Vitamin D3 content in Cod Liver Oil (?)

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vauxall - 28 Oct 2009 18:17 GMT

I wonder if the vitamin D (and A) found in cod liver oil supplement is
the one found naturally in the oil or is it added? In this case is it
better to take a vitamin D3 supplement instead of cod liver oil?

I became suspicious after noticing that whatever the size of the
supplement the vitamin A and D content is always extactly 100%. How
can it be? And why would manufacturers want to add those two vitamins
if the oil should contain it anyway? Am I paranoid or is there any
ground in this?

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Stephen Wolstenholme - 28 Oct 2009 18:35 GMT

>x-no-archive:yes
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
>if the oil should contain it anyway? Am I paranoid or is there any
>ground in this?

D3 does not occur naturally in fish oils. It is produced in the skin
with exposure to UVB preferably from sunlight.

Steve

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Neural Planner Software Ltd www.NPSL1.com

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trigonometry1972@gmail.com | - 28 Oct 2009 22:28 GMT

> x-no-archive:yes
>
[quoted text clipped - 7 lines]
> if the oil should contain it anyway? Am I paranoid or is there any
> ground in this?

It is my understanding the fish liver oils are taken apart by
fractional distillation and put back together again
such that they contain the 5000 or 4000 units
of A to the 400 units of D3. It would a better
product if it contained 4000 units of A and 4000
units of D3, IMHO. There are rarer products
that contain somewhat vitamin D, though
I haven't seen them for sale.

So no you aren't paranoid, you are on the
right track.....................................Trig

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JD - 29 Oct 2009 02:36 GMT

>> x-no-archive:yes
>>
[quoted text clipped - 19 lines]
> So no you aren't paranoid, you are on the
> right track.....................................Trig

The D-3 is usually extracted from a fat in sheep wool - lanolin.
From WikiPedia.org:

"Although cholecalciferol can be synthesized in the skin (see
Metabolism),
it is also a form of vitamin D added to fortify foods.
Cholecalciferol is
produced industrially by the irradiation of 7-dehydrocholesterol
extracted
from lanolin found in sheep's wool. In foods where animal
products are not
desired, an alternative compound is ergocalciferol (also known as
vitamin D2)
derived from the fungal sterol ergosterol."

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trigonometry1972@gmail.com | - 29 Oct 2009 04:57 GMT

> trigonometry1...@gmail.com | wrote:
> >> x-no-archive:yes
[quoted text clipped - 35 lines]
> vitamin D2)
> derived from the fungal sterol ergosterol."

That is one source. There are or were supplements
of A and D that were derived from fish liver oil.

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vauxall - 29 Oct 2009 16:51 GMT

On Oct 28, 9:28 pm, "trigonometry1...@gmail.com |"
<trigonometry1...@gmail.com> wrote:

> It is my understanding the fishliveroils are taken apart by
> fractional distillation and put back together again
[quoted text clipped - 4 lines]
> that contain somewhatvitaminD, though
> I haven't seen them for sale.

In the UK SevenSeas sells Cod Liver Oil with vitamin D only:

http://www.codliveroil.co.uk/productRange/histrength/xtrahscloCaps.htm

The problems I have with that are:

1) They don't specify it's vitamin D3, so it could be vit d2
2) They don't specify if the vitamin D is added to Cod Liver Oil

From what you said above, it would make sense that it's the same vit D
that was originally in the cod liver.

Am I correct?

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trigonometry1972@gmail.com | - 29 Oct 2009 20:58 GMT

> x-no-archive:yes
> On Oct 28, 9:28 pm, "trigonometry1...@gmail.com |"
[quoted text clipped - 22 lines]
>
> Am I correct?

You could ask the makers of the specific cod liver brand and
see if you get a response. And I'd have the same concerns
if I were considering the product for purchase. How much
effort would it take to put a 3 or 2 after the D? I'd tend
to assume it is D3 but.............................Trig

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