Should I take Cod Liver Oil?

[dragonrides]

I am about 8 weeks pregnant and I started visiting a naturopathic doctor since I've been pregnant, I learned a great deal already from him, and I never got so much time with a doctor before. My regular OBGYN doctor spends about 5 minute with me each time I go. Anyway, the question I have is the Cod Liver Oil, it was recommended to me by my naturopathic doctor, for supplementing Vitamin D and Vitamin A. However, there are a lot of debate on this particular issue, some believe it can be toxic, some doubt the quality and the ratio of the D & A are not great, some believe that it will greatly help with the development of the baby, so I am real confused...I am eating very properly and taking great prenatal vitamins but this got me thinking...any suggestions?

[sh77]

There was a thread yesterday on the safety of Omega 3-6-9. These are safe to take but I think preg women should stay away from Cod Liver Oild due to vit A content and toxins as previous poster mentioned.

[dragonrides]

Yes my doctor and I discussed about the "Vitamin A isn't good for pregnancy". He studied the CDC reports and they all pointed back to the same source, the study was based on using synthetic Vitamin A. I am also concerned with the heavy metal in the fish, so maybe there will be other natural sources of getting Vitamin D and A, apart from the formula he made (not just the %DV per serving, also the quality of the vitamin - no yeast, preservatives, sodium, etc.). I need to research more, thanks for the reply!

[lowrib]

You can get fish oil (NOT cod liver oil) designed for pregnancy. Have a look at the chemist. The one I took was called MumOmega (or something like that). Pregnacare also do a fish oil.

[dragonrides]

Yes I am aware of the "dirty dozen" - spinach (and all green leafy vegetables), apples, strawberries (most toxic if grown conventionally), raspberries, bell peppers, grapes, celery, potatoes, etc.

My friend also told me about Brian Perkins (find his research on Beyond50radio.com) that he doesn't support taking any of the fish oil during pregnancy. So I am still looking around. It's interesting that in the Chinese culture that I grew up with, taking fish oil is a very very common practice

[dragonrides]

I am glad - interestingly I am growing my own food too. Even with the organic foods, you have to wash them really well, because of the bacteria from the dirt.

So this is the MOST helpful article I found on this particular issue, because it explains in great details why the "dirty dozen" are dirty, what type of chemicals are used, and what the consequences are if consuming them.

www.sevenshorestrading.com/section/view/?fnode=34

I don't worry about everything I eat, I just don't want to be poisoned especially being pregnant. It's a much bigger project when you look at everything we consume - water, clean air, food, etc.

And this is not a joke, I had a close friend who went on a strawberry farm in May and picked some conventionally grown strawberries (you know they cover them with black plastic sheet, because the bugs live underneath the leaves, so normal spraying doesn't kill these insects, so everything is wrapped up including the fruits, that's why strawberries are more toxic among the 12). After eating some "fresh" strawberries, he almost had a heart attack. It was such a scare!