I want to add fish oil to my diet for Omega-3s, but the only liquid fish oil I can find is mint flavored cod liver oil. I know salmon is the best, but is cod any good? I don’t really want to get caps because I think you get way more for what you pay for it in liquid form.
In general, a moderate consumption of cod liver oil can be an ok source of EPA/DHA. You do have to keep in mind that cod liver oil is very high in vitamin A and with vitamin A being a fat soluble vitamin, it sticks around for a long time. Continued high intakes of cod liver oil could lead to vitamin A toxicity although I’m probably being overly cautious, it can’t hurt to be on the safe side. How about alternating cod liver oil with fish oil caps on a day to day basis. It will save money and limit vitamin A intake.
So, do you think maybe one tablespoon a day, or one every other day would be all right, or can I go with even more? I take a multivitamin too.
I’d be pretty careful about Cod Liver Oil. It’s not ‘really’ the fish oil that everyone means. They mean Salmon Oil. As Jason said, you have to be worried about toxicity.
Honestly, I don’t know. I know someone did the calcs on vit A toxicity based on a typical dosing, but I don’t remember the post. So, you need to look up vit A toxicity, then figure out how much vit A is in cod liver oil and then stay well shy away from going near that amount. Remember that vit A takes a while to clear the system, so it is a cumulative effect. If you look up the numbers, I’ll help you out with figuring an ideal dosage. In general, I just avoid this problem and use regular fish oil rather than cod liver oil.
Does anyone know anyone or ever heard about anyone that had problems directly linked to cod liver oil use? Just curious. I’ve been using it for around one year with no problems at all. I do cut back on it during summer time though. I don’t think taking up to one tablespoon a day will give you any trouble at all.
I’ve done the research on Vitamin A toxicity. 2 tbsp. cod liver oil per day will give you less than half of what’s toxic.
I rarely find myself in disagreement with Jason, but I have to say that in this case I think he’s being overly cautious. Doctors used to prescribe cod liver oil for a whole slew of ailments and there was no problem with people keeling over from Vitamin A toxicity. I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you.
As for prefering liquids to caps because of cost/value, check out ourhealthcoop.com. They sell caps, but you can’t beat their prices as far as I know.
I’ve posted this before, so bear with me if you’ve heard it already. Vitamin A is toxic to a healthy 200lb man at around 300,000 to 330,000 iu per day. Doctors don’t recommend exceeding 30,000 iu of vitamin A per day without medical supervision, however, if your cholesterol levels and liver function are normal, this will not usually be a problem for an adult male. Cod liver oil is approximately 17% EFAs (about 10% EPA and 7% DHA) or 1.5g per 9mls. CLO has approximately 1200 iu of vitamin A per 9mls. So in order to get 6 grams of EFAs from cod liver oil you would need to consume about 36 mls per day. Which would yield only 4,800 iu of vitamin A per day - well below the limit for medical supervision. Besides, you can see vitamin A toxicity (hypervitaminosis A) coming a mile away - dry lips, dry skin, bleeding noses, dry eyes, and visual distortions.
Alright guys, I guess I was speaking too loud on an issue that I did not have all the details on. Anyway, thanks for the stats. It’s nice to see some numbers rather than just talk theory.
Hey, thanks for all the replies. I don’t know which course I’m going to take yet, but I’ll sure check out those online fish caps. Does anyone know where I could order liquid salmon oil?