Cod liver oil is beneficial  as a dietary supplement for many reasons:

• It promotes heart health and normal cholesterol balance
• Supports immune system health, mood, memory, joint health, blood sugar health and helps to relieve stress
• Helps to increase energy level and promote cognitive function
• Provides immune system support
• Aids in regulating cell growth
• Supports a strong skeletal system
• Supports a healthy inflammatory response

Cod liver oil is able to provide all of these great health benefits because it contains Omega 3 oils.  Omega 3 fatty acids also contain DHA (Docosahexaenoic acid), EPA (Eicosapentaenoic acid) and ALA (Alpha-Linolenic Acid).  All are important and therefore when purchasing Cod Liver oil make sure what you are purchasing contains all of the above.

Essential fatty acids are essential to your health and one important item to understand is that your body does not make them on its own and therefore supplementation is recommended.  There are many brands on the market and  each distributor manufactures  fish oil differently, some better than others.  Therefore, when purchasing brands you should look for the following:

• Make sure your brand is free of mercury, PCBs and other contaminants.
• Confirm low oxidation levels in the fish or cod liver oil.
• Check that your fish or cod liver oil contains vitamin E.
• The taste test – lemon flavoring adds a fresh taste.

Fish oil is very safe to take however contraindications are below:

• If you have been diagnosed with the relatively uncommon condition of sarcoidosis, you should rigidly avoid sunshine and vitamin D.
• If you are allergic to shellfish, have a blood coagulation condition, or are taking anticoagulants such as Warfarin (Coumadin®), do not use fish oil.
• Cod liver oil contains both Vitamin A and D and over consumption of any supplement is never a good thing. Therefore, you many want to get your levels checked before taking fish oil as a supplement.

Lori Metroka, Nutrition & Wellness Specialist

Reference:  www.mercola.com/cod-liver-oil.htm

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Tags: Add new tag, benefits of Cod liver oil, Omega 3 fatty acids, treatment for inflammation

This entry was posted on Friday, February 26th, 2010 at 10:37 pm and is filed under Common Injuries, Digestive Health, Hormone Health, Nutrition Tips, Prevention information, Vitamin D information. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.