What can Cod Liver Oil do for you?

Cod liver oils is, you guessed it, the oil from the liver of the cod fish. I know that sounds kinda gross but cod liver oil has many health benefits. These include being effective in treating rheumatoid arthritis, osteoporosis, atherosclerosis and improving cognitive function.

Omega 3 essential fatty acids

Cod liver oil contains the omega 3 essential fatty acids EPA and DHA and also brings a healthy dose of vitamin A and D along for the ride.
These three essential nutrients combine to have a powerful beneficial effect on many of the bodies processes, this is why cod liver oil is such a well tolerated and widely used dietary supplement.

Evidence also shows that cod liver oil may be beneficial in repairing the damage NSAID’s can cause to the gastro intestinal tract. That is great news for users of NSAIDs who are troubled by their long term use and the potential side effects of these drugs.

Cod liver isn’t a cure for an irritated gastro intestinal tract, but it may help in calming your digestive system if your struggling to adapt to a new healthier plant based diet after long term NSAID use.

Most of the available cod liver oil supplements you will find on the high street are highly concentrated and those are the ones you should be looking to take. Anything that is billed as being “extra high strength” or “concentrated will do the job.

Cod liver oil and your arthritis

A study performed in Germany concluded that cod liver oil was beneficial in reducing the intensity of pain and stiffness in arthritic joints, furthermore 65% of the patients rated cod liver oil as ” good” or “very good” in overall efficacy (effectiveness).

[bctt tweet=”65% of patients rated cod liver oil as good or very good in efficacy”]

Over a three month period 43 rheumatoid arthritis patients took 1g of cod liver oil per day. Almost all of the subjects reported reduced symptoms in multiple areas of the disease, along with a very high tolerability level of 95%.

The study went on to conclude that cod liver oil was an effective treatment for rheumatoid arthritis and even recommend it as a treatment.

We rarely see that kind of language used in studies for dietary supplements so this one gets a big thumbs up from me. You can find a link to the study in the quote below.

[blockquote author=”http://bit.ly/V1MpKx” pull=”normal”]Cod Cod liver oil can be recommended for the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis.[/blockquote]

Cod liver oil and osteoarthritis

A separate study concluded that cod liver oil may also help those suffering from osteoarthritis. Researchers at Cardiff University found that cod liver oil helped reduce pain and cartilage damage caused by osteoarthritis, as well as reducing the need for joint replacement. In the study below, the investigators found that cod liver oil reduced enzymes linked to pain and cartilage damage caused by osteoarthritis.⁵

[thb_button link=”” pull=”normal” color=”white” icon=”” size=”medium” animation=”animation fade-in” target_blank=”true”]Study recommends cod liver oil for rheumatoid arthritis[/thb_button]