twisted cod liver oil by nick@, on Flickr
Another mainstream media moment. The Health article “What Do You Lack? Probably Vitamin D” which ran in the New York Times on July 26th, 2010 points up what WAPF (and other health-concerned) food bloggers have been quoting for years. Here are the highlights:
- Insufficient vitamin D intake is indicated in: “cancers of the colon, breast and prostate; high blood pressure and cardiovascular disease; osteoarthritis; and immune-system abnormalities that can result in infections and autoimmune disorders like multiple sclerosis, Type 1 diabetes and rheumatoid arthritis.”
- Modern lifestyles prevent adequate sun exposure which would alleviate D insufficiency (think cutting back on dairy for its “evil” fat content, more indoor employment and recreation, lower fatty fish consumption, sunscreen)
But the article is not without its faults. For example:
- “The main dietary sources are wild-caught oily fish (salmon, mackerel, bluefish, and canned tuna) and fortified milk and baby formula, cereal and orange juice.” The best dietary source is good old cod liver oil. At 300 times the daily value of vitamin D, it beats up fortified orange juice (25 times DV) and takes its lunch money. There is much to be said for the synergy of a food that contains vitamin D naturally and is used by the body as part of the whole food rather than the nutritionism of fortification.
- “Babies who are exclusively breastfed are at risk for vitamin D deficiency.“ and “The American Academy of Pediatrics recommends that breast-fed infants receive a daily supplement of 400 units until they are weaned and consuming a quart or more each day of fortified milk or formula.” Well, that’ll put a pretty quick end to a thriving breastfeeding relationship. A better policy would be to make sure Mom is receiving sufficient D and encourage appropriate levels of sunlight for baby than to start throwing fortified milk or formula at him.
I hear you all groaning out there about “fish burps” and how disgusting your Mom said taking a daily dose of cod liver oil is. I’m here to tell you, it’s not that bad. We have options Grandma couldn’t dream of.
First, try fermented cod liver oil. Not only does the fermentation process make the vitamins much more bioavailable, I find it almost completely alleviates “fish burps.” There are also flavored options and capsules to improve the likelihood the regimen will be adhered to. Take your cod liver oil with a cool drink (not milk and nothing carbonated) to reduce fishy backlash. Oh, and take it with a high nutrient meal, especially one containing butter for the very best nutritional boost. Still bothered? Take it at bedtime and sleep through it!
More reading on Vitamin D and cod liver oil:
20% of Kids Aged 1-11 Not Getting Enough Vitamin D
Start a buying club for great savings!
Kidney Stones, Juice, Sugar…and Brain
This post is part of Fight Back Friday, hosted by Food Renegade.
The Dark Side of Fat Loss
7 comments
Comments feed for this article
July 30, 2010 at 6:03 am
Still Wrong
This data is wrong. The problem is vitamin A. Cod liver oil is loaded with vitamin A and vitamin A competes with vitamin D. They use the same receptors in the body. You only need a small amount of vitamin D.
The sun is the optimal source of vitamn D. We succesfully evolved for five millions years naked under the sun.
During summer simply expose >40% of you skin to sunlight with no sunscreen for 10-15 minutes, between 11-2 (when your shadow is shorter than you are).
In winter take a D3 supplement at a rate of 75iu/kg/d. Oral supplements are readily available.
For more information visit GrassRoots Health, D-Action.
July 30, 2010 at 6:20 am
Still Wrong
Typo
I meant to write you only need a small amount of vitamin A. Cod liver oil contains too much vitamin A.
By current government standards you need a order of magnitude more vitamin D.
Do you believe govrnment or five million years of sucessful evolution?
July 30, 2010 at 8:40 am
localnourishment
To be honest, I don’t believe in evolution at all. I do, however, believe humans were created to live in sunshine and not suffer illness from its lack. I also dislike the science of the studies you reference. But, that’s me.
July 31, 2010 at 10:30 pm
miracle
I have been miserable and in pain for years. Came across the article in the NYT and said, that’s it. Went outside and sat in the sun which is extremely unusual for me–I have avoided sun exposure, going weeks, if not months with very little outdoor activity. Later that day I began to feel better–I had terrible joint and muscle pain that was debilitating, as well as severe fatigue. It was cloudy today, but I am still much improved. Can’t wait for the next sunny day, I hope tomorrow, so I can continue the experiment. So far, so good. All we hear about is SPF–maybe we need to hear about SEF: Sun Exposure Factor. I had assumed I was getting enough D from milk and other sources. But I’m sure it wasn’t enough, or the right type like I got from the sun.
August 2, 2010 at 11:59 am
localnourishment
That’s wonderful about your joint pain!
August 2, 2010 at 6:38 pm
Monica
I’m pretty sure that the important thing regarding vitD and vitA is obtaining them in the correct ratio. That ratio is somewhere between 4 vitA to 1 vitD to 8 vitA to 1 vitD. Here is an excerpt from this site: http://www.westonaprice.org/cod-liver-oil/1954-update-on-vitamins-a-and-d.html
“They also point out that rat studies showing that vitamin A is toxic and antagonizes the effects of vitamin D used much higher ratios, ranging from 5,000 to 55,000!”
There are many articles there that deal with vitD, vitA and CLO. I’m convinced CLO is healthful and a good supplement for vitD and vitA, but I encourage everyone to do their own research.
I take two teaspoons of fermented CLO flavored like cinnamon (Dr. Ron’s Cinnamon Tingle) in a small glass of milk every day and love it. I don’t have fishy burps. Occassionally I will have a cinnamony burp, but not often.
December 31, 2010 at 1:00 pm
My top 10 of 2010 « Local Nourishment
[...] New York Times calls out Vitamin D [...]