The importance of taking cod liver oil for your best health cannot be underestimated. In Dr. Weston A. Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a study of school girls in New Zealand found a daily supplement of high vitamin cod liver oil each day reduced cavities by nearly 42%.
In the following video, I will show you the best brand on the market today for cod liver oil as well as how much to take based on the research of Dr. Weston A. Price and the Weston A. Price Foundation.
The proper dosage of cod liver oil is 1 tsp (5 ml) per day and depending on the size of the spoons in your kitchen, you may or may not be taking the right dose.
The size of spoons varies quite a bit around the world, so be sure to measure the spoon you are using to take your cod liver oil as sometimes what people think is a full teaspoon is actually only a half!
Remember to always take your cod liver oil with high vitamin butter oil. If this supplement is not available where you live, you may substitute (homemade) grassfed ghee instead. For those with dairy allergies, use emu oil.
Another dairy-free option is a natural K2 supplement derived from natto.
Taking these healthy fats together synergistically boosts the absorption of nutrients as noted in the detailed research of Dr. Weston Price.
Cod Liver Oil Basics
The video below shows you the basics of taking cod liver oil. If you are interested in cod liver oil for babies, the linked article provides more information.
If gagging is an issue with strong tasting foods like cod liver oil, this article plus video on how to stop the gag reflex for about 20-30 seconds with a simple acupressure technique may prove helpful.
Wondering what brands are best? I personally take this brand of virgin cod liver oil, which is sourced from some of the cleanest waters on earth. Note that my currently preferred brand differs from the recommendation in the video, which was filmed some years ago. The suggested manner of taking it and the reasons why remain the same, however.
Note that cod liver oil is a better choice than both krill oil and plain fish oil. This is because CLO contains natural fat-soluble vitamins as well as important omega-3 fatty acids.
I’m curious as to the answer to Elaine’s question also. As well as the dosage for the hvbo/fclo blend for adults and children? I thought the blend would be a good pick but haven’t seen that one talked about as much!
I am wondering if Sarah, or anyone, is checking for questions here, as I have not received ary reply to my question. Considering the fervor with which WAPF and Sarah support FCLO, I would think a reply would be in order. Thus, I’m thinking that it is not being checked. I get it, as my life is pretty busy too. But I do hope to hear.
Hi Sarah
maybe you can help me. I would really like to take Green Pastures Royal blend CLO / BO gel.
But as I have a slight underfunction of the thyroid and my antibodys are slightly over the normal data. Do you by chance know if the iodine in this product is very high? I asked my health practicioner but as I live in Germany he didn’t know this product and couldn’t give me an answer. So maybe you know about someone I could ask.
Hope to hear from you
kind regards
Marie
Hi there, this might be a really dumb question but is Scott’s Emulsion a good cod liver oil? My mother and grandmother have been giving me it since I was a child.
As you surely know, Dr. Mercola has gone on record against cod liver oil. WAPF did print a rebuttal of his position. However, in November Paul Jaminet appeared at the conference as a presenter. When asked about FCLO Dr. Jaminet comes out very strongly against it.
“I’m a skeptic on fermented cod liver oil. The underlying biology is discussed here: http://perfecthealthdiet.com/?p=3390. Basically, fish oil + vitamin A + oxidative stress is a highly toxic combination. Cod liver oil has the first two, so you’d better eat it fresh or not at all. Fermenting is great for vegetables but for cod liver oil I would avoid it.” -Jaminet’s blog
In May of last year he remarked to a blogger that, “in isolation…,” FCLO is a “…very nutritious food.” However, since then, in other places he has alluded to its potential to carry such toxicity as to make it too dangerous a food to consume. Jaminet is an intelligent, sincere man and after having purchased a case of FCLO at the conference, I would so appreciate it if you, or someone else not in a position to see remunerative gain from taking one side over the other, would enter into an intelligent debate of the facts. I have given members of my family jars of the FCLO with butter oil and they have asked me the advantage of “rotten fish oil” over any other kind.
Apparently, Mercola angered WAPF a couple years ago because he took a stand against any kind of CLO; however, he was a keynote speaker in November at the conference. Please bring me up to speed on this situation.
thank you
Elaine
I am interested in learning more about this as well.
Hi Sarah- what about your recommended dosage of the straight up butter oil in addition to the FCLO?
Thanks!
This was a really interesting post as I am getting ready to place my first order for Cod liver oil. I noticed on Green Pasture’s website that they sell the liquid CLO and also in a pill form. Does it make a difference which one we take? Also, if the pills are ok – should we just take one a day? And one last question – would you recommend the straight CLO or the CLO/butter oil blend? Thanks for your help. I’m really enjoying and learning a lot from your blog. :0)
Hi, sorry if you’ve answered this somewhere along the line… I am taking green pastures fclo capsules. I don’t think I can bear to take it straight from the spoon. My question is about dosing. It says a serving is 2 capsules and that they are each 500 mg. And that for the straight oil it’s 2 g. I guess what I’m trying to ask is, do you know how many capsules I should take per day? And do they recommend taking it first thing in the morning? Why?
Thanks!
Hello! I just got my cod liver oil from ups just yesterday and the bottle was pretty warm almost hot. This is probably because of the hot truck. That wouldn’t affect the contents in the bottle would it? How much heat is ok for cod liver oil?
Just took my first and wow was that interesting! XD I only took 2ml I will take the rest later.
Anything below 118F would be ok. I doubt it got that hot which is the temp that enzymes begin to be destroyed.
This assumes you purchased Green Pastures Products raw fermented cod liver oil. Any other brand wouldn’t matter as those brands have already been industrially processed at temps in excess of 450F.
oh yes, I forgot to mention that I purchased it from green pastures. Thanks! I was really wondering about that.
Sarah,
Does the CLO help with dry skin, mental clarity, hot flashes and/or anxiety? These are some symptoms that menopausal women tend to have and I was wondering if you have heard of women who find help with these symptoms while taking the CLO?
Hi Nancy, the symptoms you describe for menopausal women are hormone imbalance problems and cod liver oil definitely helps with that as it contains omega 3 fats and vitamin D which is the precursor for all hormone produced in the body. Hormone problems are frequently exacerbated by simple vitamin D deficiency. Almost EVERYONE is vitamin D deficient.