Advice regarding Fish Oil, Flax oil and Cod Liver Oil - Alternative Medicine Message Board

Harjinder*****4 · 08-29-2006, 12:07 AM

I'm thinking that I should be taking both Fish Oil and Flax Oil since the compostion of their Omega 3's is different. And I hear that I should take Cod Liver Oil as a vitamin A and D supplement in order to retain the effects of the fats. But since all of them are Omega 3's, I 'm worried that I might overdose. Is alternating a good solution..any other advice?

And I curious as to what foods are rich in vitamins A and D because I may already be comsuming enough.

AFH · 08-29-2006, 07:56 AM

You have to evaluate your diet and supplements and decide what is best for you. I take Fish supplements and use fresh FlaxSEEDS for my daily Omega's. I eat plenty of fish several times a week but I don't eat egg's and I'm diabetic so no foods such as carrots, milk, starchy veggies or fruits.

Fish Oil, Flax Oil, Cod Liver Oil and Krill Oil are all full of Omega's. You can get some nutrients from fresh foods but usually you need to eat more then you normally are able to reach recommendations.

Foods with
Vitamin D: milk, herring, salmon, fish liver oils, cod, eggs, shrimp...
Vitamin A: orange and yellow vegetables, carrots, cod liver oil, fortified cereal, cantaloupe, whole milk, spinach, eggs....

Be Well, AFH

Harjinder*****4 · 08-29-2006, 01:11 PM

Alternating seems like the best solution. I'm still unclear about Vitamin A and D, you DO need them to retain the fats, correct? Are there any other vitamins that I might be forgetting about.

Mr. Natural · 09-04-2006, 10:12 AM

Well the difference between fish oil and cod liver oil is that cod liver oil has vitamin D in it and fish oil doesn't. It's ideal that if you are out in the sun a lot, then take the fish oil cause you are getting vitamin D from the sun, where you should be getting it. Switch over to cod liver oil more in the winter months where your body is covered more and you don't get as much sun. Vitamin D is a fat soluble vitamin and you can overdose on it. You should get your Vitamin D levels checked periodically to make sure you don't have too much in your system. The best kind of supplements are in liquid form cause liquid travels through the body the fastest and gets absorbed into the blood stream the quickest. The second best is powder form followed by gel caps. The last is a solid pill or tablet. If you want to see how much of a vitamin per say is absorbed into your body, take a Centrum and put it in a small glass of vinegar. Come back in a half hour. This is how much of the vitamin your body absorbs. Your body has to break down pills. Liquid is pretty much in it's softest state so your body has very little work utilizing it. The best kind of fish oil and cod liver oil I have ever tried and has worked the best is a brand called "Carlson" liquid fish oil and cod liver oil. Regardless of which you take, the recommended dosage is a teaspoon with meals twice a day. I don't know too much about flaxseed oil but I will do some research on that one as well and get back to you on it.

ratboy83 · 09-14-2006, 04:21 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Harjinder*****4

I'm thinking that I should be taking both Fish Oil and Flax Oil since the compostion of their Omega 3's is different.

if you're happy using fish oil then there's little point in using flax. you are right in stating that the two oils contain different types of omega 3 (flax contains alpha-linoleic acid and fish oil contains EPA and DHA) but the the significant difference between the two is that flax seed oil contains the parent type of omega 3 and fish oil contains the ACTIVE forms. to put it another way- your body has to convert alpha-linoleic acid into EPA and then DHA anyway before it can be utilised. since this conversion rate is at best 15% (assuming the diet isn't too high in omega 6 and there are no co-factor vitamin/ mineral defeciencies) then you may as well just take fish oil. you'll get far more out of it.

as for vitamins with nutritional oils, vitamin E (400 i.u. of the mixed form twice a day) is vital when taking fish oil. it helps to prevent the oxidation of this polyunsaturated fat.