Guest Blog Post byArchie Welch (co-owner of corganic.com)
The healthiest oils for cooking and frying are coconut oil, lard, duck fat, ghee, tallow (beef fat), palm oil and other similar fats. Because of their molecular structure these types of fats are known as saturated fats. They are hearty and do not break down easily when exposed to high heat. Less robust than saturated fats are monounsaturated fats. The smoke point (the point at which an oil emits smoke) is lower in monounsaturated fats than in saturated fats. You can sauté or use them as salad dressing oils but not for frying or high heat. Olive oil is a good example of a monounsaturated fat.
A third category of fats is known as polyunsaturated fatty acids (PUFA’s). Omega 3 fatty acids found abundantly in many vegetable, nut and seed oils are predominately polyunsaturated. In plants the Omega 3’s exist in the form of alpha linolenic acids (ALA). In animals such as fish and cod liver oil they are in the form of eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA) and docosahexaenoic acid(DHA).
Polyunsaturated fats have a very low smoke point. They are highly unstable and very reactive to oxygen, heat, light, moisture and metal. When you purchase raw flax oil at the health food store it is in the refrigerated section in a bottle that allows no light to enter. We have been taught to never cook with flax seed oil because the fragile polyunsaturated Omega 3 ALA’s will be destroyed. Free radicals, aldehydes, ketones and other rancid by-products would form adding oxidative stress to the body when consumed. A good rule of thumb is ‘PUFA’s will go Poof’ when heated. The polyunsaturated Omega 3 DHA and EPA in cod liver oil are even more fragile than the ALA’s from plant sources. The best way, actually the only way to consume polyunsaturated fats for health is to obtain them fresh and consume them within a short period of time.
Some fish oils, such as shark liver oil, contain naturally occurring vitamin E which acts as an antioxidant protecting the oil from going rancid for longer periods of time. The double whammy of cod liver oil is not only does it contain high levels of Omega 3 PUFA’s but it has very little vitamin E. The oil starts going rancid as soon as it is exposed to oxygen.
Industrial Cod Liver Oil
So if cod liver oil is more fragile than flax seed oil, and contains no antioxidants, why are all of the commercial name brand cod liver oils sold in the supplement aisle at room temperature? The answer lies in the way the oil is processed.
Similar to commercial vegetable oils, all of the name brand cod liver oils are industrially processed to make them shelf stable, ultra clean, easy to pour and less fishy tasting. The source of the fish may or may not be true cod, could come from fish farms and/or from polluted waters. The livers and the oil often sit in holding tanks for up to two years where they become rancid. To make the oil shelf stable the oil goes through a battery of steps that includes cooking the livers to extract the oil, carbon treatments, degumming, alkali refining, washing, drying, bleaching, winterization, deodorization (heated to 374°F) and molecular distillation (heated to 392°F). Even “cold processed” cod liver oil goes through the same process, exposing the oil to extremely high temperatures. Putting cod liver oil through industrial processing is like putting a bull in a china shop only in the case of commercial cod liver oil it is an entire herd.
Molecular distillation, a process highly promoted by the commercial cod liver oil producers as something positive for removing contaminants and heavy metals is actually responsible for creating a percentage of trans fats in the oil and destroying the vitamins. Industrial processes also remove the rancid taste and smell of their cod liver oil so it is not detected by the consumer. Added flavors or encapsulating the oil further masks the taste.
Historically cod liver oil was recommended for the high levels of vitamin A (retinol) and vitamin D3 (cholecalciferol) in the oil. Known for curing rheumatism, gout, tuberculosis infections and preventing rickets, cod liver oil was dispensed to generations of children from the mid 1800’s to the mid 1900’s with great success. Today’s industrial processing destroys the majority of the vitamin A and D naturally found in cod liver oil. To compensate vitamin A is added from a synthetic source of retinyl palmitate. The vitamin D3 is derived from lanolin in sheep wool as a cholesterol source and then irradiated. Synthetics may contain additives, colorings, fillers, by-products, and other chemicals not found in the natural versions and are produced with the aid of harsh chemical agents. Many animal studies have shown differences in absorption of synthetic compared to natural vitamins. Synthetic vitamins do not perform the same functions in your body as vitamins found naturally in whole food which are very complex and work with other nutrients to produce their specific biological effects. Taking industrially produced cod liver oil is no better than taking a synthetic vitamin pill.
Fresh Cod Liver Oil is Now Available
Rosita Real Foods in Northern Norway has recently introduced Extra Virgin Cod Liver Oil (EVCLO), the first and only fresh, raw cod liver oil on the market. Rosita uses their own small fishing boats to fish the pristine waters of Northern Norway just as their Viking ancestors did. Only wild caught Atlantic cod (Gadus Morhua) are harvested and the livers individually inspected for health and plumpness. The extraction of EVCLO requires no heat, chemicals, solvents, or pressure. The process from fishing to bottling is completed within 48 hours. A tiny drop of natural antioxidants (Rosemary herb and full spectrum vitamin E) is added to each bottle to extend the freshness of the fragile polyunsaturated omega fats. EVCLO is the first and only raw and fresh cod liver oil on the market, no other cod liver oil or food found anywhere in the world contains the high levels of vitamin D3, vitamin A and omega 3 EPA/DHA in theirnaturalstate and proper ratios. Learn more at http://corganic.com/evclo.
