Review of Primal Force Norwegian Cod Liver Oil

We've talked so much about health here at Ribbons and Pearls, and I'm back after a week of using Primal Force's Norwegian Cod Liver Oil to share all about cod liver oil, the health benefits, and what to look out for when buying a cod liver oil supplement. So get yourself ready because this post is going to be packed with all the information you'll need about cod liver oil.

I've been interested in incorporating cod liver oil into my supplemented diet for a while now, and have finally gotten that opportunity. Special thanks to Primal Force for both the incredible opportunity, and also for producing a cod liver oil that I can take without the worry that comes with using any fish product these days (such as running the risk of heavy metal poisoning, which will be discussed later in this post).

Primal Force is a product label by Dr. Al Sears, MD who's also the founder of highly reputable Wellness Research Foundation.

You can read about Dr Sears, MD here, and even more here.

 Now, I won't include all the wonderful information about Primal Force and Dr. Sears, although I would love to because it really is incredible stuff. I will keep it brief, though, and just end by saying that Primal Force supplements are created using all natural vitamins, herbs and minerals. There's your hint as to why I was happy to get to try Primal Force products! 

Now, let's  dive right into the cod liver oil (bring a snorkel!)

First I'll begin by giving you the low-down on cod liver oil, then we'll go into more details on the Primal Force CLO and my use of it.

Not the best quality, I apologize. This is a capful of the Primal Force Cod Liver Oil. It's clear in color.

(47 Serving per bottle.)

Why is Cod Liver Oil Good For Our Health?:

Mostly, it's the omega 3's we seek, and Cod Liver Oil is abundant in those. Even better, Primal Force's Cod Liver Oil contains EPA and DHA (two types of omega 3's that aren't always both included in all fish oil supplements.) Having both means even better health benefits.

What Do Omega 3's Do?

For the sake of being thorough -- and because it's more informative to give the whole spiel instead of just saying "Cod Liver Oil is good for your health because it contains omega 3's," -- I'll brief you on why omega 3's are necessary for good health:

They lower blood triglyceride levels, regulate heart beat, decreases formation of plaque, decreases inflammation, etc

Cod Liver Oil is great for the immune system, promotes cardiovascular health, protects the heart, and has been used for years to keep folks healthy, to keep colds/flu at bay, and even to shorten colds/flu, etc. I know of several people who use the stuff religiously just to keep their immune system up to par, and colds at bay. It's also known for easing joint pain.

You can read further information (highly advisable) about 

Primal Force CLO benefits here.

Taste

I'll say, I was surprised when I didn't gag after first trying the Cod Liver Oil, since it is in oil form, not in capsules. Even more surprising was that there's no fishy taste, and no fishy burps, which I've heard a lot of people say happens after taking a capsule of fish oil. This is actual liquid (non-capsule) and I'd never know it came from a fish. I've had a burp that was lemon flavored once or twice, but that's all. Not unpleasant at all.

It has a lemon/lime flavor, and it's actually more than tolerable. I couldn't call it delicious, but it's as tolerable as drinking lemon water. It isn't sweet, and the flavoring almost fully covers the taste of oil. In fact, I can even hold the oil in my mouth for several seconds before swallowing.

I sometimes just add the teaspoon of oil to my water so I can avoid using a spoon (pathetic, huh?) and doing so makes it taste exactly like lemon water. You'd never know it was fish oil in the water!

Why I'm Taking Primal Force Norwegian Cod Liver Oil:

Well, obviously I want the benefits that come with the awesome omega 3's in this stuff, but I've also been extremely interested in adding this stuff to my diet for a main reason: teeth! I know, it sounds crazy, right? 

*Highly absorb-able Vitamin D in the CLO helps maintain and improve bone density.*  The reason I've been working so hard the last year on my entire bone-health (and overall health, but bone & teeth have been a huge focus point of mine) is due to my using a medication for years to help control endometriosis pain and problems. Little did I know, it is known for reducing bone density! So, that's why I'd began focusing on bone and teeth health in particular.

But I had been reading up on healing your teeth, healing cavities and even re-growing teeth for over a year now and everything I read says to take a high-quality Cod Liver Oil and Ghee. I started the Ghee last week, and after reading a year's worth of information, personal testimonies and more, I thought I should look into really trying Cod Liver Oil.

So yes, I actually am counting on seeing some major improvements in my dental health, too!

Just for your information, here's just one account of fermented cod liver oil being used (in combination with other things like butter oil) to help the cavity-healing process!

I've been doing some serious re-vamping of my entire body (health-wise), and that includes my brain.

I've shared my journey with mood problems here at Ribbons and Pearls, so this is another reason I was even more excited about using Cod Liver Oil -- it supports positive state of mind!

So, in my quest to help my body to operate at absolute full function, I was able to get my hands on some of this awesome Cod Liver Oil, with the help of the folks at Primal Force.

Note: Most people who have used or recommend Cod Liver Oil for dental health usually use/say fermented Cod Liver Oil. 
I wasn't sure why, and wondered if just Cod Liver Oil would do the same tricks. So, according to what I have found, as far as 'why you should choose fermented Cod Liver Oil' when working on healing teeth (and other things) is because it is high in Vitamin A & D. (4,000 IU of Vitamin A and 400 IU of D) and because it contains CoQ10. 
Fermented cod liver oil is just generally more nutritional.

. Since I wanted to particularly work on healing some cavities along with get super healthy, I worried I wouldn't be able to obtain all the benefits needed because fermented cod liver oil is said to be very risky for people with stomach problems, like I've had. So, I've been ecstatic about the Primal Force brand because it *does* contain Vitamin A & D, although in particularly lower amounts than the fermented stuff. It doesn't contain the CoQ10.  I do like that the Primal Force contains added antioxidant blend (rosemary extract) because that has its own extra health benefits.

I've so far had great results using this brand of cod liver oil, though so here's what I've decided to do, for now, to make up the difference:

• - Adjusting the dosage to a higher one, as I describe doing in the “dosage” section of this page. 

• - Supplementing with a separate CoQ10, which I thankfully already had on hand, so I was able to begin combining both right away. 

*I use 3 capsules, 100 mg each of CoQ10. Weston A. Price recommends  from 25 mg to 600 mg of CoQ10 a day, depending on your needs.

Note: This is what I've gathered from my research anyways, although I could be off. If so, I welcome corrections.

*** Cod Liver Oil is Not The Same as Fish Oil, and is One Better than The Other?

It's important to keep in mind that Cod Liver Oil is not the same as simple fish oil. Cod Liver Oil comes from the liver of Cod fish. Fish oil contains the flesh of all different kinds of fish. The omega 3 found in both, however, is the same.

Another difference is that cod liver oil contains Vitamins A & D (fat-soluble), whereas fish oil does not.

P.S. Vitamin A is a powerful disease-fighter and Vitamin D is necessary for good teeth and bone health, as well as other things.

Why Norwegian Cod Liver Oil? And What You Should Know About Before Ever Taking Cod Liver Oil...

The reason you hear so much scary stuff about taking any kind of fish oil is because some brands of it contain harmful things like mercury and contaminants, so it's extremely important to know if a supplement contains these things before you purchase it. 

That's why I'm loving the Primal Force Cod Liver Oil -- because they have had theirs tested by a third party for not only mercury, but also other heavy metals and PCB's. They have a guarantee that their product complies with the European Standards. In other words, they've been tested to be free of harmful heavy metals and other contaminants.

Image Source: E-magazine

Another thing you have to look out for in a fish oil supplement is whether they can guarantee that their product is free of not only mercury but all heavy metals and contaminants! Some labels will claim to be tested and free of mercury, but not necessarily other contaminants and heavy metals.

Also, some cod liver oil has been processed in a non-traditional way, which can mean that the vitamins are removed in the process, leaving you with oil that doesn't have the vitamins, or oil with synthetic vitamins added to it, as a way to "replace" those destroyed in the process. Neither are preferred, so it's best to go with a high-quality cod liver oil that's been processed "traditionally."

• Primal Force Cod Liver Oil has been flushed with nitrogen to preserve freshness.

•  Primal Force's Cod Liver Oil is free of added sugar, salt, dairy, yeast, wheat, corn, preservatives, artificial flavors and/or colors. 

•  Comes from "cold, pristine waters of Norwegian Sea."

These are reasons why I was totally comfortable (and more than happy to have the opportunity) to use the Norwegian Cod Liver Oil from Primal Force.

Now that's impressive!

 

Dosing:

The bottle says one teaspoon daily (with a meal), but I take a little over 2, a little less than 2 1/2 because Weston A. Price says the dosage of Vitamin A for adults should be 10,000 IU daily. The Primal Force Cod Liver Oil contains 4,000 IU of Vitamin A, but I am doubtful that I get the remaining daily value from food sources in my everyday diet, and that's why I take the additional dose of Primal Force CLO.

*The bottle also says that it's best if kept in refrigerator. I actually didn't notice that part until I was re-reading the label to post the ingredients in this review, so I'll have to remember to stick mine in the fridge in the AM.

Dr. Price recommended around 4,000 IU of Vitamin D as the minimal daily requirement in order to obtain “vibrant health.” So, the amount of A in the Primal Force CLO is much closer to the Weston A. Price recommendations than the amount of D in the oil (400 IU per serving.) So, it’s necessary for me to use other forms of Vitamin D in pretty high amounts to try and reach the WAP recommendations, which is what I try to follow in my entire health regime. 

Here are the ingredients, if you're interested:

(* You can view the entire label here.)

Vitamin A: 4,000 IU

Vitamin D: 400 IU

Norwegian Cod Liver Oil: 4455 mg

EPA: 350 mg 

DHA: 530 mg

Natural lemon & lime flavors, antioxidant blend (rosemary extract, mixed tocopherols, ascorbyl palmitate, and citric acid). Contains soy. 

 Would I recommend Primal Force CLO?

Without hesitation.

I'd especially go so far as to recommend a product such as this due to the safety of it, the fact that you can read for yourself that it's safe and free of toxins and heavy metals and junk. Also because of what's available about the brand Primal Force and Dr. Sears. It all seems very reputable to me, and trustworthy -- and this is coming from someone who is a careful researcher about her supplements. 

Plus, the benefits of the CLO makes it a supplement I'd easily recommend others to take regularly, with or without a health condition because it's simply so beneficial to your brain and health overall that it's one of those good-to-take-for-no-serious-reason supplements.

Disclaimer (I know, I hate them, too, but these days you kind of can't afford to note post them.):

I am not a specialist or any other kind of doctor or expert. Content on this blog is not intended to be taken as medical advice, diagnosis, treatment or advice of any sort. I'm simply sharing information about my own experiences and results from use of a product or activity in hopes of providing useful information/suggestions to readers, not to be taken as a patient/medical adviser relationship. I am not responsible for what readers choose to do after viewing the content here. Furthermore, I do not hold an "exceptional" or other special relationship with the company mentioned. I'm simply a consumer who worked with the company on a review that is in compliance with FTTC's guidelines. That means, everything you read here is my own words, not anything of the company's. I was not provided with monetary compensation for my review. All information posted has been done so with complete honesty. No action should be taken based solely on the content of this publication ( I'm not responsible.) Readers who rely on the information in this blog to replace the advise of an appropriate health care provider assume all risks of such behavior.