Thursday, November 5, 2009

Cod Liver Oil --- Tastes Bad, But Is Really Good.


Hey Everyone,

I can remember the very unpleasant childhood memory of a daily dose of a teaspoon of Cod Liver Oil. My mother would call me into the kitchen or bathroom with that spoonful of yucky stuff. It was horrible tasting and sometimes even made me gag! My mom even tried to get the oil in different flavors like Mint or Cherry. And what did it do to the taste? NOTHING! It tasted like Mint flavored yuckiness!! Anyway, she gave it to me in attempt to keep me cold free during the winter months and to keep my skin clear and hair healthy year long. You know what? It worked! Let's see why...

Cod Liver Oil has high levels of the omega-3 fatty acids, and very high levels of vitamin A and vitamin D (remember my post on Vitamin D deficiency??). It is widely taken to ease the symptoms of arthritis as well as other health benefits. but has also been clinically proven to have a positive effect on heart, bone, and brain as well as helping to nourish skin, hair, and nails.

Cod liver oil is effective in treatment of household burns because of its high vitamin content, often leaving no burn-related blister.

Use of cod liver oil during pregnancy is associated with lower risk of Type I diabetes in the offspring.* This effect was found only in mothers taking cod liver oil, not in mothers taking multivitamin supplements. Cod liver oil taken by nursing mothers improves the breast milk by increasing the amount of fatty acids, which promotes brain development, and the amount of vitamin A, which helps prevent infections. However, pregnant women should always check with their doctors regarding the safe amount of Cod Liver Oil to take and should never take more than is recommended as excessive amounts of Vitamin A can be very detremental to the health of the child.

So you see... Even though it tastes really bad, Cod Liver Oil is beneficial to our health in so many ways. Although you can take this supplement in pill form, it works best when you take the oil directly. You can find it anywhere from the GNC to Walmart.

So.. hold your nose and grin and bear it (and have a lot of orange juice to wash it down with). You will see that in this case, the good definitely outweighs the bad! Protect your body, protect your skin!

With Sweet Goodness,
Shermaine


*Stene LC, Ulriksen J, Magnus P, et al. Use of cod liver oil during pregnancy associated with lower risk of Type I diabetes in the offspring. 2000. Diabetologia 43:1093-1098. DOI: 10.1007/s001250051499 PMID 11043854 full-text (free)

1 comment:

  1. Just thought I'd pop by to say hi!..,The other day my mom and I were chatting about the benefits of cod liver oil~ a good idea for you to highlight this suggestion for your readers.., Take care!

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