**This giveaway is now closed**
Earlier this week we talked cod liver oil, its numerous health benefits and suggestions for buying and taking it. Full of Omega-3 fatty acids, vitamin A and vitamin D, cod liver oil is a phenomenal traditional food that helps to grow strong babies and children, and keep their moms and dads healthy as well.
If you're still unconvinced of the merits of cod liver oil (especially fermented oils), you have a chance to try to win some today and try it for yourself!
What's So Different About Green Pasture Cod Liver Oil?
For starters, it is the only fermented cod liver oil, processed in traditional, time-honored methods that not only preserve all nutrients but even enhance them. There are many benefits to using oil that is fermented over oil that has been processed in other ways. This means that none of the vitamins or fats (or other nutrients- because whole foods always contain a much wider spectrum of nutrients than singled-out, synthetic vitamins) are damaged by heat, deordorization, bleaching or any other sort of industrial processing.
Cod liver oil was always fermented until 1850, when we learned to render. If heated, we could extract oil in day instead of fermenting which takes 6 months. They didn’t understand oxidation and that they were cheating the system, so as we started to industrialize fish oils, we lost a lot of the nutrition. I suspect the product wasn’t as effective, but we have no samples so it’s just a guess. Likely this heated oil would oxidize very quickly. When you heat the viscera, you break bonds and create free radicals which causes oxidation.
Around the turn of century, cod liver oil started to lose favor. The industry used heat and pressure, and they found that nitrogen would clean up the free radicals. Unfortunately, this tasteless, colorless product was also probably nutrient less. It was all about marketability.
Making fermented cod liver oil is taking it back to its historical roots. Throughout history FCLO was commonly used, and people knew what it did and that it was important without understanding nutrients. I don’t think regular cod liver oil is even the same product that was revered for centuries. (source)
Secondly, their oils are extremely pure, testing free of or very low in any contaminations or heavy metals (compared to international standards from Europe, Norway, etc.). The fish come from Arctic waters only, never from fish farms or places near industrial centers.
The following is taken from Green Pasture's Purity Statement on their website:
- Whole Food Form
- Wild, as Provided by Nature
- Real, Unsurpassed Nutrition
- Unadulterated
- Natural fatty acid complex, nothing removed or changed
- Full, deep range of Vitamins A, D, E, K; CoQ enzymes; and other quinones
- Deep, Rich, Historical Processing Methods
- Non-industrialized Production
- Clean, Pure, and Third Party Tested
To my knowledge, there are no other companies out there making a traditional cod liver oil like this. Green Pasture was only launched in 2000, but they have already grown tremendously and become the most highly recommended brand among those who eat real and traditional foods and follow WAPF principles, simply because their quality is unmatched.
Want to understand more about what makes Green Pasture cod liver oil unique? I loved this interview of found Dave Wetzel over at Kitchen Stewardship (Katie knows how to get to the nitty-gritty), and this excellent article written by Dave on cod liver oil manufacturing.
What About the Taste?
Let's be real. Nobody takes cod liver oil because it tastes good.
It's oil. From a liver. Of a fish. What do we expect, anyways?
Nonetheless, Green Pasture has done a valiant job of trying to make it as palatable to our picky tastebuds as they can. There's even one flavor on their website that I'm actually dying to taste (Butter Pecan High Vitamin Butter Oil, though granted, it's not cod liver oil).
But, that sort of ingenuity absolutely carries over to their cod liver oil flavors. They've created flavors like Arctic Orange, Cinnamon Tingle, Oslo Orange, and Chocolate Cream. They just came out with three new emulsified flavors as well (this helps to remove the oily texture and results in a very easy-to-take oil), Licorice, Peppermint, and Ginger.
Our Family's Flavor Reviews
- Cinnamon Tingle FCLO- Our favorite. My 6 year old doesn't love it, but she still takes it, and the other kids as well as myself find this one the easiest to swallow.
- Chocolate Cream FCLO (note- this is now only available as FCLO blend with high-vitamin butter oil, but I imagine the taste is similar)- At first, we couldn't stand it. It just wasn't sweet enough so it had a strong fish taste and a mild, chalky cocoa taste. We decided to try adding a drop of stevia to sweeten it, and that's what made it work for us. My 6 year old prefers this one.
- Arctic Mint FCLO- I've only had a chance to try this once, at a friends house. Personally, I didn't care for it at all. I'll stick with my cinnamon tingle.
- Cinnamon Tingle FCLO/HVBO blend- This is a gel, whereas the first one I mentioned is a liquid. I find that the only difference is that the butter oil tones the flavor down of the fish oil down a bit, making this easy to take.
- Capsules- My husband takes the orange ones easily. The non-flavored ones are fine, but if you're really picky, the orange ones cover up that slight fishy taste that you get in your mouth before you actually swallow it and it helps if you burp it up at all (which neither of us do when we take the capsules).
We haven't yet tried any of the emulsified flavors, but I bet you anything my kids would adore the Licorice, and I'm eager to try the Peppermint!
Want to Win Some Fermented Cod Liver Oil? I have 10 Bottles of Emulsified Cod Liver Oil to Give Away to 10 Winners (1 Each)!
Here's how to get entered (remember to leave a separate comment for each entry):
1. Visit the Green Pasture site and tell me which flavors look most appealing to you (keep in mind that the giveaway is only for the new emulsified flavors).
2. Subscribe to Keeper of the Home by RSS feed or by email (and be entered to win our monthly email subscriber-only giveaways!).
3. Share about this giveaway through your blog or favorite social media (find us onFacebook and Twitter here).
This giveaway is for US residents only (sorry fellow Canadians!).
Giveaway has now ended. Thanks, everyone!
Disclosure: This giveaway was generously sponsored by Green Pasture. The opinions in both this post and my previous one on cod liver oil are entirely my own. Our family has been taking this brand of CLO for a year or two, and I'm just happy to be able to share a product that we genuinely like and use with my readers!
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I would love to win one! We just ran out and don’t have the money to get more yet. I’ve tried the cinnamon tingle and it was very strong. So I tried the plain and… yeah…it was different. I’d love to try the peppermint flavor.
Subscribed by email.
Shared on FB
I definitely think Orange would be the best tasting
Wow!
After reading your blog and this rant by Dave I want to try Cod Liver Oil!!!
http://www.greenpasture.org/fermented-cod-liver-oil-butter-oil-vitamin-d-vitamin-a/the-cholesterol-drug-scam-nets-them-60-billion-dollars-in-profits-every-year–the-synthetic-vitamin-d3-scam-will-make-that-look-like-loose-change–/
However, I know me and my household…. There is NO way my gag reflux (my son has been gifted with this also) would ever let me get this down….
I am going to have to look into getting the capsules.
Thanks!
@Erica,
On Second thought, I would like to get one for my Dad, He has been having a lot of health issues lately. And he is one who can take anything!
I also tweeted the giveaway: http://twitter.com/#!/quietmom/status/60689572903927808
Thanks again!
The butter/cod liver oil sounds interesting. :)
Miranda´s last [type] ..So What’s this cloth diaper thing
I follow you on Facebook!
Miranda´s last [type] ..So What’s this cloth diaper thing
I subscribe to Keeper of the Home via RSS feed.
I’m thinking the Ginger flavor would be good to try. I am wanting to try the actual cod liver oil, especially for the kids health.
I subscribe to your blog via rss on Netvibes.
I think I would like the peppermint best!
I tweeted about it!
We would Love to win this!
Thanks :)
I’d like to try them all but the peppermint sounds the most appealing to me. Great giveaway!
I shared on Facebook!
I subscribe by RSS feed!
I’m an RSS subscriber here!
I’d love to try the Cinnamon in regular or the Ginger in emulsified!
We would love peppermint!
I shared about this giveaway on my Facebook page. :)
I would probably go for the ginger but my 6.5 YO would like licorice – he hates anything ‘minty’. OTOH my 15 month old could care less – he takes the unflavored stuff right off a spoon and wants more !! I would love this – I haven’t had Green Pastures stuff in a while…
Tweeted about giveaway (I am utterly new to twitter, I think I did it right though).
I already subscribe to Keeper of The Home via email! ;)
I would have to say that the Ginger flavor FCLO would be my pick. I despise licorice! Not sure how well that one would do here! lol
I think the Peppermint sounds good!
I follow via email.
I think I’m most intrigued by Ginger.
The cinnamon tingle or the peppermint seem interesting.
Subscribed!
I’d like to try the emulsified peppermint
Hi Stephanie. I subscribe via RSS. I’d love to win
I subscribe via RSS.
I subscribe via e-mail.
I think I would like the Peppermint.
I subscribe via RSS feed.
We take the cinnamon tingle mixed in a little orange juice “shot” in the morning. It’s actually not terrible!
Keeping in mind that, that is the easiest way for me to get my kids to take it, I’d be most interested in the Ginger flavor of the emulsified oils. I think that would go best with the morning OJ and we’d have the most success in taking it!
I like the sounds of the licorice flavor, because I’ve been studying about licorice as an herb lately.
I subscribe via google reader! Would love to try cinnamon tingle.
I already subscribe to the email and the RSS feed!
oohhhh I really want to try this but the cost is keeping me at bay- I fear we’d never gag it down and I’d regret buying it! ha. But anyway Cinnamon Tingle does sounds most interesting, but as far as the emulsified goes-peppermint seems the kind I could most talk everyone into trying. I would love to try licorice, but I don;t think Hubby would like and the kids might not either ;)
I subscribe by email.
I think I could get the kids to take the orange.
I’ve never tried FCLO, but I am expecting and have been seriously considering it. I think I’d feel the safest with the orange capsules, but I do admit the peppermint or licorice emulsified flavors appeal as well!
Jenny´s last [type] ..at belly level
I subscribe via e-mail
I’m quite intrigued by the cinnamon tingle flavor.
I wouldn’t mind trying the Peppermint!
I’d give the peppermint flavor a try.
I tried one of the flavors of GP once and thought it was worse than the plain…can’t remember which it was though. I think the only flavor I would give a shot would be the Oslo orange, since I already take my cod liver oil in oj.
I tweeted this giveaway!
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