Monday, March 28, 2011

Fermented Cod Liver Oil

Benefits include
  • helping to destroy plaques in the brain (fighting Alzheimer's Disease)
  • protecting brain cells from neurotoxins
  • generating nerve-related projections from existing old brain cells
  • maintaining brain plasticity and cognitive function
  • protecting against scar tissue formation in the brain
  • protecting brain glial cells (astrocytes) and neurons from exposure to methylmercury
  • healing brain injury
  • working synergistically with EGCG for added brain support
Find more details below as well as dosage and products recommended. I've also included info on Vitamin K which is also found in Fermented Cod Liver Oil.

Cod Liver Oil Basics and Recommendations 
Written by Sally Fallon and Mary G. Enig, PhD
 
Excerpt:
...Cod liver oil provides fat-soluble vitamins A and D, which Dr. Price found present in the diet of primitives in amounts ten times higher than in modernized diets. Cod liver oil supplements are a must for women and their male partners, to be taken for several months before conception, and for women during pregnancy. Growing children will also benefit greatly from a small daily dose.
 
Cod liver oil is also rich in eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docasahexaenoic acid (DHA). The body makes these fatty acids from omega-3 linolenic acid. EPA is as an important link in the chain of fatty acids that ultimately results in prostaglandins, localized tissue hormones while DHA is very important for the proper function of the brain and nervous system. Those individuals who have consumed large amounts of polyunsaturated oils, especially partially hydrogenated oils, who are suffering from certain nutrient deficiencies, or who have impaired pancreatic function, such as diabetics, may not be able to produce EPA and DHA and will, therefore, lack important prostaglandins and necessary fats for the brain unless they consume oily fish or take a cod liver oil supplement.
Fish Oil and Alzheimer's Disease
Excerpt from http://www.liveinthenow.com/article/two-supplements-you-absolutely-must-take
UCLA researchers report that DHA, found in fish oil, increases the production of LR11, a protein that is known to destroy the “plaques” associated with Alzheimer’s disease. People with Alzheimer’s don’t have as much of this protein.
Plaques are deposits of a protein called beta amyloid that are thought to be toxic to neurons in the brain, leading to Alzheimer’s. Since having high levels of LR11 prevents the toxic plaques from being made, it’s surmised that low levels may be a factor in causing the disease. (Ma, QL, et al. J Neurosci. 2007 Dec 26;27(52):14299-307.)
If that’s not enough to put fish oil on your list of “must haves,” consider this: Another study has found that DHA helps to protect brain cells from the neurotoxins that increase your risk for Parkinson’s disease. These include the industrial degreaser trichloroethylene (TCE), found in drinking water near sites where it’s been used. (Bousquet, M., FASEB Jo, Nov. 21, 2007 online edition.)
Why Butter & Fish Oil work together
 
For full article:
 
Article Summary
...A growing body of published research confirms Dr. Price's discoveries, namely that vitamin K2 is important for the utilization of minerals, protects against tooth decay, supports growth and development, is involved in normal reproduction, protects against calcification of the arteries leading to heart disease, and is a major component of the brain.

Vitamin K2 works synergistically with the two other "fat-soluble activators" that Price studied, vitamins A and D. Vitamins A and D signal to the cells to produce certain proteins and vitamin K then activates these proteins.
Vitamin K2 plays a crucial role in the development of the facial bones, and its presence in the diets of nonindustrialized peoples explains the wide facial structure and freedom from dental deformities that Weston Price observed.

 

DHA- Brain Boosting and Mercury Protecting

Not only does your heart and circulatory system love DHA, Docosahexaenoic acid, so does your brain. Essential omega 3 fatty acids are integral to the health of all cell membranes, nerve and brain function. Must be gotten through the diet via cold water oceanic fish or some very limited plant sources or taken as a supplement. 
A variety of new animal studies illustrate the brain power of DHA. One study showed “marked neurite-promoting potential in neurones from adult and aged animals.” The ability to generate nerve-related projections from existing old brain cells is truly amazing, and supports the notion of DHA Docosahexaenoic  as a superior brain anti-aging nutrient.
Another study showed that DHA helped maintain brain plasticity2 and cognitive function, protecting against scar tissue formation in the brain. The effects of DHA  and exercise had a combined synergistic value in terms of further enhancing brain health. The researchers showed that brain brain-derived neurotrophic factor (BDNF) was boosted by DHA  and the result was further enhanced by exercise. BDNF is the life force of brain rejuvenation, and here are two easy ways to boost BDNF levels.
Another DHA  study tested if DHA could protect brain glial cells (astrocytes) and neurons from exposure to methylmercury3. Exposure to mercury without protection by DHA caused these brain cells to have severe free radical distress and reduced mitochondrial activity (energy production). Pretreatment with DHA  completely prevented these adverse effects of mercury on brain cells. DHA is one potent nutrient for brain health.

Why Might Vitamin K2 be Beneficial for Your Heart?

http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/16/fatsoluble-vitamin-shown-to-reduce-coronary-calcification.aspx
Vitamin K engages in a delicate dance with vitamin D; whereas vitamin D provides improved bone development by helping you absorb calcium, there is new evidence that vitamin K2 directs the calcium to your skeleton, while preventing it from being deposited where you don't want it -- i.e., your organs, joint spaces, and arteries. A large part of arterial plaque consists of calcium deposits (atherosclerosis), hence the term "hardening of the arteries."
Vitamin K2 activates a protein hormone called osteocalcin, produced by osteoblasts, which is needed to bind calcium into the matrix of your bone. Osteocalcin also appears to help prevent calcium from depositing into your arteries. In other words, without the help of vitamin K2, the calcium that your vitamin D so effectively lets in might be working AGAINST you -- by building up your coronary arteries rather than your bones.
This is why if you take calcium and vitamin D but are deficient in vitamin K, you could be worse off than if you were not taking those supplements at all, as demonstrated by a recent meta-analysis linking calcium supplements to heart attacks.
This meta-analysis looked at studies involving people taking calcium in isolation, without complementary nutrients like magnesium, vitamin D and vitamin K, which help keep your body in balance. In the absence of those other important cofactors, calcium CAN have adverse effects, such as building up in coronary arteries and causing heart attacks, which is really what this analysis detected. So if you are going to take calcium, you need to be sure you have balanced it out with vitamin D and vitamin K.
For more info: http://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2011/07/16/fatsoluble-vitamin-shown-to-reduce-coronary-calcification.aspx
Fish Oil Healing Brain Injury
 

http://www.naturalnews.com/037671_fish_oil_brain_injury_lifesaving.html

Excerpt:

[For HS student, Bobby Randall, who was "for all intents and purposes...dead on the scene,"] they decided to take a radical course from normal AMA protocol and put Randall into hyperbaric therapy to increase oxygen to his brain while administering fish oil through Randall's feeding tube...
Dr. Bailes knew that the brain needs to feed on omega-3 fatty acids to heal inflammation as well as stimulate brain and nervous system cell growth. After discussing Randall's condition with fish oil omega-3 experts, Dr. Bailes determined that 20 grams fed through Randall's feeding tube daily might bring him around.

20 grams is 10 times more than what an uninjured person would supplement with fish oil. ...

At first, the hospital staff resisted Peter's urging to try the fish oil therapy on his son Bobby. ...But Peter persisted strongly and they finally yielded.

Today, at age 20, Bobby smiles as he recalls his high school graduation where he took off his cap and waved it to the cheering students. His dramatic recovery has left him with some weakness on the left side of his body and difficulty walking, but he's back.
Studies on FO reversing brain damage

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21615001

http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21514362

Fish Oil & EGCG


This study www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3458981/  says: "We previously found that fish oil enhanced bioavailability of EGCG versus EGCG treatment alone (P <0.001)."  


Dosage

Research suggests that protective blood levels of DHA can be reached by getting 180 mg a day from fish oil. This is the adult dose. See more on dosage here

Please read Vitamin A, Vitamin D, and Cod Liver Oil: Some Clarifications here for amounts to give to adults and children and for recommended brands.  

Products I use for Jett, see the DS Day to Day amazon store.
Green Pasture's Fermented Cod Liver Oil Butter Blend $30
Oil & butter blend is best unless you have a good source of organic/grass fed butter that you can replace the butter oil with. I used to use the non flavored capsule and I just open it and squeeze it in his food... It smells horrid but he took it fine...
Now I use the blend that's not in the capsule, the gel. I put it in banana and Jett eats it without protest. For more sensitive palates, you may have to hide it in pudding, yogurt or juice sweetened fruit spread. If that still doesn't work, your best bet is Melaleuca brand Omega3, in two flavors, Mango Tango or Lime Sorbet. It tastes really good and your child shouldn't have any problems taking it. $17.99 from Melaleuca Wellness Club (email me if you want to become a member).

Mango Tango or Lime Sorbet Omega3s $17.99 12 oz.


Sources
 

Related Posts
 

3 comments:

Nancy said...

We have been taking FCLO for a few years now :) We follow (or try our best)the advice of the WAPF

Anonymous said...

What would you suggest I use given that my daughter is currently on a non dairy diet??

Andi Durkin said...

Good question! Jett is casein free as well. The casein has been removed from the Green Pastures FCLO/butter blend. Dr. Sidney Baker was asked that question on Autism360.org and he said that even if it is in there, he felt the benefits out weighed the little bit of casein that could be in it.