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Cod Liver Oil & Health

Jun 11, 2011 | By Don Amerman
Cod Liver Oil & Health
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Cod liver oil is a nutritional supplement rich in essential fatty acids and micronutrients, especially vitamins A and D. Originally used by the seafaring peoples of Scandinavia and Scotland to protect their skin from damage by wind and cold temperatures, cod liver oil helped wipe out the scourge of rickets in the late 19th century. Modern research has built up a wealth of evidence confirming the health benefits of this fish liver extract.

Composition

Your mother's reliance on cod liver oil as a cure-all turns out to have been a pretty good strategy, based on the nutritional makeup of the popular supplement. In an article in the Spring 2002 issue of "Wise Traditions in Food, Farming and the Healing Arts," certified nutritionist Krispin Sullivan reported that cod liver oil contains more of vitamins A and D than any other food or supplement. It is also rich in eicosapentaenoic acid, or EPA, and docosahexaenoic acid, or DHA, elongated omega-3 fatty acids that are essential to human health. EPA and DHA promote healthy brain function and also help the body to fight inflammation. Because vitamins A and D are fat-soluble micronutrients that can be stored in the body, taking large doses of cod liver oil over the long term could cause an unhealthy buildup of these vitamins in your body.

Wound Healing

Topical application of cod liver oil ointment to cuts and abrasions may help you to speed the healing of superficial wounds, based on animal research done by a team of U.S. and Danish researchers. Researchers divided 42 laboratory mice into three groups of 14. The first was treated with cod liver oil ointment on one ear and petroleum jelly on the other; the second got the ointment on one ear and a saline solution on the other; and the third received petroleum jelly on one ear and saline on the other. The wounds on the mice treated with cod liver oil ointment healed significantly faster than on those treated with other substances. Reporting their findings in a 2000 issue of the "Scandinavian Journal of Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery and Hand Surgery," researchers credited the high levels of vitamin A in the cod liver oil ointment with promoting fast healing of the wounds.

Rheumatoid Arthritis Relief

German researchers conducted a three-month study of 43 patients diagnosed with rheumatoid arthritis. Researchers gave each patient a daily 1 g dose of cod liver oil in capsule form. At the conclusion of the study, 52.4 percent of the patients reported a decrease in morning stiffness, while slightly more than 40 percent said their joints felt less painful and swollen. Roughly two-thirds of the study's subjects reported a decrease in overall pain intensity. Researchers reported their results in an article in the March/April 2002 issue of "Advances in Therapy."

Reduces Depressive Symptoms

Regular use of cod liver oil can help you chase the blues away or at least reduce the intensity of depressive symptoms, according to a review of health data by Norwegian researchers. In reviewing data from a 1997 to 1999 health study that covered 21,835 subjects between the ages of 40 to 49 and 70 to 74, scientists found a lower incidence of depression among patients who regularly took cod liver oil. In an article in the August 2007 issue of the "Journal of Affective Disorders," researchers reported that only 2.5 percent of the study subjects taking cod liver oil complained of depressive symptoms, compared with 3.8 percent of the general population.

References

Article reviewed by S.C. Ville Last updated on: Jun 11, 2011

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