Does it work? I’m of a certain vintage where things are painful even when not in use, so I’ve bought a load of capsules from Holland and Barrett. Are transformative results on the horizon?

Maybe. As I understand it the relevant factors are how much Omega-3 fatty acids you consume (most people don’t get enough and CLO is a good source) and how much Omega-6 fatty acids you get (also essential but most people eat way too much which is not good). The ratio between these is important apparently and a low O6-O3 ratio can help with specific health problems such as arthritis.

further reading: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/12442909

Thanks, zilog. I definitely need more Omega 3, and a calculator…

No problem. I think the most important point is that although getting more O3 is a good thing, cutting down the amount of O6 (generally found in processed foods, etc) as well could make a bigger difference.

It works for me, if I biked more than a few days in a row I would have pain in my knees, they are much better now that I take CLO.

Any use?

Regarding these things, does anyone know if the humongous gel capsules need swallowing, or does chewing and swallowing still result in a benefit from the oils?

The ones I have apparently include orange/berry flavouring and the gel capsule is tasteless so this would imply you can chomp and swallow?! Or its just to keep people buying them who would otherwise struggle to swallow the damn things.

I’ve been given them to try and help with dry eyes and the dose is 2700mg a day, or 4 gels!

to try and help with dry eyes

eye specialist surgeon who works with the wife told me to use ‘geltears’ eye drops 3 times a day, works out at £5 a month and sorted it in days for me 😀

At risk of taking over thread, its prep for possible laser eye surgery to reduce risk of irritation after as they are too dry for lenses, got the softgels with added vit D3, hot eye pad thing to clear tear ducts with help from no tears shampoo, and Hyabak eye drops.

The latest school of thought is to cut out the middleman, i.e. the cod, and take Krill oil as that’s where the cod gets its omega 3 from.

WRT the original question, I went to Norway years ago and visited a cod liver oil factory in a fishing village. The oldest person we met in the village looked about 65, we were amazed when he said he was 92!!

It’s Def worth taking and I have every day ever since, the key is to make sure you take quality oil.

Turmeric, good anti-imflammatory apparently.
Needs to be taken with pepper for it to be absorbed.
Mentioned on Radio 2 the other day.

One needs a holistic approach to one’s health – no one thing will solve a problem alone – Cod Liver has a lot going for it – take them …

I’ve been taking fish oil tablets for years now, 3000mgs a day.

My doctor moans about it, but they ‘generally’ hate supplements, they’re too blinkered about promoting a hugely varied and balanced diet – yes if I ate the perfect diet I wouldn’t need them – but I don’t, it’s not practical for me sadly.

An issue with Cod Liver Oil is the Vitamin A it contains – which can be problematic if you take too much.
I increase my Omega 3 intake through Flax seed oil and eating more oily fish.

rs – Member

It works for me, if I biked more than a few days in a row I would have pain in my knees, they are much better now that I take CLO.

Played 5-a-side for 20 years, felt much better after trying CLO.
To the point that I can I can really feel it if I stop for a while.

Tried Glucosamine, but feel no difference when I stop taking it.

Depends what yr condition is.

Arthritis Research just completed a 10 yr study – results are different for either inflammatory (ie RA) or osteo-arthritis.

Fish body oil (not liver oil) was found to significantly effective for those suffering painful joints from rheumatoid arthritis.

Fish oil trials

Look at capsaicin also. This subject is close to me as was wheelchair bound via inflammatory arthritis and still suffer joint pain. I chose to treat naturally and learned a lot about it, including understanding referred pain and the effects of diet on the body. You can do a lot with diet and the right physio/hydrotherapy. Oily fish in yr diet is worth it.

Here’s the whole findings:

Complementary and alternative medicines report (Arthritis Research UK)

I’ve found that taking a regular cheap 1 a day cod liver oil tablet stops my hands from getting dry and splitting in the winter. Which is nice.

I take CLO and gluc/chond. Some years ago I forgot to pack them for my hols. Over two weeks my body ran out. Driving back from the S of France with knees seizing up convinced me of their worth.

I was in Tesco the other day and someone knocked a big display of Omega 3 over onto my head.

Fortunately, I only suffered super fish oil injuries.

An old cat of mine was struggling to climb up on chairs and so on, so I kept a ramekin of CLO out with his food. Within a week he was climbing 6′ fences again, an amazing result and not tainted by any expectations on his part (unless he read the label when I wasn’t looking).

Which reminds me I must buy some as its got cold again (for me, the cat died years ago).