Saturday, July 18, 2009

Is Taking Cod Liver Oil A Healthy Idea?

By Peter Bertonich

You may have heard about Cod Liver Oil from your grandmother. For a long time there has been an accepted wisdom that cod taking liver oil supplements has been good for you.

Are there really cod liver oil benefits, or is it a myth? Has science confirmed that there are indeed good reasons to take cod liver oil? And are there risks?

You grandmother got it right, and science has confirmed that there are benefits to cod liver oil supplementation.

The majority of the benefits of cod liver oil relate to the Omega 3 content, because of course cod liver oil has Omega 3 fats in it. And as you would know if you have read some of our other information there is a wide range of benefits from adding some more Omega 3 to your diet.

And there's vitamins too like vitamins D and A. Vitamin D has a role in helping prevent osteoporosis, as it helps process calcium.

However there is now some question over how much Vitamin A should be taken. And as there is quite a lot of vitamin A in cod liver oil there are risks of over consumption of vitamin A. For example in the US pregnant women are now advised to avoid vitamin A and this includes cod liver oil. Cod liver oil is not recommended in the UK.

So as well as cod liver oil benefits there are risks too. Yes it's got good Omega 3 fats, but vitamin A is a bit of an issue.

And there is also another risk too. Cod liver oil is sourced, as you might expect from the name, from the livers of cod taken from the North Sea. But in these times there are issues about contamination of fish in the North Sea. They can be contaminated with toxins like mercury, PCBs and heavy metals. Not high levels, but worrying.

Whilst these contaminants werent a problem in your grandmothers time, they are now.

But you can get the benefits of cod liver oil without the risks. Take the best Omega 3 supplements which are free of contaminants and also free of vitamin A.

And you can get your vitamin A from vitamin supplements if you really want it, in controlled amounts.

And there are excellent Omega 3 supplements that are free of the contaminants that you may get from cod liver oil. Not all are though.

Yes your grandmother was right, there are cod liver oil benefits. But there are ways to get the benefits of Omega 3 fatty acids without the risks. Take the best Omega 3 supplements and you get the benefits without the risks.

Find out which are the best Omega 3 supplements at my website.

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