Articles
Cod Liver Oil - 3 Reasons to Avoid It And the rise of Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO)
In early 2010, an environmental group sued several fish oil manufacturers for selling polluted fish oil. All the major TV news channels covered the stink. Every single channel re-worded the plaintiff's press release without digging deeper. The late Paul Harvey would have dug deeper for 'The rest of the story.' The products named in the fish oil lawsuit are: GNC Liquid Norwegian Cod Liver Oil Nature Made Cod Liver Oil Nature Made Odorless Fish Oil Now Foods Double Strength Cod Liver Oil Now Foods Salmon Oil Now Foods Shark Liver Oil Solgar 100% Pure Norwegian Shark Liver Oil Complex Solgar Norwegian Cod Liver Oil Twinlab Emulsified Norwegian Cod Liver Oil Twinlab Norwegian Cod Liver Oil Notice a pattern? 6 of the 10 products named in the lawsuit are Cod Liver Oils. 8 out of 10 are 'liver' oils. None of the TV channels that talked about this endlessly pointed this out! The other four were Shark liver oil or Salmon oil. This cod liver oil issue was not a coincidence or a surprise to those of us in the fish oil industry. Here's why: Cod, like Shark, are long-lived fish. As they go about living for years and years, and during that time, they accumulate environmental toxins. And the toxins are most concentrated in the livers. So when you drink Cod liver oil, you should expect environmental toxins! That just makes sense! This extensive report from Norway is revealing. So that's Reason #1 for Avoiding Cod Liver Oil: Pollution Reason # 2: Lack of Industry Participation & Transparency They say you can tell someone's character by the company they keep. You can apply that to professional company as well. Reliable fish oil manufacturers are members of GOED, the Global Organization for EPA and DHA Omega-3. It is an industry group that sets standards and requires that members follow a certain code of conduct and produce products that meet quality standards. Sounds fair to me. Oddly, Cod liver oil companies, even though they sell 7% of all Omega-3 pills, have been absent from GOED. Lots of fish oil, krill oil and algae oil companies openly belong to GOED. But you'd be hard pressed to see Cod folks. Hmm. Part of the reason is that it is a very traditional industry that's out of the mainstream. GOED has been reaching out to Cod liver oil manufacturers to help them embrace quality standards. We'll see if they are successful. Reason #3: Over-fishing. Atlantic Cod is an over-fished and threatened species. ICES (International Council for the Exploration of the Sea) coordinates the management of North Atlantic fisheries. We get most of our Cod liver oils from the North Atlantic. There are a dozen countries that harvest cod and this makes it very hard to manage. Only 1 out of the 12 areas has sustainably managed their cod fishery - Norway. All the others have over-fished to the point of not having enough mature fish to reproduce the stock back to normal. Of course, if I have to choose between my health and the environment, I have to side with my health. Sorry! But you don't have to make such dramatic choices. Cod is not the only source of Omega-3 available to you! I know many people who take cod liver oil because it contains these Vitamins A and D. Both are critical, but there are purer sources. If you want Vitamin A, you can take a purified Vitamin A extract from cod liver oil - get the goodies minus the contaminants. And if you want Vitamin D, cod liver oil doesn't give you enough of it anyway...unless you take it by the spoonfuls. You'll still need a separate Vitamin D supplement. You need about 4000 IU per day and cod liver has less than 10% of it. Fermented Cod Liver Oil And there is this thing called fermented cod liver oil or FCLO. It's an old scandinavian treat and popular with folks following the 'paleo' or caveman diet. I fully agree with the principles and science behind the paleo diet, but I don't get the fermented cod liver oil thing. The manufacturing of modern FCLO product is more shrouded than a health product ought to be. Technically you cannot ferment oils and fats, so it should be called 'Putrefied liver oil.' Traditional cod liver 'fermenting' technique: Throw raw cod livers in a vat with some brine Leave it exposed to air and sunlight for, oh, about 6 months Wait for the rotting livers to release the oil. It rises to the top and you skim it off. Yes, it contains nutrients like Vitamins A and D that most people are deficient in. And in the right ratios, no less. There may even be some Vitamin K2 in there. But I'd much rather you get that from your diet. I try to get my A, D3 and K2 from liver, grass-fed butter, sunshine, cheese, and eggs - all foods on the Paleo altar. I also supplement with A, D3, K2 and E complex when my diet falls short. Besides, fermented fish liver is simply too repulsive a concept for me to choke down. (Not that I'm squeamish - I faced my fears and choked down some super stinky fermented herring called Surströmming while visiting Stockholm. Hey, when in Rome...) We live in a post-industrial world. There are literally over a hundred types of PCBs in fish liver. Modern fish oils go through several purification steps that virtually eliminate environmental toxins. FCLO passes the 90 parts per billion industry threshold level. That's a low bar and doesn't make me comfortable. I want it under 5 parts per billion. Until then, no thanks. Is My Cod Liver Oil bashing Fair? OK - you may be thinking that my Cod-bashing ways are self-serving. After all, our company sells concentrated fish oil. I'm not trying to pump up sales of our product by bashing cod liver oil (we can barely keep up with demand!) I expect to get a lot of hate mail for this one. So, to my naysayers, I say: Show me proof (an IFOS report or the like) that your cod liver oil is pure, clean and potent and that it passes standards that fish oil manufacturers follow Show me how it's made and processed Show me how much Vitamin A is present in your product Show me some membership or association with some group whose rules you have to live by Show me that the cod are harvested sustainably Most GOED members can easily do this. If your cod liver oil can do all of the above, I will happily eat a heaping plate of crow (or fermented cod livers.) Your pick. I'm frequently wrong (just ask my wife) but I don't think I'm wrong about this. A couple of centuries ago, cod liver oil was enough to cure kids with rickets and other ailments. Cod liver oil was your great granddaddy's fish oil. Let it stay that way.
Fish Oil & Eye Health
We often hear that fish oil is good for this. Or that. But we still don't know a lot about HOW the Omega-3 in fish oil actually makes these health benefits happen. Sure, we know for certain that Omega-3 combined with a healthy diet and exercise plan can help maintain healthy triglycerides.* But what about other health conditions? Like eyesight. Fish oil supports health. After all, there is a lot of Omega-3 stored in your eye balls. Omega-3 is highly concentrated in the retina. Here's what the researchers found about the actual biological MECHANISM of how fish oil helps with eye health: Omega-3 decreased misfired messaging in the eye Omega-3 promotes the growth of healthy blood vessels. The researchers found that a compound called 4-HDHA, made from Omega-3 DHA is responsible for this. That was not the only discovery. Now, the researchers are going to turn their attention to harmful Omega-6 fatty acid and its byproducts. "We found the good guys, now we'll look for the bad ones," said Dr. Lois Smith. Other Fish Oil & Eye Health Studies You may have heard of AREDS. It stands for Age Related Eye Disease Study. It's an ongoing study that is evaluating the addition of lutein, zeaxanthin and EPA + DHA Omega-3 in preventing eye disease. The results are not ready for release, but visit their site here to find out more. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. Clinical research suggests the omega-3 dosage needed to help maintain healthy triglycerides is 2000-3000 mg per day when used as part of healthy diet and exercise regimen.
Can We Run Out Of Fish Oil?
Is it possible? Can we run out of fish? Well, this year, the fishing captains of the fish oil industry could only catch 25% as much fish as last year. With booming demand from fish oil supplements and animal feed, the demand for fish oil is greater than ever. So with only a quarter of the supply available to meet demand, those of us in the fish oil industry are wringing our hands nervously about the sudden spike in fish oil cost. Harvesting Sardines, Anchovies & Mackerel All concentrated fish oil supplements are made from sardines, anchovies, hoki, whiting, pollock, salmon or mackerel. These fish have harvest seasons, just like crops. Most of the top fish oil producers, harvest sardines and anchovies from the cold, nutrient rich waters of the south pacific. Mostly off the coast of Peru and Chile. Why are the fish harvested there? And not somewhere else? Well, the cold antarctic current that runs up the west coast of south america is rich in nutrients and it feeds the algae that these fish eat. So there is an abundant supply of fish in the south pacific. Well, at least usually. (Algae contains Omega-3. Fish don't produce the Omega-3 - they just accumulate it from eating green algae.) But these fish are also caught there because the governments of Peru and Chile are very smart about managing their fishery. Especially Peru. Click here for the Peruvian authority responsible for regulation. So why was this year's catch so small? It wasn't because of lack of fish. It was because the fish caught were too young. So the authorities ended the harvest season abruptly, a quarter of the way into the season. Had we caught as much fish as we wanted, we'd have prevented the fish from breeding and growing next year's harvest. Surprised? Well, despite the media shouting about over-fishing, some types of fish are very strictly regulated. The fish oil industry in Peru is mature and run by smart people. Their left hand knows what the right hand is doing. They follow the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization's 'Code of Conduct for Responsible Fisheries.' OmegaVia is sourced from fish caught in Peru and the United States - specifically, sardine, anchovy, menhaden and mackerel. Here is an example: for any given lot of OmegaVia, we can trace back the oil all the way to: The date and time of harvest Name of the boat captain Owner of the vessel GPS coordinates where the fish were caught. Yes, there is a GPS unit attached to every fishing vessel off the coast of Alaska. The fishermen are only allowed to catch in a given locality. They are only allowed to catch a certain tonnage per season. If it takes them 2 months to reach that quota, that's fine. But if they reach their quota in a week, well, the season's over! This year, the season was swiftly ended because of the age of the fish. The age of the fish are strictly monitored. Simple rules of good fisheries management There are some simple rules that makes sure your fish oil will be available year after year: Understand how much fish (biomass) is in the catch area Understand how much and how well and often the fish are breeding Understand how much fish are caught each year With these three facts, the fisheries authorities maintain a stable and long-term fish population. And we can continue to get a steady supply of fish oil year after year. The regulatory bodies do not care if the price of fish oil supplements go up. They only care that a steady population is maintained over a period of decades. This is inconvenient, if you need fish oil pills to maintain your health. Yes, prices of all fish oil supplements could go up. Especially if the next harvest is like the last one. Let's hope not.
Fish Oil for Dogs - Part 2
Useful Tips & Tricks In Part 1 of this article, we talked about the importance of Omega-3 in your dog's diet and the potential issues caused by Omega-3 deficiency. We also talked about the #1 reason why most dogs suffer from Omega-3 deficiency. Before you run out and buy fish oil for your dog, there are a couple of minor dietary changes you should make. These changes will make Omega-3 supplements more effective. First, you need to cut back Omega-6 from their diet. STEP 1: Reducing Omega-6 Watch out for the following ingredients in dog food: Corn oil Vegetable oil (soy oil) Sunflower oil Safflower oil If you see any of these oils listed in the ingredient, DO NOT BUY the food. These oils are very high in Omega-6. You need to REDUCE Omega-6 for Omega-3 to be fully effective. If any dog food says “Excellent source of Omega 3 & 6,” then you know the manufacturer either does not know about the ill-effects of Omega-6 and/or thinks you don’t know. They should not be passing off Omega-6 as a good thing when there is already too much of it in dog foods! That’s what many brands are doing by proudly claiming high amount of Omega-6. Omega-6 fats get converted to compounds that irritate your dog’s skin and joints. Some brands list the Omega-6 to Omega-3 ratios. Many have 10 or 20 times more Omega-6 than Omega-3. This is not good. You need to get close to 3 or 4 parts Omega-6 to 1 part Omega-3. A little bit of Omega-6 is necessary for canine health, but too much is BAD! Real-life Examples: Canidae is considered a good brand but its All Life Stages has a 7.4 to 1 ratio of Omega-6 to 3. That’s too high. Many people consider Hill’s Science Diet to be an acceptable dog food, but they don’t list how much Omega-6 or 3 is present. The #1 ingredient in their Active Adult formula is Ground Whole Grain Corn. What the heck is corn doing there? STEP 2: Buy all-natural foods that are made from grass-fed animals or fish Corn meal or any other grain meal has no place in dog foods. Dogs are related to wolves. Have you ever seen or heard of a wolf eating corn?! Whole grains is not a good thing! Dogs are carnivores – they have no business eating whole grains. The best dog foods are home-made or fresh-frozen raw foods (see below). STEP 3: Look for the right Omega-3 If the label says ‘Omega-3’ in big letters but Flaxseed oil is listed as the source of Omega-3, then it's almost useless. Omega-3 from Flaxseed oil is often listed as Alpha-Linolenic Acid – dogs do not absorb these very well. Avoid dog foods with Flaxseed or Flaxseed oil. If the label says 'Omega-3' and fish or flax oil is listed at the end of the ingredients list, there is not much Omega-3 in there. Ingredients are listed in descending order by weight. Look for foods with ‘long chain Omega-3’ such as EPA and DHA Omega-3. These are the Omega-3 found in fish oil and dogs can easily absorb them. STEP 4: Start supplementing your dog’s diet with fish oil pills Avoid Cod Liver Oil – this has too much Vitamin A and D, which could get toxic at high levels. Feed a little wild salmon or liquid fish oil or fish oil pills with meals. If you give your dog fish oil pills, go for the high quality human supplements. If your dog is picky, wrap pill in peanut butter, bacon, sausage or cheese to get them to eat it. Start slow – too much fish oil will give some dogs an upset stomach. It’s easy to overdose with a liquid fish oil supplement so it is particularly important to start off with a small amount. Giving your dog fish oil supplements is a great idea, but ONLY AFTER you've made the dietary changes listed in Steps 1 thru 3. Fish oil supplements only add Omega-3 to their diets, but a healthy, natural diet will address many other health issues that Omega-3 cannot do by itself. How long before I notice a difference? You will notice a difference in your dog's health in 10 to 14 days, with most benefits becoming obvious in about a month. If your dog has allergies or some inflammatory condition, you will notice a decrease in itching, scratching and red or irritated skin. So what do what does my dog, Bailey, eat? He gets a blend of Stella & Chewy’s raw lamb and Orijen and Acana brand kibble. And, of course, he gets an OmegaVia pill dipped in peanut butter every day. If he’s been really good, I smear some peanut butter on his nose. Our Bailey is 12 years old and still bounces like a puppy. Walking doesn’t tire him anymore, so he runs alongside me while I go bicycling around streets and hiking trails of Calabasas, California. Need Professional Help? If you need the help of an expert, contact Nadine M. Rosin for a consultation at The Healing Art of Pet Parenthood. Nadine is a certified holistic pets/toxin-free lifestyle consultant whose own dog lived to be 19 with a purely holistic protocol after being given just 6 weeks to live at age 8 with a cancer diagnosis. Schedule a one-on-one consultation with Nadine here.
Fish Oil for Dogs - Part 1
Meet Bailey! Bailey is my 11-year-old Shepherd-Husky mix. Bailey and I have walked over 11,000 miles during the last 10 years or so. He occasionally comes to work. He is unofficially considered an employee at OmegaVia. Like many parents, I have some regrets about how I raised Bailey. I fed him junk kibble for the first 3 years of his life. Buying fish oil for dogs never even crossed my mind, even though I was a nutritionist and was working for a dietary supplement company at the time. That was 8 years ago. Now Bailey gets fish oil supplements and Omega-3 rich natural foods. What made me change his diet? Fish Oil for Dogs: why? Dogs suffer from Omega-3 deficiency just like humans. But Omega-3 deficiency symptoms are hard to tell by just looking at the dog. Omega-3 deficiency interferes in the way tissues and organs work and it requires a much closer inspection before you can identify the deficiency problem. Omega-3 Deficiency and Diseases in Dogs: Heart health – yes dogs suffer from this too! Skin health – dry, red, inflamed itchy skin. Joint and hip mobility - hip dysplacia and other genetic diseases are not Omega-3 related, but fish oil will help your dog deal with the symptoms. Mood - anxiety (not separation anxiety...that's a different can of worms and has to do with lack of leadership, exercise etc.) Immunity - this is a group of diseases, but some can be treated with Omega-3. Increased aggression - this is mostly a behavioral problem, but some studies have shown that aggressive dogs have less Omega-3 in their bodies. Obesity - besides the obvious causes (over-feeding and lack of exercise), too much Omega-6 and too little Omega-3 leads to obese dogs. Kidney health - fish oil can decrease blood pressure in your dog's kidneys. Allergies - this is related to skin disorders, but several allergies are out-of-control inflammation in your dog's body. Fish oil can help reduce this inflammation and the resulting allergic response. Poor wound healing - this also has to do with inflammation. Too much inflammation equals poor healing. Fish oil helps reduce inflammation in your dog and would heals faster as a result. Well, that’s because fish oils provide similar health benefits for dogs as they do for people. The Root of the Problem It’s kibble. Mass-produced kibble has hardly any Omega-3. This is because most Omega-3 is deliberately removed from dry dog food. This seems like a foolish thing to do, but most dog food manufacturers REMOVE Omega-3 from their kibble. Or they buy ingredients that have low-Omega-3. Why? Because Omega-3 is a fat and it can turn rancid quickly. Rancid dog food smells bad. And if dog food smells bad, people will stop buying it. Simple as that. And what makes the problem worse... In the place of Omega-3 fats, most dog food manufacturers add Omega-6 fats from corn and vegetable (soy) oils. Omega-6 is not Omega-3 times two. Nor is it twice as good as Omega-3. Omega-6 is cheap. And it doesn't go rancid easily. So food processors LOVE it. Replacing Omega-3 with Omega-6 just makes matters worse. Because Omega-6 competes with Omega-3. These two types of fats compete for positions in your dog's body tissues. Think musical chairs. When there is so little Omega-3 and so much Omega-6, guess which one is going to win the musical chairs game? Yup, Omega-6 wins and it gets incorporated into your dog’s tissues and organs. Dogs (and humans) convert the Omega-6 into compounds that irritate their skin and joints. And too much Omega-6 causes inflammation and most of the diseases listed above. Other Issues with Kibble Not enough Omega-3 is just one of the issues with mass-market kibble. Often, ingredients found in dog food are not there to nourish your pet - their function may be to help the kibble-making extruding machine function properly. Extruders work best at certain moisture and consistency. And this is sometimes the reason why there is so much grain, rendered animal parts and flour by-products in dog food. These ingredients are officially "food," but they're basically acting as 'WD-40' for the extruders. Here is an excellent link that discusses what's really in pet foods. Thanks to Dr. Karen Shane, our wonderful and amazing vet, who gently nudged me so many years ago into switching from junk kibble to more wholesome foods. Bailey and I still drive 2 hours in LA traffic to her office for his check ups. Part 2 of Fish Oil for Dogs will cover specific details of how to choose the right foods for your pooch.
Liquid Fish Oil
Should you buy liquid fish oil? You know, the ooey gooey kind you gulp down with a teaspoon (or tablespoon if you’re brave.) If you were cornered as a child by a parent wielding a teaspoon of cod liver oil, this will bring back traumatic memories. May be the liquid fish oil tasted nasty and disgusting...but they were onto something. Turns out fish oil really is brain food. And heart food and joint food.* So why try liquid fish oil now? After all, we have some very high quality fish oil in pills. Reasons to buy liquid fish oil Tons of Omega-3 per teaspoon. This is the main reason to buy fish oil in liquid form. The strongest and best Ultra-concentrated fish oil pills have about 1000 mg Omega-3 per pill. But liquid fish oil often have a lot more.Here are a few examples: OK: Barleans Signature Liquid Fish Oil: 1390 mg per teaspoon Good: Carlsons Liquid Fish Oil: 1600 mg per tsp Great: Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega provides a spectacular 3200 mg Omega-3 per teaspoon Clinically studied doses. It is easy to get clinically studied doses with liquid fish oil. If you were taking a regular strength 1000 mg fish oil pill from, say Walmart, you’d need a dozen pills a day to notice a difference. With liquid fish oil, you can have that benefit with just 2 teaspoons!* Less Frequent Dosing. All the Omega-3 you need in one gulp. Cheaper than fish oil pills. Putting fish oil into gelatin capsules is high-tech and expensive. So by avoiding that step with liquid fish oil, you get more Omega-3 per dollar. Reasons NOT to buy liquid fish oil And there is really only one major reason not to buy: The taste! Oh my goodness! Even the best liquid fish oil brands (see above) are traumatizing to gulp down. You can hold your nose all you want, but it goes down like lemon-flavored paint thinner! Some brands are MUCH better than others. If you decide to try liquid fish oil, I hope you try one of the proven, high quality brands. Because if you gag on a cheap, low-quality one, your day will be ruined – you’ll be burping up the stuff for hours. Short shelf-life. Liquid fish oils spoil quickly and easily. Fish oil is very sensitive to heat, moisture, light and air (oxygen). Every time you open and close the bottle, you are exposing the sensitive oil to all of the above. This causes rancidity or oxidation. It must be made and consumed quickly. Once opened, I strongly advise that you finish the bottle within a month or two. Even slightly rancid or oxidized fish oil is harmful to your body. Odor & Burping. If you are even slightly prone to fishy burps with fish oil pills, liquid fish oil will be much worse. Even with the good quality ones. You might not notice (or care!) but those around you may want to know if you’ve been moonlighting at SeaWorld. Some lucky folks don’t mind the taste and do not have a burping problem. My hat’s off to them. I’m not one of those lucky people, so I rely on high-potency fish oil pills. Products that have at least 1000 mg of Omega-3 in each pill. OmegaVia is one such product. Ocean Blue Professional and Minami CardiO3 are a couple of other good brands that also have 1000 mg Omega-3 per pill. Still, it’s hard to ignore the positives of liquid fish oil.* How to Choose the Right Liquid Fish Oil When it comes to liquids, you should pay close attention to 'oxidation by-products.' Why? Because these by-products are chemical signs that rancidity has begun. Once it’s begun, it cannot be reversed and the odor and taste will quickly worsen. So what do you look for? Look for these freshness indicators: Peroxide – should be less than 5 meq/kg Anisidine – should be less than 20 meq/kg Total Oxidation – should be less than 26 meq/kg Acid Value – should be less than 3.0 mg KOH/g These are freshness quality standards set by non-profit consumer and industry organizations. High levels of these compounds are tell-tale chemical signs that rancidity has set in. If these are high, then you know it’s going to stink. So how much is too much of these compounds? It’s hard work for an average person to decipher all this. If you really care about quality, you should demand that all fish oil manufacturers share their ‘certificate of analysis’ with you. If they don’t share this information, there is no way to know what’s in the oil you’re taking. Move onto other brands that are open and transparent with their customers. Fortunately, there are 3rd party testing organizations like International Fish Oil Standards (IFOS). IFOS tests and publishes the certificate of analysis of several brands. A 5-star rating from IFOS is an assured sign of quality. Well, at least it was of high quality when the product was tested. If your liquid fish oil was sitting around on a shelf for a year after its IFOS test, it could be, past its prime. Nordic Naturals Ultimate Omega is a liquid fish oil that passes all IFOS tests with flying colors. Ready to Try Liquid Fish Oil? Try Nordic Natural Ultimate Omega. (I do not know anyone at Nordic Naturals (surprisingly!) and I am not being compensated for this positive review.) This product always seems to have one of the lowest levels of oxidation by-products. The only negative is the high cost. But expensive health care items are often priceless. 4 oz. Bottle is $41.95 I have tried Barleans Omega Swirls. They are aimed at kids so they are not ghastly tasting. That’s because they’ve emulsified liquid fish oil with a bunch of sweeteners, gums and taster maskers. But the Omega-3 levels are very low – much lower than many fish oil pills. Try it if you simply cannot swallow pills. (Disclosure: I know and like the nice folks at Barleans. Great people!) 8 oz bottle is $13.99 Carlsons Liquid Fish Oil. This is a very popular and relatively good product. It is usually fresh because it is sold in high volumes and rarely sits around getting rancid. They have recently begun publishing certificates of analyses at IFOS. 16 oz bottle is about $30, depending on where you buy it. Dr. Barry Sears’ ZONE OmegaRx is IFOS certified. And the quality of Zone products are usually very high. IFOS certified fish oil products are worth paying a little extra for, after all, you know exactly what you're getting. Hard to go wrong when you combine Dr. Sears with IFOS, but still, a bottle costs almost $70! If you're going to spend that much, Nordic Naturals may be a better value. WINNER: My first choice, without hesitation, is Nordic Naturals. Zone OmegaRx and Carlsons are tied for second. * These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease.