Dr. Cannell: Unprecedented Warning About Cod Liver Oil

[Guest guest]

Oh boy, take a look at this! Just got this today from the

Vitamin D Council mailing list. I got the full paper but haven't read

it yet.

Tom

November 11, 2008

Today, sixteen well-known experts, including professors Walter Willett

and Ed Giovannucci of Harvard, Dr. Hathcock of the Council for

Responsible Nutrition, and Professor Reinhold Vieth of the University

of Toronto, published an unprecedented warning about the ingestion of

cod liver oil and resultant vitamin A toxicity.

Cod Liver Oil, Vitamin A Toxicity, Frequent Respiratory Infections,

and the Vitamin D Deficiency Epidemic

J. Cannell, MD; Reinhold Vieth, MS, PhD; Walter Willett, MD,

DrPH; Zasloff, MD, PhD; N. Hathcock, MSc, PhD; H.

White, PhD; Sherry A. Tanumihardjo, MSc, PhD; D. Enette Larson-Meyer,

PhD; Heike A. Bischoff-Ferrari, MD, MPH; Christel J. Lamberg-Allardt,

PhD; Joan M. Lappe, PhD, RN; W. Norman, PhD; Armin Zittermann,

PhD; J. Whiting, MSc, PhD; B. Grant, PhD; Bruce W.

Hollis, PhD; Giovannucci, MD

Using the strongest language published to date, the group condemned

the current (1997) Food and Nutrition Board (FNB) recommendations for

vitamin D, stating " The 1997 FNB recommendations offend the most basic

principles of pharmacology and toxicology, leading us to conclude that

the current official guidelines and limitations for vitamin D intakes

are scientifically indefensible. "

In addition to warning about the consumption of cod liver oil, the

above experts recommended healthy children take 1,000 IU/day of

vitamin D for every 25 pounds of body weight. In some cases this is

more than ten times current recommendations for children by the

government and professional organizations.

Finally, the group recommended that " children with chronic illness

such as autism, diabetes, and/or frequent infections " may need to take

even more vitamin D, " doses adequate to maintain their 25-hydroxy

vitamin D in the mid normal of the reference range (65 ng/ml) - and

should be so supplemented year around. " Less than one percent of

American children currently have such levels.

I'm sorry I can't send you this paper. Even though I wrote it, I had

to pay to download it and agree not to reproduce it.

Cannell, MD

http://www.vitamindcouncil.org/