Why I Take Fermented Cod Liver Oil (this will surprise you)

****Update 2-25-2016   We are no longer purchasing from Green Pasture.  Information has surfaced that the FCLO is actually toxic.  Google it....there's a ton of info.  Cheeseslave has a lot to say about it too here. Wonderful, right?!  How long did we take this?!  I am now using doTERRA's Life Long Vitality and the kids are taking doTERRA's IQ Mega.*****



My current passion has been studying Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO).  Sounds fishy doesn't?  Sorry, couldn't resist.  Lol

Remember back when everyone was talking about fish oil and how you should be taking it?  Well we listened, sorta.  I just donated 1 very large bottle of our fish oil capsules to our local soup kitchen.  We took the fish oil capsules, sorta, for a while.  Then stopped.  Didn't really feel a difference so we stopped.  The reason we didn't feel a difference?  The stuff we were taking was crap.

Now that there is so much noise about FCLO I had to buy some, start taking it and start doing some heavy research on the subject.  So, here is what I found.

Why should you take FCLO?
-decreases bad cholesterol
-increases good cholesterol
-can heal cavities (When taken with butter oil.  I will go further into detail later on)
-can prevent cavities
-can prevent illness (colds, flu)
-can boost your immune system
-can decrease the healing time from a cold by at least 1/2 (I know from experience)
-give you more energy (definitely agree with this!)
-when given to young children, can prevent or decrease the future need for glasses and braces
-very nutrient dense
-great source of Vitamins A, E, K and D
-fermented (good for your gut)
-decreases inflammation
-full of omega 3's (EPA and DHA)
-can fight infections
-it has never been heated, which retains all the vitamins and nutrients available
-consistent testing occurs to insure the FCLO is mercury free
-cod are wild caught
-helps fill in the holes (if I don't eat our healthy foods at home every day I know I am still covered)
-can help with infertility issues
-if taken before you get pregnant can increase health in your baby exponentially!
-it does not taste bad at all, trust me here me and my 2 kids take the liquid form no problem.  I have heard that the fermented tastes better than the old formula which was very fishy.

Where do you want to buy your FCLO and butter oil?  Once place...Green Pasture.  And Radiant Life carries Green Pasture products for a little less money and shipping (and right now they are offering 10% off!).  Just make sure the bottle reads Green Pasture.

Why do I need to buy Fermented cod liver oil?  Why can't I just buy cod liver oil?  There is a real difference here.  Fermenting the fish and fish livers is an ancient practice.  The resulting oils were considered sacred.  "Many great cultures had one sacred food in common which they relied upon to ensure strong mind, body and spirit of their people.  The Mighty Roman Soldier consumed a daily ration of fermented fish oil.  The Stoic Scandinavian Viking kept a drum of fermenting cod livers outside he door of his home.  Even Grandma had the wisdom to keep a bottle of cod liver oil in her cupboard."(1)  
Fermenting is a natural procedure that takes months.  Cod liver oil that is not fermented and from Green Pastures has been heated to speed up the process of acquiring the end result, cod liver oil.  Heating kills and destroys the nutrients and vitamins your body needs.  So, in a nutshell but fermented, don't waste your money on cod liver oil that has been heated. 

Dosing-recommended to take first thing in the morning
Adults
1-1 1/2 tsp each day
plus
1/2 tsp butter oil each day

Kids
1/2-1 tsp each day
plus
1/2 tsp butter oil each day

The first bottles we bought from Green Pasture was their Blue Ice Arctic Mint Liquid Fermented Cod Liver Oil and their Blue Ice non-gelatin capsules.  And believe it or not but myself and my 2 kids take the liquid without a problem.  The liquid comes with a syringe.  I have the kids open their mouth, tilt their head back, stick their tongue out and I squirt the FCLO at the very back of their tongue.  Then they take a drink of raw milk.  No problem at all.  Makes me very proud of them.  Hubby didn't think he wanted to try the liquid so we got him the capsules, no prob.  :-)

I do not recommend you take the FCLO without the Butter Oil.  The butter oil helps the body absorb as much of the FCLO that your body can.  Without the butter oil, you are getting benefits from the FCLO but not like you do with it.

If you don't want to spend the money on the butter oil, make your own.  It will not be as "perfect" as the butter oil is from Green Pasture's but it will be close.

Here is how you make you own butter oil or ghee (this will be up tomorrow).  Thank you Sarah Pope at The Healthy Home Economist.

*Information gathered from the following resources...
-Sarah Pope's ebook "Get your fats straight."
-Green Pasture website
-Radiant Life website
-Wise Traditions The Cod Liver Oil Debate by Chris Masterjohn
-The Healthy Home Economist website
-And of course my own personal experience
-Even though I have not finished reading it yet, Dr. Weston A Price's book titled "Nutrition and Physical Degeneration" is the foundation to all of this information.  I did find a website that was offering his book to read for free as an ebook, click here.  
(1)-Quoted from Green Pasture

For a little cod liver oil humor, click here.

And if you would like to hear the cod liver oil songs, click here. 

Keep trying to live green. :-)

Homemade Yogurt Push Pops

Seriously, I am so eager for SPRING to really get here.  I am aware that the calendar hanging on my refrigerator says that spring is here, but when I walk outside I begin to doubt my calendar.  Or maybe it is global warming, who knows?  Anyway, in my STRONG anticipation of warmer weather, I created these sweet little babies and I vowed today to stop wearing long sleeved shirts.  That is, until the predicted 12 inches of snow fall on the ground overnight.  Grrrrrrrrr.......  Then my long sleeved shirts may, just maybe, will end up over my head again.  :-)

My boys sampled the push-pops today with delight.  And trust me, they were soooo easy to make.  So, I no longer have to buy their organic yogurt sticks, I can make them.

I made two different types.  Chocolate honey and strawberry honey.

Here's what you need.....
-Whole/Full fat Organic Stonyfield plain yogurt (buy plain so you can control the sweetness level)
-Organic Fruit (frozen or fresh, pureed in bullet, blender or food processor)
-Organic chocolate syrup
-Local honey (raw that you slightly warm till liquid or local that has been warmed to the temperature below raw, ask your bee keeper for specifics)
-Push pops (I bought mine here from Amazon)

Pour desired amount of plain yogurt into a glass bowl.  Add desired amount of chocolate syrup and honey, stir well.  Pour into your clean push pop container.  Place in freezer
or
Pour desired amount of plain yogurt into a glass bowl.  Add desired amount of pureed organic strawberries and honey, stir well.  Pour into your clean push pop container.  Top with a slice of fresh strawberry.  Place in freezer.

I did not add the stick to the push pop until the yogurt was completely frozen.  This allowed for easier storage in my freezer.  When the boys wanted to try one today, we removed the push pop from the freezer, allowed it to set out for a little while and then stuck the push pop stick in the bottom of the push pop container.

Now, I will admit these were slightly more "icy" than the already made Stonyfield yogurt sticks we buy, I need to further research this to see what makes the commercial brand smoother.

Let me know when you try this recipe and what your family thought.  :-)