***Please note that there have been some recent concerns about the below product. Please read more at this post, or click here to find out what were taking nowadays. Do some reading and research, and decide for yourself what is best for your family. Thank you.
This week I've been running around more than usual trying to get ready for company on Saturday and I got it in my head that I was going to sort out some rooms that have been bugging me (and that led to sorting out more rooms).  Plus we've been homeschooling and I've tried to keep up on my computer work, too, so obviously I haven't slept like I should.  So when I started feeling a sore throat and that tell-tale stiffness in my neck, I just knew I was coming down with something.  I figured the crud that already hit almost everyone else we know was finally knocking at our door…
As the night went on my throat and neck were hurting more, and then DUH, it hit me that I hadn't taken my cod liver oil in a while. Â I went to the kitchen and took a dose right away.
When I woke up the next day there was nothing.  No neck stiffness, no sore throat, nothing.
This has happened numerous times in our family.  Whenever the kids complain about anything at all, that's the first thing they get:  an extra dose of CLO.  (Along with a spoonful of this stuff
I know it sounds a little hokey, but because it has happened around here so many times I'm an absolute firm believer in the healing properties of cod liver oil and more specifically, most likely it's the power of the all natural vitamin D that it contains.  (Here's the cod liver oil that we buy.  And I've told you before about how I also use it as my All Natural Chill Pill!)
The other really good thing we've got going for us in our diets is the sheer amount of healthy fats we consume on a daily basis.  These are immune system builders, and they taste so good that it's just not difficult to get them down!  (Read more about healthy fats and which fats are best.)
As an example, dinner tonight was roasted asparagus with olive oil and melted ghee all over them with parmesan on top (adapted from this roasted cauliflower recipe), pork chops fried in bacon grease, and onions/potatoes fried in a lot of ghee and coconut oil.  (We also had these tasty fermented vegetables and raw milk, because as you probably know, it's good to have some raw foods in every meal; something we're not always very good about.)
So what they say about the powerful mixture of healthy fats from pastured animals (vitamin K2) and cod liver oil (vitamin D, vitamin A) is all true. Â Here's the cod liver oil that we buy.
Please share your stories of healing in the comments!
- Another post you may like: Â How We Dodge Antibiotic Bullets
- Here you can find all my cod liver oil posts in one spot
I’ve had the same experience twice this winter. You would think I would learn not to skip my CLO!
This past Friday, I was feeling achey and awful, like I was about to get a full blown case of the flu. And I had skipped the CLO a time or two that week. But after more bone broth than usual, a little extra Cinnamon Tingle CLO, and a good night’s sleep I felt great the next day.
I’m curious, does anyone take any of the CLO brands recommended by WAPF as ‘good’ but not ‘best’ ? We just cannot afford the Green Pastures. WAPF lists Swanson double strength Cod Liver Oil capsules, Carlson soft gel Cod Liver Oil Super 1,000 mg capsules, and NOW double strength Cod Liver Oil capsules, among others (here: http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/cod-liver-oil-basics). I would rather take those than none at all, with the hope that someday we’ll be able to afford the Green Pastures FCLO. 🙂 I do realize fermented is better than heat extracted, so I don’t need an explanation for that. I’m just wondering about people’s personal experiences.
Also my two cents… Even before we started taking CLO, I noticed that when I felt I was coming down with something and I would take several capsules of Carlson Vitamin D3 (2,000 IU each), I would quickly get over whatever was ailing me. So if even a ‘non-food’ supplement like this worked well, I imagine CLO is even more awesome and absorbs better.
Chia seeds, salba seeds and flax seeds all have omega 3. There are a few vegetarian supplements that have a blend of various omega 3 rich oils that you could try to mix into smoothies as well.
My kid doesn’t like eating fish so I give him chia seeds in his smoothies. He gets his naturally fatty acids like Omega 3, 6 also calcium and fiber.
hemp oil
Eating other livers a few times week, and work on healing the gut issues.
I would approach this with GAPS, and attempt to overcome the fish allergy through diet.
My son is allergic to fish also. Not anaphylactic allergic, but immediate hives and itching allergic. Sometimes kids aren’t allergic to the oils though. The fermented raw cod liver oil from green pasture is still pretty fishy so I’m scared to try it, but I have tried children’s dha by Nordic naturals and he doesn’t react at all. It’s certainly not as good as the other kind, but at least he gets some benefit. I’m not sure how allergic your child is though.
@ Linda Niskanen Zaicek – what browser are you using?
Same thing happened to me! My job is worse than day care in terms of being exposed to buggies doing the rounds because I work on a vitamin aisle of a health food store. Being a chapter leader I managed to convince them to pick up Green Pasture. Lucky thing because I always had it handy. And yes, every time I would get that fluey muscle ache at the back of my head, bam! One tsp of clo would get rid of it.
“Fluey muscle ache” – yep, you know exactly what I mean!
I do the same thing. Since I started taking a teaspoon of FCLO every day over three years ago, I haven’t had any kind of respiratory illness (colds or flu). A few weeks ago I felt a spot of irritation at the back of my throat in the afternoon at work. When I got home, I took and extra teaspoon of FCLO. The irritation went away by the next day and never turned into a cold. I used to get three to five colds every year of my life and I just turned 60. So, I consider it nothing short of miraculous 🙂
Hi Bryan
The way it works SO well ALL the time, really is miraculous! 🙂
Kel
Holly,
Do you care to share your recipe for homemade elderberry syrup?
Jill, I’ve got one!
https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2012/03/how-to-make-your-own-elderberry-syrup-for-a-natural-cold-and-flu-remedy.html
Kel
I totally believe it! It has happened to my family and I time and time again. We take the green pastures CLO/Butter oil blend in cinnamon tingle and all my kids love it, ages 4, 6, and 8yrs. When I’m feeling more than just a tickle in my throat, I also take my homemade elderberry syrup, a good brand of Vit C, colloidal silver and a mixture of honey/cinnamon. I feel great the next day!
I tried the orange and really gagged with this flavor! I was thinking maybe it was just this particular bottle, but I sure wouldn’t subject myself to this flavor again. It didn’t even have a hint of orange!! I didn’t like the chocolate either, but LOVE the cinnamon. Happy to hear the great results from this–it will help me get back to using it. I used to use the Carlson and loved the flavor, but found out it doesn’t have the same high quality that Green Pastures has.
Has anyone had success with the use of CLO and alleviating coughs?
just curious which flavour you prefer, and how you get kids to take it? So far we’ve used Carlson lemon flavoured, and they take it off the spoon and love the taste. So when I went to order the FCLO, I got the orange flavour, thinking it would be similar to the lemon they already love… well, big mistake. They actually cried taking it (they never cry, they might spit stuff out, but they never cry), so that was their first and last spoonful of FCLO so far (and I ended up filling capsules with the remainder because I couldn’t stand the taste, either) and we’re back to Carlson for them (better than nothing). Oh, and the kids are both out of diapers, there’s no way they’d let me put FCLO on their bums lol
Hi Monika,
Here’s my post on getting it down: https://kellythekitchenkop.com/2008/10/fermented-cod-liver-oil-series-part-2.html
We take the cinnamon, I could NOT do the orange. However, a friend of mine can *only* take the orange.
Kel
I absolutely agree! We haven’t been sick since taking our FCLO. Sometimes a bit rundown but just take an extra spoonful and hit the bone broth and it doesn’t hang around long. We got sick all the time (especially my husband) before we started taking it.
My tip for how I get it down, cause I’m a huge wuss. We take the butter blend in cinnamon tingle flavour. I scoop out 1/4 teaspoons onto a baking tray lined with parchment paper and then stick it in my freezer. Once I frozen I swallow two with juice (cold pressed apple, carrot and ginger, it needs to be strong!) and I don’t taste a thing!
I tried doing this with the chocolate flavour but the consistency was off and it just made a big mess. But cinnamon tingle works like a charm 🙂
Wow, I’ve never heard of this one, thanks for the idea for those who just can’t get the liquid down, but don’t want to spend the extra $ on the caps.
Kel
With the liquid you can squirt it into size 00 capsules too. Takes me about 45 minutes to do a full bottle. I just transfer them into the fridge every few minutes to make sure they do not leak.
The gel version I warm slightly and scrape it into a pastry bag with a small tip on it. Then into the capsules. These ones do not leak, so I can leave the jar in the cupboard.
What perfect timing for this. I had a very sore feeling throat last night and I was absolutely sure I was getting sick. However, I woke up this morning feeling great. I wasn’t sure why and it seemed too good to be true but, per this article, I believe that it must’ve been my Green Pastures Fermented Cod Liver Oil/ Butter Oil that I just started taking for the first time about a month ago. It’s great to recognize what a powerful healer this product can be. Thanks for helping me to make the connection.
Thanks for the reminder. We have “ick” going around our house so I’m going to give everyone an extra dose of FCLO right now 🙂
Margaret E. Hirsh might like this.
How and what is the best method to get my 16 month old to take it? I have been taking the Green Pasture CLO liquid plain. Need to get her taking it. Sugesstions?
I read on another website to just slather it on the baby’s bottom. It absorbs well and doesn’t really leave a smell. I did it when my granddaughter was here. She refuses most food so I knew she’d hold it against me forever if I tried to get CLO down here!
It taste like water!
Kelly, what dies the colloidal silver taste like? Bitter? Thanks!
The problem with green pastures CLO is that they charge shipping that is equivalent to 50% of the cost of the bottle!! That is ridiculous. I went to make a purchase but didn’t follow through because of shipping costs so high. Is there a way were we can get a free shipping coupon, or at least $5 shipping or something? I don’t see why companies charge so much for shipping. I offer FREE priority mail shipping anywhere in the U.S. on my products, but because of my volume I am able to do that for my customers.
Any recommendations or tips?
Buy it on Amazon if it is just you. But the best way to save a ton is to get a group of people together and buy in bulk. The price is so good that even with shipping it is cheaper than getting it anywhere else.
We order from http://www.drrons.com
Shipping is super low. We live in Alaska, and GP requires that we pay $35 for one bottle if we want to order from them. No way!
I order mine from http://www.perfectsupplements.com best shipping I’ve found and I’m ordering internationally!
CLO sounds great. Do you have any suggestions for a child with an allergy to fish? He isn’t allowed to have any fish or seafood of the sort. I am unsure how to get enough of some of the nutrients into him. He is three. He nursed til he was over 2 and had already had reactions to several fish and has tested allergic. We would like to keep that allergy from getting worse. I eat lots of fish and the rest of my family loves it, but he isn’t allowed to eat it. Any suggestions are welcome.
Thanks for a wonderful website. Going to have to make your mayo recipe soon too.
I’ll ask this on FB soon and I’ll bet we’ll get good advice, my readers are awesome!
Kel
Thanks! Looking forward to it. Will have to find some FCLO for the rest of us in the mean time. Thanks again.
Absolutely can not get on to The Village Green Marketplace- but I could find the product on the radiant life website.
Hey Kelly- every time I click on the link for the product it looks like I’m on the page, then the browser says the page couldn’t be found. I have to cut out everything after .com in the address and then manually search for the product. Don’t know if it’s only me-
Same thing happens with us. In fact, we haven’t been sick since taking our cod liver oil regularly!!
The “stuff” hit our home this year~which is very unusual. I was disappointed as we are taking FCLO from Green Pasture. Then I realized we would get over it in 24 hours while others in our neighborhood had it for a week!!! The best part of Green Pasture Cod Liver Oil? People think I am 10-15 younger than I really am!!! So, I look younger and feel great! What more could I ask for?
I am glad you are feeling good again. Now get some sleep.
I’ll try… Maybe after our company this weekend, LOL!
I believe it, Kelly! I take the FCLO/butter oil gel from Green Pasture. My new favorite is actually the chocolate; I can’t taste the clo at all. And to add to your healing story, I really angered my lower back this week, to the point of tears and inability to move. I sought treatment at the clinic here at school (oriental medincine was a huge help!) and I took 4 spoonfuls of my CLO instead of the 1 I normally take. The next day I was significantly better; I even went to work. I repeated 3 spoonfuls yesterday and this morning feel almost like nothing happened. There’s no doubt in my mind that the clo played a big role in helping with the inflammation and jump starting healing.
I love healing stories!
Hey Kel!
Nope, it doesn’t sound hokey at all! My family of three have been taking cod liver oil in capsule form since May 2011 and my DH and I have not been sick a day since then. Our “tween” has had sinus-y stuff and probably what would have turned into an ear infection, but didn’t. But no antibiotics or any sick doctor’s visits in almost 2 years. Yeah, I think something’s working.
BTW – we changed to the Green Pasture’s Blue Ice CLO a few months ago and we love it!!!
Thanks again for everything!
Colleen
You’re welcome, Colleen! 🙂
Kel
Hi Kelly,
I’ve been a little afraid to try the cod liver oil, because, gasp!, I don’t like fish. I am trying to learn to like it- with little success. Think I should try the capsules instead? I currently take fish oil capsules (minami) and don’t ever have issues with the flavor coming back up if you know what I mean.
Hi June, I do not like fish either. I started to take capsule form to see if it made a difference. I had been nursing for 4 months, me teeth were hurting while eating popcorn and I was having severe hip pain and hobbling for a few steps when I got up from sitting. I felt very old. I did not take the full amount recommended by the WAPF but 4 capsules made a tremendous difference. Within a week my teeth were better and in 3 weeks the pain in my hip was gone. I had not known the two were connected. A year later baby is still nursing very heavily, I am taking the full dose by liquid because I am a very firm believer in the power of FCLO/HVBO or FSLO by Green Pastures. The rest of the family has been very sick the last three weeks. The baby and I are the only 2 who have not gotten sick.
Thanks for the reply Sarah. I think I will be brave and give the liquid a try. I am fighting hip/leg pain like you did and hope it might help give me some relief. You never know. I work at a hospital and it seems like this winter has been nastier than normal sickness wise for a lot of people. Any help we can give our immune system “naturally” gets my vote!
I noticed in one of your links that the “kid tested” variety is emulsified CLO. What is the difference between this and the regular stuff? Why would you take emulsified vs the regular FCLO?
The emulsified is thick, like a paste and you would scoop it out with a spoon (it will need stirring upon arrival). The normal is generally the consistency of a liquid oil, though sometimes a little thicker, and you can use a medicine syringe (that’s included) for dosing/taking the oil.