|  | Diet Nutrition | Nutritional Supplements

The History of Fish Oil

Originally derived from the liver of the codfish, the use of fish oil has gained wide recognition for its health benefits. But the gel capsules and purified fish oils available today are hardly recognizable against their earlier forms. Cod liver oil has been used for hundreds of years, but the fowl taste, thick consistency and strong odor made it an an unpleasant medicine to swallow.

  1. Early Use

    • Cod liver oil has been used by the people of the British Isles, northern Europe and Newfoundland for centuries, both for domestic and medicinal uses. In fishing communities where cod livers were a byproduct of the catch, the oil was used for lamps, leather conditioner and added to animal feed. As a medicine and tonic, cod liver oil was often rubbed into aching joints and taken internally to combat common colds.

    1700s & 1800s

    • In the 1700s German researchers began studying cod liver oil for treatment of rheumatic arthritic conditions with noted success. Cod liver oil is high in vitamin D, leading to its early success in treating rickets, a bone condition caused to by vitamin D deficiency. Up until the 1800s cod liver oil was a thick and vile medicine. The development of steam processing improved taste and smell, making the oil palatable to a wider range of people. The fresh fish livers were steam distilled to remove the oils. This greatly improved the color, taste and smell.

    Growing Popularity

    • In the 1930s cod liver oil gained wide recognition among medical doctors for its nutritional and medicinal benefits. With this development, demand increased and cod liver oil became widely marketed and available. Several fishing companies, recognizing the potential new market, switched their focus from the fish to the newly popular fish liver oil. During WWII, cod liver oil was given to infants and young children to increase nutrition.

    Fish Oil

    • In the 1980s, improved processing techniques made the oil even more convenient and palatable. One significant change that took place is the shift from using the liver oil of the fish, to using the oil derived from the fatty tissue. The benefits of this was a decrease in the risk of vitamin A toxicity, as the fish livers, but not the fish tissues, contain high quantities of vitamin A. While the new methods of extraction did reduce vitamin toxicity, they failed to remove PCBs and DDT, toxins that are stored in the fish body oil.

    Today

    • Producing and refining fish oil has recently reached a new level of quality. New processing techniques increase the omega-3 long chain fatty acids, while decreasing saturated fats and removing toxins such as PCBs and DDT. The high-quality fish oils found on the market today are ultra refined pharmaceutical-grade oils. They are high in omega-3 fatty acids, low in saturated fats and have none of the strong odor and taste of the original cod liver oil.

Nutritional Supplements - Related Articles