Vitamin A is a wonderful nutrient that many of us do not receive enough of. However, it is important to supplement this vitamin with natural sources. If you regularly read my newsletter, you already know one of the best sources of vitamin A is cod liver oil.

Since too much vitamin A can be toxic and can result in adverse health conditions (breast cancer in addition to birth defects, liver abnormalities, and reduced bone mineral density), many people are afraid of taking too much of this nutrient.

What is rarely addressed, however, and must be considered along with these warnings, is the type of vitamin A being consumed. There is a big difference between synthetic vitamin A and vitamin A from natural sources. Most cases of vitamin A toxicity result from an excess intake of synthetic vitamin A supplements, NOT the natural form of retinol (vitamin A) found in cod liver oil.

When choosing cod liver oil, it is important to remember that not all brands are the same. You will want to do a little homework so you can determine the quality of the omega-3 cod liver oil you consume.

1. Make sure that your brand is free of mercury and PCBs. This will not be on the label so you will need to:

   • Contact the manufacturer for their analysis
   • Review an independent third party that has analyzed the product
   • Hire a company to test the product yourself.

2. Confirm that there are very low oxidation products in the cod liver oil.

   Cod liver oil has long-chain unsaturated fats (primarily EPA and DHA) and they are very susceptible to oxidation or damage. If the oil is not processed properly damage will occur. Many years ago nearly all the fish oils were oxidized. That is why when you mention cod liver oil to most anyone they turn up their nose in disgust. Typically, they only taste bad when they are oxidized.

3. Make certain your cod liver oil has therapeutic levels of vitamin E in it.

   Because cod liver oils are very susceptible to oxidation and rancidity, nearly all manufacturers insert a small amount of one unit of vitamin E per teaspoon. This is sufficient to prevent oxidation of the oil in the bottle. However, after you consume it this is woefully inadequate. Your body will tend to oxidize the oil and much larger doses of vitamin E are needed to prevent it from going rancid in your body.

   You can save yourself the time and expense though as I have paid the money on a number of occasions to randomly test Carlson's brand of cod liver oil and I found it to be free of mercury, PCBs and dioxin. It is the brand that I use in my office and you can get it at your local health food store or on our site.

   Also, Living Fuel Pure D & A Sunshine Gel Caps provide an amazing, safe source of vitamin A -- as well as Vitamin D -- for everyone in your family. Each capsule has the equivalent of one teaspoon of cod liver oil, without the omega-3 fats, Pure D&A is not factory made It is an all-natural product and the distillation process removes all the mercury, PCBs and dioxins.. Because Pure D&A is derived from cod liver oil, it also has the highest-quality natural form of vitamin A, not synthetic vitamin A.

Additional Sources of Vitamin A

• Egg yolks
• Butter
• Raw, whole milk
• Liver (beef, chicken)

Including these foods in your diet should give you adequate vitamin A with no need for supplementation and little to no risk of overdosing. Vitamin A is a fat-soluble vitamin, which means that it requires fat in order to be optimally absorbed.

One of the wonderful characteristics of natural foods is that they nearly always account for variables that could interefere with absorption or contribute to toxicity. You'll notice that all of the foods above also contain fats, so the environment is naturally right for the vitamin A to be utilized by your body.

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