic or not? Thanks.
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KitchenKop 01.21.10 at 9:04 am
Can you give a link so I know what page you mean? (Thank you!)
Here is where to find the only kind I recommend (it’s all natural and has TONS more of the good stuff than any other brand so you’ll get more bang for your buck for sure): http://kellythekitchenkop.com/resources#supplements
Kelly
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olivia 01.21.10 at 10:04 am
Thank you for the new link but I couldn’t find any information on cod liver oil.
This is the first link I tried that does not work: “Read about where exactly cod liver oil comes from and why some brands are much superior to others” at http://www.westonaprice.org/modernfood/codliver-manufacture.html
It says: 403 – Forbidden Error
In fact all the links I’ve tried of http://www.westonaprice.org don’t work/
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KitchenKop 01.21.10 at 1:41 pm
Olivia, OK, I’ll fix that link (thanks for telling me!) – the WAP site just switched to their new format and are still working out the bugs.
At this link if you scroll down there’s all SORTS of info on CLO:
http://www.westonaprice.org/Cod-Liver-Oil/
The site is working for me now, hopefully it will work for you, too. If not, can you try another browser? (I use Firefox, but have IE here in case I ever need to try a different one.)
Kelly
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olivia 01.22.10 at 10:41 am
Thanks Kelly. That website still doesn’t work for me. I tried it on 3 different browsers. I guess I’ll try it again in the future.
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Sara 01.30.10 at 1:54 pm
Hey Kelly,
I just ordered BLUE ICE Royal Butter Oil/Fermented Cod Liver Oil Blend Flavor/Antioxidant Free (gel) and am wondering if I should continue to take coconut oil capsules? What are your thoughts? I also take a daily vitamin, drink raw-grass fed milk and eat pastured meats.
Thanks for all your hard work!
Sara
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KitchenKop Reply:
January 31st, 2010 at 12:53 pm
Did you hear somewhere that you shouldn’t take them together? I’ve never heard that so I’m just curious.
Kelly
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Sara 01.31.10 at 1:22 pm
No, I did not. I am just wondering with the butter oil in the mix if I need to continue taking a ‘good fat’ supplement?
Sara
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KitchenKop 01.31.10 at 1:34 pm
If you’re already in the habit of taking the coc. oil, I’d probably keep taking it if I were you because it has some good stuff in it that the butter oil doesn’t have, and vice versa. They’re both good!
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laurie 02.16.10 at 9:41 pm
Hi Kelly: Great site! I recently bought the gummy fish for my kids at greenpasture but they are proving too “spicy” for them to eat. I am trying to get some of the orange flavored oil in their foods and tonight was successful putting it in rice. My questions are these:
1) How do I assure they have the right about amount of calcium in their diet to off set the leaching of vitamin d from their bones?
2) How much is enough and not too much fermented clo for my kids, 2.5 and 7.5 assuming we are taking this daily or should they take it weekly? I asked green pasture but they can’t seem to respond with a direct answer to me regarding this.
Also, (I guess I have another question!:))) How much is enough clo for myself and husband? Assuming we are taking this daily.
Thanks so much for this very informative site! I am bookmarking now!
Best,
laurie
Mom
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KitchenKop 02.16.10 at 10:30 pm
Laurie,
For #1 I also wish there was a way to check this. I do think, though, that if you’re eating calcium-rich foods and not eating a lot of unsoaked grains (phytic-acid binds with minerals) then you’ll be fine based on Weston Price’s research.
For #2 I’d suggest you and your kids get tested to be sure. I’m going to do this soon. Ann Marie is posting more info soon on how to do that. (Cheeseslave.com)
Our kids take about 1/4 t/day, but it’s just on a spoon and not exact. Kids who don’t like the oil take 1 pill, and our teen takes 2 or 3, depending on how consistent we’ve been. Kent (husband) takes 2 or 3/day also, depending on if we remembered the day before. I take almost a syringe full every time I remember to, which is very sporadic!
Kelly
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