Cod liver oil, fish oil, krill oil - what's the truth?

[Guest guest]

I've been researching both CLO and fish oil, trying to sift through the abundant

marketing, hype and contentious disagreement and get down to the facts.

Specifically, I'm interested in finding a product that is:

1) Free of heavy metals, dioxins and PCBs

2) Has naturally occurring vitamin A & D (CLO) or vitamin D (fish oil)

3) Is harvested in a sustainable manner

4) Is not rancid and damaged by oxidation

5) Has sufficient DHA and EPA to provide anti-inflammatory benefit

6) Is in a natural (not synthetic) form

Up until recently I have been using Green Pastures FCLO. However, I just heard

some disturbing things about CLO today from someone who has spent months

researching this subject that I'd like to verify or refute. This is what I was

told:

1) There is no cod left at latitudes where they can produce or consume vitamin

D. The implication is that there is no such thing as a CLO with naturally

occurring D.

2) Green Pastures has not been forthcoming in providing independent verification

that their FCLO product is free of metals, dioxins and PCBs.

3) Many of these independent verifications aren't trustworthy anyways, as was

demonstrated with Carlson's tests that failed to identify toxins.

Also, I have asked Green Pastures what the EPA and DHA levels are in FCLO, but

they have been unable (or unwilling) to tell me. This concerns me since the EPA

and especially DHA have been shown to provide the majority of the

anti-inflammatory benefit.

Now also you have Mercola and Dr. Eades heavily promoting krill oil instead of

fish oil or CLO, claiming that the phospholipid structure of KO makes it more

bioavailable. Although the amounts of DHA and EPA are lower in KO, the claim is

that you need less since it is more readily absorbed. Anecdotal reports from

people that have tried KO suggest this may be true, as many immediately see an

anti-inflammatory effect that they didn't get on CLO or FO before. Published

studies have suggested KO may have a superior anti-inflammatory effect, but two

of the studies cited most often were performed by Neptune (the primary

manufacturer of KO). I found one recent study that seemed to be independent

that seems positive (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/19854375), but I don't

have access to the full text so I can't be certain.

On the other hand you have people saying that KO is more likely to be

contaminated than either FO or CLO. Yet proponents of KO point to independent

tests which " verify " its purity.

It has become very difficult to separate fact from fiction in this matter and

determine which product is safest and most effective. In general I think

dramatically reducing omega-6 consumption is the best way to decrease

inflammation, but for people who have a chronic, inflammatory condition (heart

disease, autoimmune disease, etc.) I do see the benefit of additional DHA and

EPA.

I'd love to hear from anyone in the WAPF community that has explored this issue

in depth. Hopefully we can put our heads together and figure this out.

Chris