Go read the Disclaimer again. I am not a doctor. This is not medical advice. Seriously.
Cod liver oil was the old rickets cure and prophylaxis; it contains a lot of vitamin D, as do most deep water fish. Unfortunately, pregnant and breastfeeding women are warned away from deep water fish (such as swordfish, tilefish, tuna, etc.) because these fish are also collecting mercury which has been released into the atmosphere by coal burning and fallen or drained into the ocean. Some scientists believe that, again, the danger from not eating these fish is greater than the danger from the mercury exposure, although this time, it is a kind of fat in these fish that is necessary for the proper development and maintenance of the nervous system, and that is particularly deficient in a typical American diet.
The amount and balance of various fatty acids may be of special concern to pregnant as these fatty acids may also play a role in the sequence of events that ripens the cervix and leads to labor. Another source for these purposes is Evening Primrose Oil. They are also interesting to breastfeeding women, as they can only be passed along to her baby to help build the nervous system if the mother has enough stored, or gets enough from her diet. If they come from maternal stores, she has less for herself and any future pregnancies or children.
The process by which fish oil supplements are made removes all, or virtually all, of the mercury in the fish oil, but the vitamin D is still present, as are the essential fatty acids. This is a situation where taking a supplement is worth serious consideration, as the safety of the food source has been compromised. With one or two capsules a day (or a spoonful or two from a bottle in the fridge), a woman can get quite a lot of a very useful fatty acids, along with plenty of vitamin D, without having to worry about mercury, and whether the sun in December where she lives is strong enough to keep her vitamin D reserves up.
General Discussion of Supplementation
Copyright 2006 by Rebecca Allen.
Created January 24, 2006 Updated August 27, 2008