The importance of taking cod liver oil for your best health cannot be underestimated. In Dr. Weston A. Price’s book Nutrition and Physical Degeneration, a study of school girls in New Zealand found a daily supplement of high vitamin cod liver oil each day reduced cavities by nearly 42%.
In the following video, I will show you the best brand on the market today for cod liver oil as well as how much to take based on the research of Dr. Weston A. Price and the Weston A. Price Foundation.
The proper dosage of cod liver oil is 1 tsp (5 ml) per day and depending on the size of the spoons in your kitchen, you may or may not be taking the right dose.
The size of spoons varies quite a bit around the world, so be sure to measure the spoon you are using to take your cod liver oil as sometimes what people think is a full teaspoon is actually only a half!
Remember to always take your cod liver oil with high vitamin butter oil. If this supplement is not available where you live, you may substitute (homemade) grassfed ghee instead. For those with dairy allergies, use emu oil.
Another dairy-free option is a natural K2 supplement derived from natto.
Taking these healthy fats together synergistically boosts the absorption of nutrients as noted in the detailed research of Dr. Weston Price.
Cod Liver Oil Basics
The video below shows you the basics of taking cod liver oil. If you are interested in cod liver oil for babies, the linked article provides more information.
If gagging is an issue with strong tasting foods like cod liver oil, this article plus video on how to stop the gag reflex for about 20-30 seconds with a simple acupressure technique may prove helpful.
Wondering what brands are best? I personally take this brand of virgin cod liver oil, which is sourced from some of the cleanest waters on earth. Note that my currently preferred brand differs from the recommendation in the video, which was filmed some years ago. The suggested manner of taking it and the reasons why remain the same, however.
Note that cod liver oil is a better choice than both krill oil and plain fish oil. This is because CLO contains natural fat-soluble vitamins as well as important omega-3 fatty acids.
thanks for your inspiration and transparency! i do have one question-what FLAVOR cod liver oil do you take? since i will not have to be doubling my dose, i would love to hear what flavor the master teacher can bear sliding down the back of her throat in such quantities!
Thanks for this video. I am glad to know that I am not the only one to occasionally miss the stock pot due to bones being past their use by date!! As to the CLO, I have the Melrose brand, here in Australia, which is cited as 'good' on the WAP website. I also measured my spoons – thanks for that! My tablespoon actually has 20ml *written* on it, and when I measured it, it was only 10ml – bizarre. I am upping my dose, and add it to my kefir smoothie in the morning. I am assuming, due to the recommendation on WAP website, that this oil is beneficial and not detrimental to my health!
Hi Alina, it could very well be that Dr. Bieler is referring to the highly industrialized cod liver oils which make up the majority of the market which indeed I would not even touch with a ten foot pole. If he had had an opportunity to review the Green Pastures fermented cod liver oil, there is no doubt he would be singing its praises.
I have just started to read “Food is your best medicine” by Henry Bieler and he does not seem to like cod liver oil. He says on page 6 that CLO upset the chemistry of digestion, causes degeneration to other organs, especially liver, thyroid and heart. Further he claims that Dr. Francis F. Pottenger discredits cod liver oil as well. I think that I will continue to use CLO but it was interesting to read the info. I have not seen this book being reviewed by W. Price website but his recipe “Bieler broth” is listed in “Nourishing Traditions” as a superfood. He is also frequently cited throughout the NT book.
Just my 2 cents.
Hi Melissa, I really do think you need both, actually. I wrote a blog about why I get midday sun without ever stopping my daily FCLO dose – here are my reasons:
https://www.thehealthyhomeeconomist.com/why-i-get-midday-sun-and-take-cod-liver
Thanks for the amazing testimonial, Raine. I am in love with the Green Pastures products as I know the difference in my health with and without them – I definitely don't want to ever be without them!
We actually get MORE sun in the autumn/winter months (being homeschoolers and in S. Florida, we tend to have a lot of outside playtime). I was wondering if cod liver oil is really that necessary if we are getting at least 1-2 hours of sun a day. Last year (our first year in Florida) was the first in which we didn't "catch" any kinds of colds/flu in quite a few years! I have bought a cod liver oil recommended as "good" by WAPF, and I'm having a hard time convincing my kids to take it 🙂
Hi Sarah – great post! I love Green Pasture brand cod liver oil, my whole family takes it and I sweat it has made an enormous difference in my dental health. For some years I have had pain and trouble in my front bottom teeth/gum area, and I had been taking the cod liver oil for almost a year…but about a month ago I realized maybe I wasn't taking enough and that could be why my problem wasn't improving. It was actually on our trip to visit David Wetzel and his family in Nebraska in early August (last month) when I started thinking that might be the case. I was taking 2 – 4 daily of the fermented cod liver oil non-gelatin capsules. I increased my daily dosage to nearly twice that amount, and guess what happened? Almost immediately, my gum and tooth pain DISAPPEARED. During all the years when I had that trouble (it has come and gone), I would sometimes be getting regular dental checkups, and sometimes not, using fluoride toothpaste for many of those years, and would floss regularly – just as I've always been told to do. But now that I am taking more cod liver oil I find that if I happen to skip brushing or even flossing, it doesn't matter at all. My teeth and gums are clean and feel great! And like you Sarah, I am so impressed with Green Pasture cod liver oil products, I would never endorse another cod liver oil, knowing what I do about how they create their product versus how other companies do their products. It was great to see it first hand, and the results are difficult to dispute! 🙂
Wow – thank you for this tip! I'm a nutritionist and I never really thought about this before. I can't believe it. That's a huge difference!
Now I'm going to measure my teaspoon and tablespoon to see how much liquid they actually hold! Thank you! I'll be sure to share this info with my clients!
I have the skate oil also and alternate every few weeks with the fermented cod liver oil. The makeup of nutrients is slightly different for the skate oil and I find I do best taking both .. not on the same day, just alternating every so often.
The fermented cod liver oil/butter oil mixture is fantastic! I love it. If you can afford both, by all means, do so. If you can only afford one, though, do the fermented cod liver oil which is why I focused on that in the video as it is the most important.
Hi Sarah-
Great video, thanks. I am wondering how many Green Pastures Fermented cod liver oil capsules would be the correct recommended serving for an adult? We just recently ran out, but I do remember the bottle saying to take two capsules so that is what we were taking. Is that enough to take each day? Also, why is cod liver oil preferred over fish oil?
Thank you,
Jen