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Kelly the Kitchen Kop

Which Cod Liver Oil Should You Take? (Now that the dust has settled…)

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Which Cod Liver Oil Should You Take

Short story:  this is the one I've been recommending lately.  Get a discount with the code KOP and free shipping over $99.

Longer story:

Most of you already know how important it is to include cod liver oil in our diet. We all need this superfood as it is one of the best sources of omega 3 fatty acids (EPA and DHA) and contains relatively high amounts of vitamin A and vitamin D — CLO boosts our immunity, works as an anti-inflammatory in our body, and improves our overall health! If you have any type of health concern, cod liver oil is an important supplement for you and also for anyone wishing to prevent future health issues. It protects against bone loss, cancer, depression, diabetic complications, heart disease, chronic pain, and so much more! (Source)  We are rarely sick around here, but when we are, we always take a little extra CLO to give our immune system an extra bump.  (Along with other superfoods like fermented vegetables and dairy kefir for the healthy probiotics, extra of these powerful probiotics, and of course, nourishing bone broth.  See my 10 tips for immune system boosting here.)

Why take it with butter or butter oil?

Dr. Price always gave cod liver oil along with high-vitamin butter oil, extracted by centrifuge from good quality spring or fall butter. He found that cod liver oil on its own was relatively ineffective but combined with high vitamin butter oil produced excellent results. The butter oil contains what he called Activator X, now considered to be vitamin K2, which works synergistically with vitamins A and D. Your diet should include sources of vitamin K, such as good quality butter from grass-fed cows and/or high-vitamin butter oil, fat from grass-fed animals, cheeses from grass-fed animals and duck or goose liver, along with cod liver oil. (Source)

cod swimmingIs just eating pastured butter enough?

In most cases I'd say yes, but if you have a health issue, you may want to get out the “big guns” and take your CLO with butter oil, so you're sure you're getting high amounts of vitamin K.

Recent confusion!!!

I know there's been a lot of confusion lately over which brands to take, so today I want to make your best options super clear…

Read below for information about three different kinds:

***Note that ALL 3 of these options below can be found in the Weston A. Price shopping guide “best” category — these are noted for the highest quality because they are unheated and therefore retain the most natural vitamins compared to other brands.  Here's the link to the testing info on these brands.  Also note that in the report, the brands are numbered, and in an email from Sally at the WAPF, she explained how they correlate:

1.  Nature's Answer
2.  Nordic Naturals
3.  Rosita (“unheated”)
4.  Nutra Pro (“steam extracted”)       Per an email from NutraPro January 2019, it is not steam extracted, instead they use “centrifugation and filtration techniques and no heating“.
5.  Green Pasture (“unheated FCLO”)

***If you want something more affordable and are okay with the “good”, but not “best” category in the WAPF shopping guide, try this brand, which is also available in capsules.  Or this brand in liquid.

Which Cod Liver Oil Should You Take?

CLO-page-Rosita-2

Rosita brand CLO is loved by many for its high quality and milder taste.  I've known the owners for years and trust them.  This post has some specifics on Rosita CLO.  (*Don't miss the discount below.) Here are the amounts of naturally occurring nutrients:

  • Naturally Occurring Vitamin D (73-195 IU/half-teaspoon.)
  • Naturally Occurring Vitamin A (1086-1481 IU/half-teaspoon.)
  • EPA (Approx. 222 mg/half-teaspoon)
  • DHA (Approx. 303 mg/half-teaspoon)

*10% off with the code: KOP

*Plus free shipping over $99.

CLO-page-FCLO-8

I told you all about the controversy over the safety of Green Pasture's fermented cod liver oil a while back (click that link for the whole story) because I strive to keep you updated on all sides of the issues. However, many still swear by the FCLO and as soon as they stop taking it, their symptoms come back! It's true that everyone is different, so if you love Green Pasture products, here's where to get them (including capsules if that's your preference):

  • Naturally Occurring Vitamin D (975 IU/half-teaspoon)
  • Naturally Occurring Vitamin A (4750 IU/half-teaspoon)
  • EPA (Approx. 375 mg/half-teaspoon)
  • DHA (Approx. 250 mg/half-teaspoon)

*10% off with the code: KOP

*Plus free shipping over $99.

CLO-page-NutraPro-2

This one has the mildest taste.  I might even say, believe it or not, that the lemon flavor is actually sort of pleasant — no gagging! (See updated info below about this brand.)

  • Naturally Occurring Vitamin D (250 IU/half teaspoon)
  • Naturally Occurring Vitamin A (2500 IU/half-teaspoon)
  • EPA (Approx. 350 mg/half-teaspoon)
  • DHA (Approx. 250 mg/half-teaspoon)

*10% off with the code: KOP

*Plus free shipping over $99.

UPDATE on the recent information about the owner of Nutra-Pro…

First, I'll share the official statement from the WAPF:

CONTROVERSY OVER NUTRA-PRO BRAND COD LIVER OIL

A controversy has arisen over the Nutra-Pro brand of cod liver oil, one of three brands of cod liver oil in our “Best” category in the shopping guide.

Nutra-Pro is described as “Virgin Cod Liver Oil,” which as best as we can determine, is steam extracted. This is an extraction at a lower temperature than most brands of cod liver oil, which are extracted through a process called molecular distillation. The other two brands in the Best category are not heated. The Blue Ice cod liver oil is extracted from the livers through fermentation and the Rosita brand (described as “Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil”) is released from the cod livers after a rapid change in temperature. All three brands contain natural vitamins A and D, with nothing added.

The Weston A. Price Foundation has conducted rancidity tests on all three brands. We found no signs of rancidity in the Blue Ice cod liver oil and very low signs of rancidity in the other two brands. The results of these tests were presented at Wise Traditions 2015 and also published in the Spring 2016 issue of Wise Traditions (https://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil/report-cod-liver-oil-2/) Oil #4 is the Nutra-Pro brand.

It was recently brought to our attention that the president of the Nutra-Pro distribution company has a criminal record as a sex offender in 2007. We need to make it clear that the Weston A. Price Foundation does not do background checks on the owners of the companies recommended in our Shopping Guide. We have over three thousand products listed there, and to research the backgrounds of the owners is beyond our budget and not part of our mission statement. We do our best to produce a guide containing products that conform to our guidelines, but cannot vouch for the overall accuracy of the guide or the background of the owners. Whether individuals wish to purchase the Nutra-Pro cod liver oil given this knowledge is their individual decision.

It turns out that the owner of Nutra-Pro is Tilak Dhiman, once a distinguished professor of dairy science at the University of Utah and an expert in lipid science. He is listed as an author of twenty-two papers on CLA, and the importance of grass-based feeding of dairy cows. In fact, he was an eloquent voice for a return to pasture-based feeding and was a speaker at Wise Traditions in 2006. So he is very qualified to assess the qualities of the cod liver oil that he distributes, and we have never had any complaints about the product.

The Weston A. Price Foundation does not have any financial interest in any of the companies listed in the Shopping Guide.

My thoughts:

Obviously, as a Mom especially, this is very disturbing, but as my Christian friend reminded me, “How do we know what has happened since then, maybe he has asked God for forgiveness and now he's just trying to run a decent company.”  And really, we can't know the details behind every-single-product we ever consume — but the more we can the better, and that's why I try, as much as possible, to have a relationship with those who grow, raise, or produce the food and supplements my family consumes, and to share what I've found with all of you.  Sometimes I turn to others who I trust to help me know more, but it's not a perfect system, as we all know, which is why I have always encouraged you to do your own research too, and not to blindly trust me or anyone.

I've emailed the owner, asking for some sort of statement, because I thought it was the right thing to do, and was waiting to hear back — I only just learned about this sad news recently.  If I hear anything I'll let you know.  In the meantime, all I can do is make you aware and let you decide.  Many love this brand because it's on the WAPF “best” list and their testing to support that can be found here.   Our family loved it because the lemon flavor was so surprisingly pleasant.  Will we order more when our stash is gone?  I don't know yet, I'm hoping to get a response and learn more from the owner.  Unless I do learn more, my gut tells me that knowing now about his past, I can't just assume he's turned his life around and that his product is trustworthy.

Note:  As I often remind you, I am not an expert, and you need to use my blog only as a tool in your own research.  

Whether it's the FCLO controversy I mention above or the Nutra-Pro one mentioned here, or really anything you'll read on my blog, my goal is to make you aware of what I know, so you can make the choice on what's best for you and your family.  See this post by Sandrine for a healthy viewpoint:  How do we decide what to nourish ourselves and our children with?

Vitamin Levels Updated

BTW, I've been working on updating the vitamin levels above based on the WAPF test reports.  Keep in mind that the Nutra-Pro brand was not tested for A & D levels, only the other two plus one more that I don't know anything about.

vit-ad

Sorry for the blurry words, that's all I could get.

If you have questions or anything you'd like to share with me, please email, as I've turned off comments on this post to eliminate unnecessary drama:  

[email protected]

The above links all go to Perfect Supplements

The folks at Perfect Supplements are my trusted friends, and they offer 10% off with the code KOP for my readers, PLUS get free shipping when you spend over $99.  This is an affiliate link, thank you for your support of this blog and my hours of research to bring you the best info I have available at the time!  (I will continue to update this post as there is new info, once I research it that is, and this often takes a lot of time.)

More posts you may be interested in:Kent & Kelly BP

Easy Apple Pie Recipe

cod photo

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Comments

  4. Hi, Kelly,

    It’s me again… just another thing I noticed that I wanted to bring to your attention… there is a very big error in your blog post.

    You said in your post that FCLO contains:

    Vitamin D3 (975 IU/2.5 ml — about half a teaspoon.)
    Naturally Occurring Vitamin A (4650 IU/2.5 ml.)
    EPA (Approx. 300 mg/2 ml.)
    DHA (Approx. 180 mg/2 ml.)

    Since you are using 1/2 teaspoon, that translates to 1,950 IU/tsp of Vitamin D3 and 9,300 IU/tsp of Vitamin A per teaspoon.

    However, the Weston A Price Foundation tested FCLO for the first time last fall and published their independent test results. The vitamin D3 was about 95% lower than previously thought (and the vitamin A was about 60% lower). WAPF independent testing found that FCLO contains 59 IU/tsp of Vitamin D3 and 3,125 IU/tsp of Vitamin A.

    Why didn’t you report on that? Aren’t you the Kitchen Kop after all? Busting nutritional myths? 🙂

    Hopefully you can find the time to address this soon, since so many people are relying on you for accurate information.

    For all of the info, please see Jaclyn Harwell’s excellent recent post: https://www.thefamilythathealstogether.com/weston-price-foundation-vindicated-kaayla-daniel-fermented-cod-liver-oil-controversy/

    Excerpt:

    “Back in 2009, Green Pasture reported the vitamin content of their fermented cod liver oil was as follows: 9,500 IU vitamin A/ tsp and 1,950 IU vitamin D/ tsp. More recent testing has shown these numbers may be grossly inflated. These numbers are more than double the vitamin A and triple the vitamin D levels found in raw, extra virgin cod liver oil, another top-rated cod liver oil promoted by WAPF, which contains 3,500 to 4,500 IU/tsp of vitamin A and 350 to 450 IU/tsp of vitamin D.

    Even if the fermentation process somehow increases the vitamin levels in fermented cod liver oil, research points to a lack of bioavailable vitamins in appropriate ratios.

    In November of 2015, WAPF finally tested fermented cod liver oil. They used two different labs, Covance and UBE Labs. The Covance test results were in the same ball park as Dr. Daniel’s test results (only lower). According to Covance, fermented cod liver oil contained 3,125 IU/teaspoon of vitamin A and only 59 IU/teaspoon of vitamin D3. (source)

    This figure is nowhere near the vitamin D2 value shown by UBE, which fits with Green Pasture’s original claim of a range of 1,500-5,000 IU/tsp.”

    • Hey everyone, I’m going to add some info to my post regarding the recent comments here (sometime today, as I have time between school stuff with the kids!) and then turn off comments on this post. If anyone has anything else they’d like to share let me know, or feel free to contact me for any reason: [email protected].
      Thanks!
      Kelly

  5. Thanks, Kelly, just curious if you will continue to promote NutraPro International in light of the fact that the owner is apparently a registered sex offender?

    Also curious if you will bring this up with Sally Fallon, Sarah Pope, and the rest of the WAPF board since I noticed you will be speaking at the WAPF conference this fall. NutraPro is listed in the “Best” category for CLO on the WAPF website. I’ve emailed Sally Fallon Morell to ask her what she knows about the arrest and if she has a statement.

    Perhaps you’d also like to write a post about this? I was alarmed to find out that the owner of the company apparently friended me on Facebook using a fake account. You might want to check your friends list and see if he added you.

    (I reposted this same comment on your Facebook page to make sure you see it)

    • Yep, I’ve seen all the places that you have contacted me, commented, and posted on my FB page. As I mentioned before, I’m looking into it. Thanks for bringing it to my attention!

      Kelly

      • Thanks, Kelly… you’re the first person I’ve contacted who has replied. I’ll be waiting for your response.

  7. I noticed the Ferrated Liver Concentrate – that’d be death in a bottle for any person with haemochromatosis (which was called Bronze Diabetes in those days). Weird what was considered ‘medicine’ in those days (and not so much better these days, by all accounts.)

  8. Hi –
    I think I’m going to purchase the lemon Nutrapro that you take – but what about the high vitamin butter oil to make it more effective? Do you take that, also? Neither Nutrapro nor Rosita seem to combine the two. Strange! It is very expensive to purchase that separately from Nutrapro, but I guess it would last a long time. How nice that Green Pastures combined both elements, and put it in a capsule!! Too bad I’m not sure about taking that brand any longer.

    Thanks!

    Amy

    • Hi Amy,

      No we don’t take the butter oil but that’s mainly because we don’t have any health issues to correct (thankfully!) AND because we already eat a LOT of pastured butter around here. 🙂

      Hope that helps!

      Kelly

      • Wow, thanks, that was fast! Yep, I too eat tons of pastured butter so I could take a big spoon of that with the clo I suppose!

  11. I know how important it is to take this during pregnancy, but I just can’t keep it down. Even the capsules are hard to take. Any ideas/suggestions?

  12. I’m a total wimp and barf with the oils…im sticking with the gelcaps! My tummy does better with them too! I know it’s not as good…but, carlsons or Genestra/Seroyal are our go to.

  24. Love the comparison between the oils, just wished you had some pricing among it. Did I miss it ? Thanks Carri

  25. I have three unopened jars of Green Pastures brand…I haven’t been taking it due to the controversy and never followed up with it. Thanks for the other options as well!

    • Amanda – your post has me somewhat confused. Can you please clarify. I understand the independent testing part but the ” the accuser launched their own line of products just a couple of months after they slandered their employer”? I do not understand. I thought all the controversy was the result of Kayla Daniels report, and have heard nothing of a new line of fermented cod liver oil. Thank you.

  26. If you’re on green pastures mailing list they have sent out several (3 or 4?) emails recently about testing they have done and what the results were. For my part I am comfortable with fclo still and notice a reduction in certain symptoms when I take it, and regression when I don’t. I have also taken the rosita and don’t care for the taste. We prefer the cinnamon fclo/bo, my kids included.

  27. Oh my goodness. I hadn’t heard this. I have a pain in my chest that appears when I don’t take my FCLO regularly (I’ve never tried a non-fermented kind), but the last batch I got from Green Pastures makes me nauseous every time I take it. I thought it was me, but maybe it’s not…

    • The reports showed that the accusations against green pastures were just that accusations. Independent test results showed nothing wrong with their products. Interesting enough the accuser launched their own line of products just a couple of months after they slandered their employer.

  30. This is concerning : – ( To my knowledge nothing has changed in this FCLO debate? Has some new information come out confirming it’s safety? Please if I’ve missed it, please post it. I thought I was pretty current on what’s going on but now have doubts. I still have a very large container I have still not touched. We still, as I understand this, are in a position of he says she says and are waiting for a conclusion? Appreciate your update (whatever it might be) Thanks.

    • Rose, many of the latest findings on the FCLO issue are in the post I linked to above. The thing is, some have not had good results when taking it, but others won’t give it up because it has helped them so much. I chalk this up to the fact that *everyone is different*, and that’s why I kept it as an option. As mentioned in the post, though, we take a different brand now.
      Kelly

  31. Interesting that you mention the lemon. Green pastures used to have an herb blend that my kids all liked..cod liver oil goes better with a little oregano! They discontinued that but kept the chocolate…sorry, but eww…chocolate cod is just gross! LOL..
    My kids do great on Green Pastures, and we’ve had it tested for them with no issues at all so we’re one of those families still doing well. I may try the lemon for my one that can have lemon.
    Is it real lemon or a flavoring with other ingredients?

    • Tina, it says on the label for ingredients: “Virgin cod liver oil mildly flavored with cold pressed lemon oil.”
      Kel

  32. Especially with the most recent testing in mind, I’m still most comfortable with FCLO. It’s also now the most affordable option on the “best” list, and it has helped me heal my teeth. The stuff works. 🙂

  33. I didn’t realize the dust had settled on FCLO? If I missed something can you direct me to it. But,thank you for the options.

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