Table of Contents[Hide][Show]
Consideration of Ancient Wisdom in the maintenance of robust health is more important than ever today with Media Medicine seemingly dominating the wellness conversation at every turn.
Traditional cultures relied on a strong immune system rather than the crutch of antibiotics and other drugs to survive infections and epidemics. Passing this knowledge on from generation to generation was of critical importance.
With so much of this wisdom having been lost since the Industrial Revolution, it is always exciting to me when a snippet of truth is rediscovered in ancient texts and other writings.
One such text recently brought to my attention which contains such medicinal wisdom is The Book of Tobias, also known as the Book of Tobit.
While not included in the shorter Hebrew Canon, The Book of Tobias is considered canonical by the Catholic, Russian and Greek Orthodox Churches. It is also included in The Apocrypha which comprises extra texts not part of the Old Testament canon but recognized of value by many Protestant faiths. Fragments of this text were recently discovered among the Dead Sea Scrolls in both Hebrew and Aramaic which has given the book additional credibility and attention.
Ancient Medicines Derived From Fish
In this book, the virtuous young Tobias is assisted by the Archangel Raphael in bringing relief from suffering and happiness to Tobit, his blind Father as well as the tormented widow, Sara.
Tobias restores his Father’s sight using medicines from the entrails of fish, including the heart, gall, and liver.
“Then the angel said to him: Take out the entrails of the fish, and lay up his heart, and his gall, and his liver for thee; for these are necessary for useful medicines.” (Book of Tobias, Chapter 6)
This text is the earliest known reference to the use of fish innards as healing and sacred remedies. The traditional use of fish liver oils throughout history since that time harkens back to the wisdom of this ancient text.
Of course, the fish liver oils used were not of an industrialized nature, meaning the oil was extracted quickly via use of high heat (400F). Rather, traditional practice in Roman and Viking times was to reserve the livers and let them ferment for a period of months until the oils were rendered naturally thereby preserving all delicate nutritional cofactors and healing elements.
Beginning about 1850, this very slow, 6 month process of rendering fish liver oils which preserved all the nutrition began to gradually be abandoned in favor of high heat processing which rendered the oils in only a day. By 1920-1940 or so, all cod liver oil on the market was basically being rendered in a modern fashion.
A resurgence of interest in the traditional manufacture of fish liver oil occurred after the turn of the millennium with the advent of Green Pasture Products’ fermented cod liver and skate liver oils. Hopefully, other companies will follow suit and abandon the modern method of processing fish oils.
How to Identify A Good Quality Fish or Cod Liver Oil
It is important to remember that fish oil or fish liver oil that is:
Clear + Colorless + Odorless + Flavorless is also Nutritionless as this indicates an industrialized manner of processing.
Fish liver oil should taste fishy – not rancid – but fishy. If it doesn’t, there is limited to no nutritional value.
The vast majority of fish and cod liver oils on the market today are processed by a handful of refiners. While the packaging and marketing varies from company to company, the fish oils are all basically the same – nutritionless and potentially even of negative health benefit due to the high temperature processing.
Could it be that the huge focus on the omega 3 fatty acids, EPA and DHA, in fish and fish liver oils on the market today is because that is all that is left after the violent, industrialized processing? Fish oils processed in the traditional manner which takes months rather than hours have much much more to offer beyond omega 3 fats. Natural vitamins A, D, E, and K are all present at significant levels to heal, strengthen, and provide a firm foundation for the immune system. Moreover, vitamin D has over 3000 derivatives many of which are found in traditionally manufactured fish liver oils. Only the main vitamin D derivative is present in the industrialized fish liver oils and it is typically in synthetic form added after processing because the high heat used to render the oils destroys all the natural vitamin D!
While we can learn and wonder about ancient remedies via early writings such as the Book of Tobias, it is equally important that the manufacturing of the remedy itself be in line with traditional production methods. Nowhere is this example more evident than a comparison between the rendering of fish oils by the Vikings and Romans as compared with modern day, industrialized cod liver and fish oils.
To be considered a truly traditional and sacred remedy, both the remedy itself and the method of producing it must follow traditional principles.
How does your cod liver oil stack up?
Sarah, The Healthy Home Economist
Source:
The History of Cod Liver Oil, David Wetzel, owner – Green Pasture Products
I was wondering, we are not in a position financially to be buying the green pastures version of fermented cod liver oil. In this situation, should we still get the mass processed stuff, or is that a waste of money and we should leave it out?
Hi Brittany, just my opinion here, but if Green Pasture Products is not in the budget, just eat liver and skip the highly processed fish liver oils in the healthfood store and elsewhere which I think do more harm than good. Liver pate is the most palatable way to eat it .. a yummy sandwich spread or a dip for crackers.
I have a video on how to make chicken liver pate .. chicken livers are VERY affordable:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/2010/10/video-chicken-liver-pate/
Yup, we love ours! I have Cinnamon Tingle FCLO/BO and my kids take the Chocolate Cream. They BEG for “special chocolate” everyday. They have slight colds right now but it is hardly bothering them (and last night I used a combination of raw honey and essential oils before bed and they did NOT cough all night, and breathed freely). Take THAT, modern medicine!
We just got our first bottle of green pastures FCLO at your suggestion. On the bottle, 2 ml is the suggested dose. I think I remember you recommending more? What would you recommend for a 7 yr. old?
Hi Chanelle, I give my kids 5 ml per day (1 tsp). This seems to be the dose where their immune system is best supported, i.e., they rarely if ever get sick and when they do, it is for hours rather than days.
What would you suggest for a 15 month old?
I’ve only recently discovered your blog. Since then, I keep forwarding the articles (and some from your archives) to others and also posting them on the yahoo support group I started for our WAPF chapter here in southern middle TN. Keep ’em coming! This is GREAT stuff!
–Nancy Webster
Shalom, Everyone.
I prefer the Cinnamon Tingle, too, for the FCLO/Butter Oil blend. My wife gets the capsules.
I am always delighted to see snippets of health & food practices from recorded antiquity.
It was earlier this year, we had a reading from daily mass recounting the story of Abraham presenting curds as part of a meal to his distinguished guests. When I heard this, I thought: “Ah, curds, I know what that is!”.
Thanks for the posting, Sarah.
Ciao,
Pavil
I’ve been taking a brand of cod liver oil by a company called Naturally Preferred as i can buy it for $5 at Krogers, but I suspect that its not very high quality so should I get something else?
Also if you buy a lot of bottles of fish oil for storage purposes how long do they keep?
I like to think our ancestors weren’t completely helpless when it came to treating and preventing disease though “modern” medicine likes to make it out as if they didn’t know anything. If they didn’t know anything than why are we here today? There have been many cultures where people lived well into old age without any “modern” medicine.
Hi Kelli, traditionally fermented fish liver oils like what Green Pasture Products produces do not need refrigeration and test for no rancidity even after 18 months of storage at room temperature. After all, they have never been heated and the fermentation preserves the oil beautifully. Ancient cultures did not have refrigeration which is why, I think, these old methods of extraction were devised over time as they were so effective in preserving the oil.
Sarah,
You mention that Tobit says the Liver, Heart, and Gallbladder are for useful medicines, but you didn’t complete the story. Tobit burned the liver and heart to drive the demon away that tormented Sarah, and used the gallbladder to heal his father. (See Tobit 6:7-8.)
“And he [Raphael] said unto him [Tobit], Touching the heart and the liver, if a devil or an evil spirit trouble any, we must make a smoke thereof before the man or the woman, and the party shall be no more vexed.” (Tobit 6:7; cf. Acts 19:13-17)
That said, I don’t dispute the healthfulness of organ meats or cod liver oil.
The Dead Sea Scrolls confirm the age of Tobit, but do nothing to establish credibility for it. I know of no citations by Jesus, and he quoted from the Old Testament frequently. Tobit is an old book, certainly, but I am very skeptical about it. For example, compare Tobit 12:8-9 with John 14:6.
Be careful what you endorse, Sarah. Tobit doesn’t mention fish oil, just odd usage of organ meats.
– Robert
Hi Robert, I never said that Tobit mentioned the liver oils. I only said that this was the earliest known reference to the use of fish livers as medicine which is completely true. I then discussed how the Romans and Vikings extracted the oil by fermenting the livers for up to 6 months.
You are taking what I wrote and adding your own suppositions that are not there and were not intended.
I don’t want to get into biblical debate, but Christ often says in his healing literature … “Which is it better for me to say … ‘rise and walk or your sins are forgiven you?'” There is a relationship between sin and health. We were created to experience life, not death. It wasn’t until sin came into the world that death became a part of our reality. It seems to me that the liver and heart have been elevated above the gall in this passage because they were used directly in regard to evil.
~ Lynn
My family had been taking Green Pasture “Salty Cod”; however we now take the “Cinnamon Tingle”. The cinnamon masks the fish taste and cuts down on the burn from the lactic acid.
…Tim
Sarah, thanks for the post! I have been taking Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil for a number of years now – I know that my robust health and energy is resultant, in part, from my continued use of Dave’s products. And I appreciate your clarifying the difference between fishy and rancid. It helps to know that they are not synonymous! Cool and thoughtful information as usual my friend!
Hi Annette .. yes, the fishy vs rancid distinction is important for folks to note. Salmon tastes fishy, but it would taste rancid if you left a cooked fillet in the refrigerator for a couple of weeks and then took a bite. BIG difference! 🙂
We take Professional Formula lemon flavored Cod liver oil and have had great success with it. We’ve been on it for about a year and all of our digestion has been better and we’ve not been sick in almost a year! I buy it at my Naturopath’s office and was looking for a different one (for my convenience so as not to drive 20 min) but haven’t found anything comparable? Any recommendations on brands to use? I’ve been following you for a little while now and enjoy your blog immensely.
Maria, I would definitely recommend Green Pasture Products. It’s the one my family and I have taken for almost 10 years. You have to mail order it, so you won’t have to drive anywhere either. I order once or twice a year and stock up to get bulk savings.
where do you get it in bulk?
Order a case or two of whatever flavor you want directly from Green Pasture Products. You get a good price that way.