Prep question

[Spyglass Sally]

Very interesting. I looked up the original research to see if I could find what kind of fish oil they used (cheaper oils are more prone to the oxidation that is the problem here) or why they used 15 g. The doses I see for most people are more like 2-3 g so that seemed really high. The higher dose would also obviously cause more oxidative stress than most folks would incur. They didn't say why, but still it's interesting.

So I guess especially if you're taking high doses you would want to include an antioxidant. Cod liver oil provides antioxidant vitamins D and A so you use that - then you wouldn't have to worry about it. Also many brands use vitamin E to preserve the oil naturally. But I still wonder if at normal doses, especially since you feed organ meats, if you need to be concerned? Maybe I'll put that on my list of questions for when I visit the vet next month.

[KeeperBoy]

Our holistic vet said be really careful of Cod liver oil because of the Omega 6s. Something about OD-ing on them?

I asked my friend who works with animal nutritionists about the Omega 3s and E and she said that they feed E with 3s because 3s effect the normal absorption of the E so you need to add more in? I'll have her email me some research on it.

[Spyglass Sally]

We get too many omega 6's in our diet, from things like vegetable oils, and the ratio of 3's to 6's is important. So, at least in humans, you want to avoid the 6's and add the 3's. I don't think cod liver oil is a source of 6's (at least in any significance) but I think fish oil or krill oil is preferable for the 3's anyway. And then supplement the antioxidants in whatever dose you require, based on diet and geographical location (lack of sunshine).

The thing about adding the E's, I believe, is because of the antioxidant effect offsetting the oxidation of DHA/EPA. At least that's what your research was talking about. But I guess what I wonder is if you're not using mega doses of EPA/DHA and you are eating food that contains antioxidants like vitamin E & D, do you need to supplement on top of that?

I'll be interested in what your friend says. Vitamins E&D are fat soluble so I would think that you don't need to necessarily worry about giving it every day but look at it more as an overall nutritional supplementation.

[KeeperBoy]

Originally Posted by Spyglass Sally

I'll be interested in what your friend says. Vitamins E&D are fat soluble so I would think that you don't need to necessarily worry about giving it every day but look at it more as an overall nutritional supplementation.

That's my thought process too.

[AussieGirl]

I have read a few warnings about giving cod liver oil and possible Vitamin A overdose

Because cod liver oil has a very high level of Vitamin A, it is possible to exceed the Recommended Dietary Allowance (RDA) of vitamin A. Vitamin A accumulates in body fat, and can reach harmful levels sufficient to cause hypervitaminosis A

[Spyglass Sally]

The AAFCO recommended dose of Vitamin A for dogs is 100-200 IU/kg/day. Vitamin A doses vary from brand to brand of CLO, but Carlson's is about 800 IU per tsp, which would be the dose for a 50 lb dog. However, if your dog is eating liver and other good sources of A, you would need to be more worried about the total dose they are getting in a day. I guess that's why I haven't supplemented Buddy's food with A as long as he's getting 10% organ meat each day.

There's a very interesting article about CLO, Vitamin A & D and doses for humans at http://chetday.com/codliveroilvitamindcouncil.htm .