Last week, someone left a comment on my Cod Liver Oil 101 video which said, “Flax oil is better for you – cod liver oil can raise your cholesterol level!”
This comment disturbed me as it is this kind of thinking that is stealing people’s health!
First, let me say that I am not against flax oil. Flax oil is a wonderfully healthy oil that is extremely high in omega 3 fats. The Scandinavian traditional diet even lauds flax oil as a health food.
Use of flax oil in small amounts in homemade salad dressings is a wonderful way to facilitate the proper omega 3/omega 6 fatty acid balance in your diet – a balance that should be in the 1:1 – 1:4 range, not the 1:20 – 1:50 range of most Americans! Using walnut oil accomplishes a similar goal.
Getting this fatty acid balance in the correct range is critical to keeping inflammation at low levels in the body. Overconsumption of omega-6 fats as is typical in the grain-heavy Western diet rapidly causes inflammation with a sometimes unpredictable mix of symptoms based on one’s genetic predisposition.
Flax oil has historically had problems with rancidity as it is such a delicate oil that should always be kept refrigerated and never, ever heated.
Modern refrigeration during shipping has eliminated much of the rancidity problems, nonetheless, care must be taken to consume flax oil only in small amounts. Overconsumption of polyunsaturated oils even if primarily omega 3 can lead to inflammation just the same as an imbalance in the ratio between omega 3/omega 6 fats that are consumed in the diet.
Despite the fact that flax oil contains a healthy form of omega-3 fats, it is still not a good substitute for cod liver oil and here’s why:
Flax Oil Does Not Contain Fat-Soluble Vitamins
Cod liver oil, particularly the fermented kind, contains an ample amount of the fat-soluble vitamins A and D and even some K2 known as Activator X when sourced from fermented fish livers. Traditional cultures studied by Dr. Weston A. Price consumed these fat-soluble activators at a rate 10 times greater than Americans living in the 1920s and 1930s!
A daily dose of cod liver oil is an important insurance policy for maintaining health as these fat-soluble vitamins supercharge mineral absorption in the diet and work synergistically to maintain immune function at a high level. Note the while krill oil contains beneficial omega-3 fats, it is not an adequate substitute.
Similarly, flax oil contains no fat-soluble vitamins A, D, and K although for a different reason – because it is derived from plant food.
While some plant foods contain vitamin K1, vitamins A and D are not found in any plant foods and must be obtained from animal foods. Is beta carotene vitamin A too? No, it is not as is frequently and erroneously claimed.
The Omega 3 Fats in Flax Oil Must Be Converted
The omega 3 fats in cod liver oil are primarily in the form of DHA and EPA which are in a readily usable form for the brain and neurological system.
The omega 3 fats in flax oil are in the form of alpha-linolenic acid (ALA), which must be converted by the body into EPA and DHA. If you have any digestive imbalance issues, which most Westerners do to some degree, the conversion of ALA into the critical EPA and DHA is unknown and more than likely insufficient to maintain health.
Therefore, it is risky to take flax oil and assume that the conversion of ALA into EPA and DHA is sufficient for your body’s needs. It is better to consume a high-quality cod liver oil to obtain EPA and DHA directly with no guesswork and finger crossing involved.
Natural Cholesterol is NOT Bad for You!
The comment regarding cod liver oil raising cholesterol levels is particularly concerning to me.
The natural cholesterol in animal fats like cod liver oil is very important for tissue repair and brain function which explains why cholesterol levels rise slowly as we age. It is important to note that women with the highest cholesterol live the longest! This is probably because natural cholesterol provides the precursors necessary for the production of natural steroids in the body that protects against heart disease and cancer.
So, what cholesterol is bad for us?
It is the oxidized or rancid cholesterol found in processed foods that should be avoided. Consuming oxidized cholesterol raises the risk of inflammatory conditions like heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.
This is why the cholesterol in raw milk is healthy but the oxidized cholesterol in pasteurized skim milk is bad for you (added in the form of highly processed milk powder which adds body)
If grasping the difference between good cholesterol and bad cholesterol in your diet seems difficult at first, consider that coronary heart disease prior to 1920 was extremely rare in America, but during that same period, Americans consumed butter and cream with abandon!
It is only since the rise of processed foods and factory fats that gained momentum after World War II that heart disease, cancer, and diabetes rates began to skyrocket.
Therefore, enjoy a bit of flax oil added to each cup or so of homemade salad dressing, but never consider it an adequate substitute for your high vitamin cod liver oil!
Flax is highly estrogenic. Go for it dude.
Breast cancer and other health challenges arise from XENOESTROGEN – not to be mistake with the natural estrogen found in flax seed. Best I’ve found to utilize flax seed is to grind them for 30 seconds in coffee grinder or bullet and consume with nuts and berries WITHIN 15 minutes. For an awesome breast cancer protocol see cancertutor.org and search Budwig Diet
Natural estrogens in foods induce precancerous changes to the breasts as well! This is proven fact. https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/soy-flax-estrogenic-foods-herbs-trigger-precancerous-breasts/
Hi Sarah, with all due respect, please look into NCBI articles on facts about xenoestrogen and breast cancer, like:
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12921380
ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/24269739
On another note – cancer grows in an acidic / sweet environment and dies in an alkaline / oxygenated environment. To beat cancer it’s a good idea to… 1) Reduce refine sugar intake and reduce white flour, white potatoes, white rice and corn which turns into sugar rapidly. See the Glycemic Index for a list of low sugar foods. 2) Increase the alkalinity in the foods we consume. From Nobel Prize Laureate of 1931 – “Cancerous tissue are acidic, whereas healthy tissue are alkaline.”
eco-manity.com/pdf/DrOttoWarburg.pdf
Google ph diet for more info on an alkaline diet. This is an interesting find from NCBI: ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3195546/
Conclusion From the evidence outlined above, it would be prudent to consider an alkaline diet to reduce morbidity and mortality of chronic disease that are plaguing our aging population. 3) Increase oxygen intake.
For more good tips on beating cancer look up… cancertutor.org — Johanna Budwig Diet — https://thetruthaboutcancer.com/
I appreciate your input, and one can find studies to refute or confirm pretty much anything one chooses to believe. If you approach this with an open mind with no preconceived biases, the fact is that plant estrogens from food contribute greatly to breast cancer development. An alkaline diet makes no difference whatsoever! Practitioners who preach otherwise are literally killing women with their flawed advice. I would recommend that you take a look at the book that is linked to in the article in my previous comment. This book has pictures of breasts before and after estrogenic foods like flax or soy are consumed. The pictures are worth much more than any study that says flax is beneficial. Perhaps these foods were fine and helpful in the pristine world that existed pre-Industrial Revolution, but not now. We are too exposed to the estrogen mimickers in our environment to consume these estrogenic foods in anything but the smallest of amounts.
I do not understand people. I can swallow almost anything…
Doesn’t Cod come from the ocean that is contaminated with mercury, toxins, and radiation? Flax seed oil has been recommended for years to fight cancer and is free of the contaminates that plagues stuff from the ocean. I think that many others would disagree that cod liver oil would be better than flax seed oil.
The trick is to take both.
You can get it with flavors like mint. I burp mint after I take it lol
You can get cod liver oil in capsules
There’s bound to be another way. Cod liver oil is absolutely disgusting.
6 Health Benefits of Olive Oil
http://www.healthwantcare.com/6-health-benefits-of-olives/
I have been confused about whether or not flax seed can be heating. When I did a search it said for a title “Why flax oil is not a good substitute for CLO. Under it says “Why shouldn’t flax seed be heated?” but I have not found that anywhere on that article. I understand your article is about flax oil but can you clarify with flax seed if after soaking –its it ok to heat for example in oatmeal? or anyway I all. I am sorry if I couldn’t get that from the article. Thanks for your time.
If someone is allergic to fish oil, particularly Green Pastures Fermented Cold Liver OIl :-(, then what would you recommend for a good substitute for that? I used to take fish oil and love it, but decided to try Green Pastures. After a couple of weeks I began to experience all over muscle spasms, incredibly painful muscle aches and stiffness that over a couple of months become debilitating.Since it was gradual I didn’t realize what caused it at first. Once I discovered it was the oil my symptoms went away, but now I find I have become sensitized to my old oil pills, and any others I have tried. I am miserable without the supplements, but have read negative information about any substitutions. Any advice?