Which Fish Oil? Carlson's? Nordic? Help!

[Metasequoia]

We've been taking Carlson's fish oil and I need to order more. However, in my searching, I came across this fish oil blog and the author doesn't have nice things to say about Carlson's.

From what this guy says, Nordic fish oil is superior.

Thoughts?

[Bri'sgirl]

Hmm...I'd like to know, as well. I use Carlson's Super 1,000mg CLO for myself, and their lemon flavored CLO for my kids. Will be keeping my eye on this thread...

[Metasequoia]

So the WAPF doesn't recommend fish oil at all, saying it can even be dangerous because of too much EPA...

Crapola, I'm so confused. I thought it was supposedly "heart-protective"?

[nukuspot]

That I don't get cause most fish oils have less EPA than CLO! The ratio of EPA/DHA on my CLO and my husbands fish oils are very similar. That doesn't make sense to me...

FYI--I have heard that both Carlsons and NN are good brands. I prefer NN because of their rigorous 3rd party purity testing, but I have taken and would recommend Carlson's oils too.

[Metasequoia]

I questioned my local WAPF and they shared the same feelings as Sally Fallon, Mary Enig & Chris Masterjohn - that fish oil supplementation is dangerous and if we get enough saturated fat from pastured animals in our diets, we make enough EPA. They all recommended CLO, though. Oh well, that's less money I have to spend!

[Metasequoia]

On the WAPF site, it said that fish oil is especially dangerous for babies/children because the EPA competes with the DHA and can cause stunted brain development. Wow.

[nukuspot]

So would the EPA in my CLO do the same thing (compete with the DHA)?

[serenbat]

On the WAPF site, it said that fish oil is especially dangerous for babies/children because the EPA competes with the DHA and can cause stunted brain development. Wow.

where does it say this?

from WAPF -As a general guideline, we recommend the following doses of vitamin A from cod liver oil, along with a nutrient-dense diet that contains other vitamin A-rich foods:
Children age 3 months to 12 years: A dose of cod liver oil that provides about 5000 IU vitamin A daily, obtained from about 1 teaspoon of regular cod liver oil or ½ teaspoon of high-vitamin cod liver oil.
Children over 12 years and adults: A maintenance dose of cod liver oil that provides about 10,000 IU vitamin A daily, obtained from 2 teaspoons of regular cod liver oil or 1 teaspoon of high-vitamin cod liver oil.
Pregnant and nursing women: A dose of cod liver oil that provides about 20,000 IU vitamin A daily, obtained from 4 teaspoons regular cod liver oil or 2 teaspoons high-vitamin cod liver oil.

http://www.westonaprice.org/Cod-Live...endations.html

[Metasequoia]

Originally Posted by nukuspot

So would the EPA in my CLO do the same thing (compete with the DHA)?

No, that's why the WAPF recommends CLO, but not FO - specifically Blue Ice Fermented because everything is in the correct ratio since it's a whole food.

Originally Posted by serenbat

where does it say this?

from WAPF -As a general guideline, we recommend the following doses of vitamin A from cod liver oil, along with a nutrient-dense diet that contains other vitamin A-rich foods:
Children age 3 months to 12 years: A dose of cod liver oil that provides about 5000 IU vitamin A daily, obtained from about 1 teaspoon of regular cod liver oil or ½ teaspoon of high-vitamin cod liver oil.
Children over 12 years and adults: A maintenance dose of cod liver oil that provides about 10,000 IU vitamin A daily, obtained from 2 teaspoons of regular cod liver oil or 1 teaspoon of high-vitamin cod liver oil.
Pregnant and nursing women: A dose of cod liver oil that provides about 20,000 IU vitamin A daily, obtained from 4 teaspoons regular cod liver oil or 2 teaspoons high-vitamin cod liver oil.

http://www.westonaprice.org/Cod-Live...endations.html

Right, that's for CLO, NOT fish oil.

[mbravebird]

I posted this on the other thread, but over here we're trying wild salmon oil from Vital Choice. They make it themselves from their own catch, has all the original A and D in it. Has more iodine because it comes from the head of fishes. Has less A than CLO, but about the same amount of D. EPA/DHA amounts are 240mg/220mg per 3/4 tsp.

A & D amounts are 2060 IU A and 340 IU of D per 3/4 tsp.

It's not fermented, which I'm sure reduces the benefits when compared to FCLO. But on balance, I'm feeling they're comparable, with the added benefit of extra DHA, iodine, and really high natural antioxidants. We also eat a lot of liver here, so feel good about getting extra A and K2 from that.

[Metasequoia]

I'm trying to find the page where I read that the extra EPA in fish oil can stunt children's brain growth....

In the meantime, I found this:

Cod Liver Oil in Formula/Too Much EPA?

Q. I recently ordered the ingredients for home made infant formula and I have one concern. Although my wife and I take cod liver oil daily, I have read that fish oils contain too much EPA for babies. It is suggested that the EPA competes with DHA and can cause stunting of growth. The commercial formulas use an algal sourced DHA/ARA, but it doesn't seem to be available to consumers. I could buy Neuromins supplements and break them open, but that would not provide the ARA. Is the EPA a real concern?

A. We do NOT recommend fish oil, not for babies nor adults, but high vitamin or fermented cod liver oil, which supplies A and D without giving too much EPA and DHA. The EPA in cod liver oil will not compete with the DHA--these two always occur together in food. And do not use the synthetic DHA/ARA, we have heard bad reports from this. The baby will get ARA from the butterfat in the milk.

We have had nothing but good reports on growth from babies on our homemade formula.

http://www.westonaprice.org/FAQ-Home...y-Formula.html

[TonyaW]

Originally Posted by Metasequoia

We've been taking Carlson's fish oil and I need to order more. However, in my searching, I came across this fish oil blog and the author doesn't have nice things to say about Carlson's.

From what this guy says, Nordic fish oil is superior.

Thoughts?

Is salmon a highly contaminated fish like the person in the blog says? I haven't heard that.

The thing I never understood about Nordic Naturals is that it barely has any fish taste. That seems odd to me . Although I do think they are one of the better ones to buy at the store.