A few years ago, i started using cod-liver oil. I believe that the boost i felt, at that time, came from the pre-formed vitamin A in it, though i had been convinced by various writers that its omega-3 was a good balance for any excess omega-6 that i was getting elsewhere in my diet. I'm not so sure about that latter part, now.
I decided to discontinue the CLO, as i am concentrating on eating liver more often ... and my husband bought a large lot of grass-finished ground beef which comes with a better o-3 ratio. Almost immediately i started seeing better energy and fatigue-resistance.
Ray Peat would be nodding his head. ALL polyunsaturated fats have shortcomings -- on this we both agree. And despite backpedaling by some "obesity experts," there IS convincing data that PUFAs inhibit thyroid uptake by cells ... not least my own subjective experience. Cuz who cares what experts say if your body tells you they're wrong?
I have a LOT of ambivalence about Peat's ideas. Some of his writings reflect my nutritional experiences, and some of it seems a bit too far "out there" to be thoroughly believable. Certainly, his opinion of gelatin/glycine APPEARS to be completely on-target ... but when it comes to his point-of-view about sugar? No.
Over the last five years i've tried a lot of things that other people have reported worked for them -- some worked for me too, and others did not. It really amazes me how much difference there can be between two comparatively similar people, and how much similarity between very different ones. Well, of course microbiology IS microbiology for us all, even though it's affected by our histories of infections and deficiencies, and directed (in the theatrical sense) by our genomes. Starting from a paleo template, we can suggest possible solutions to people having health problems that are strongly influenced by lifestyle, but there doesn't seem to be any such thing as a never-fail answer ... despite SOME things being an always-fail situation -- like the ADA diet!
It just looks like the vitamins A and D don't make up for the downside of CLO -- its polyunsaturated oils. So i'm bidding adieu to a supplement i thought i'd always use. Cod-liver oil IS a good product for some people in some situations, but i don't think it's optimal for ME, when compared to weekly liver and plenty of grassfed beef/lamb.
A note from an allergies abscessed person - it is always a possibility to have a mild allergic reaction (pronounced as a dip in energy) on a such fish product as a cod liver oil for an allergies-prone individual. Fish is considered an ultimate health source of proteins, but from my narrow point of view a grass-fed red meat is the perfect choice.
ReplyDeleteI know, synthetic vitamins are different from the vitamins which come with a food, but I want to share my vit.A experience. I had so strong allergic reaction (swollen feet and hands) reaction after I started to take soft-jells with vit.A, that the doc who prescribed the vitamin first to me to ease eczema, had to prescribe an oral steroid afterwards.
I believe that one of the reasons that poor studies don't find benefit to people who take vitamins is that they're using crummy-quality lab-created vitamins instead of the kind you find in nature! If one's system is sufficiently sturdy enough to convert cyanocobalamin (as a prime example) to methylcobalamin, it's capable of extracting B12 from food in the first place! :-) ... and of course converting beta-carotene to A is on the same page....
DeleteThe improvement with energy is an all-day-long phenomenon, not just for a couple of hours after taking the CLO. Whatever the reason for the improvement, i greet it with enthusiasm! :-D
I still feel puzzled how on Earth I managed to develop a need in a vit.B12.
DeleteIntrinsic Factor production reduced as we age, or with lower thyroid supply? I really haven't read much about the subject. With my SNPs, as I learned via 23andMe, I need to supplement the methylcobalamin anyhow....
DeleteGrowing up in the 1950's in the UK I believe it was standard practice for children to be given cod liver oil. This article is quite interesting, and there may be other articles too, I'm no expert, but it is interesting reading ... http://www.westonaprice.org/health-topics/cod-liver-oil-basics-and-recommendations/
ReplyDeleteWe still need to do / eat what is best for us. Some of us have likes / dislikes/ allergies etc. But sharing and exchanging information is always a plus I think ...
All the best Jan
I remember how all children were given a Tbs of a liver oil weekly when I was a child in Russia. Unfortunately, it is not impossible for a generally healthy substance to inflict an immune system response.
DeleteIt was definitely the WAPF articles on top of the things i read in the blogs that influenced me to start using CLO, lo those many years ago. I believe it was to be credited for teaching me that i need to consciously supplement vitamin A! :-) Fortunately, i learned to like liver, which i never had done while growing up, and it's head-and-shoulders above any supplement as a source of vitamins in usable form. Even a faulty system like mine seems to get a lot out of it!
DeleteI also had to stop eating fish and cod liver oil (it does make my hair smooth, but so does good omega 3's from non-fish sources). One of my friends IRL connected her positional vertigo to salmon (she's thinking trace mercury). My positional vertigo is also notably better without fish a few months without it. And just as I was enjoying salmon...
ReplyDeleteI also feel so, so much better eating grass fed beef. So. Much. Better. It's amazing. Glad to know there are others out there like me.
:-) i hope i never have to give up fish ... but we gotta do what we gotta do! It's way down my preferred list below beef and lamb, though!
DeleteA few years ago, my husband and i did a side-by-side of GF vs. high-quality conventional filet mignon, and there was just no contest. Not only was the grass-finished steak tastier, the texture was much nicer, too -- the conventional filet seemed like a watery sponge beside it.
How do you eat the liver? I would like to make it a weekly habit but never know what to do with it except hide it in ground beef.
ReplyDeleteLiver pate is a tasty thing. I saute one chopped medium onion, remove it from a skillet, cook liver there, making sure not to overcook. Then I use on the liver/ onion mix a stick blender, add butter there and mix well when the liver is not hot any longer. It is important to salt pate well.
DeleteYes, pate is wonderful! My other two favorite ways of preparing liver are on my recipe page -- an easy casserole with bacon, onions and sage, and sopa de higado, a rich soup from a heritage Mexican cookbook. J also makes an easy dip out of braunsweiger and cream cheese that is great with pork-rinds. :-)
DeleteThank you!
DeleteI find that oils pretty much all give me heartburn. I use fat instead I guess it is more slowly absorbed because it is in the meat. I just got some tasty chicken livers yesterday at our nearby Public. They carry a lot of grass fed and no-antibiotic-infested meats. Beef liver is harder for me to digest, too. I may have a beef intolerance..I can easily digest lamb or chicken, turkey, some fish....not oily fish.
ReplyDeleteagain, I find it so interesting that we all have such individualized differences! :-) as far as universal dietary recommendations are concerned, in place of what we have now i'd suggest the pre-Socratic advice to "know thyself"!
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