Omega 3 Cod Liver Oil - Discussion

Is omega 3 cod liver oil a good food or supplement to consume?

Some parties recommend cod liver oil as a supplement to obtain the very important omega 3 fatty acids; others recommend cod liver oil as a general health aid, providing not only omega 3 fats, but also vitamin A and vitamin D.

In this regard, however, there are also those, such as Dr Joseph Mercola, the owner of the largest natural health website on the internet, who does not recommend cod liver oil as a supplement. Dr Mercola used to, but has since altered his views after analyzing more recent evidence.

It is true that for omega 3 cod liver oil is a good source. It is also true that cod liver oil has high amounts of vitamin A and vitamin D, which are two very important nutrients, too.

The problem, though, is the ratio of these vitamins - cod liver oil usually has a lot more vitamin A than vitamin D. And this adds to an imbalance which is already in existence - most Americans (and possibly others living in developed countries) today obtain enough vitamin A from their diets, but are deficient in vitamin D. Now, too much vitamin A apparently also affects the body's ability to use vitamin D, which worsens the problem.

With the use of cod liver oil, there could thus not only be the danger of vitamin A overdose and toxicity, which is very dangerous, but also an exacerbation of the issue of lack of vitamin D. With these points in mind, when looking for a good source of omega 3 cod liver oil may not be the most suitable choice. There are perhaps other good sources of omega 3 fatty acids which would be better suited for this purpose. You could read about them on the rest of this website.