WAPF’s and GAPS’ Current Response on FCLO, Years Later
The current stance on the most recent Fermented Cod Liver Oil (FCLO) findings and accusations were announced at the 2017 Annual Weston A. Price Conference in Minneapolis, Minnesota on November 19th.
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In 2015 there was a big attack on fermented cod liver oil. The information was printed in an online document called Hook, Line and Stinker, written by Kaayla Daniels, self titled Naughty Nutritionist and author of The Whole Soy Story. This document is not to be confused with Hook, Line and Stinker, the famous Looney Tunes short from 1958 where Wile E. Coyote tries to catch Road Runner with a mallet, cooking pan, TNT stick, a balloon and a piano dropped on Road Runner. It’s not to be confused with the board game Hook, Line and Stinker, where scratch and sniff pieces are fished out of a can, filling the air with pungent odors that will clear the room. It’s not to be confused with the Hook, Line and Stinker Pokemon show, season 4, episode 11.
The accusations were that FCLO was rancid, the vitamin levels were not what they should be and that there were trans-fats, added oils to cut the FCLO such as commonly found trans-fats like canola oil.
To date, the Weston A. Price Foundation has officially answered each claim publicly, refuting suspicions on the supplement. The reasons why are interesting.
Three or four independent people wrote about their findings of FCLO, showing the benefits. The same can be said for the those finding a negative position on FCLO.
“On the rancidity, as soon as we heard these accusations, we sent a sample,” Sally Fallon, CEO of the Weston A. Price Foundation said. Laboratories were researched for a proper one that analyses marine oils. She added the laboratory said we’ve never seen a marine oil more stable. We even heated it to see if it would alter, it did not.
Next was addressed, “An accusation about the vitamin oil. We sent it to several labs,” Fallon says.
Covance is a lab which tests for the USDA. “It’s easy to test for added vitamins. It’s very hard to test for naturally occurring vitamins. They found low levels. Other labs came back very high. We had labs come back with much higher numbers which convinced us you could call this high vitamin oil.”
Fallon goes on to say, “About the trans-fats, there are naturally occurring trans-fats by fish eating in the ocean and ending up in the food. Aside from the accusation that it’s adulterated, it’s actually a good sign that it’s naturally occurring. It also occurs naturally in butter. The trans-fats in animal fats are beneficial.”
Further findings didn’t show the same results regarding the vitamin content. “There’s a thousand forms of vitamin D. There are many, many forms of vitamin A,” she says. This means testing for one form can be found, but another not found. Laboratory testing of vitamins is not the same as how the body assimilates nutrients.
Fallon says we’re very happy with this product. Usually people say these type of things when they themselves have experienced benefits from something, this case is the no exception.
Years ago Sally was taking high quality cod liver oil for many years and began having bad night vision and floaters in her eyes. She started taking FCLO at a high dose and about 2 weeks later both issues were gone. This led her to believe, “It’s my opinion that there’s something very natural in this product, other than what was in the standard cod liver oil.”
Fallon said, “We’re not going to throw a good product off the boat because it’s been unfairly criticized. Fermenting the livers is a traditional way. The real source of the controversy is coming from within the industry.”
Dave Wetzel, owner of Green Pastures, went to Norway and visited the cod liver oil factories. What he saw was they were doing molecular distillation and then putting synthetic vitamins back into the product. When synthetic vitamins are added to product, the vitamin value can be shown on the product. Most brands were ultra pasteurized. Many were pasteurized. He went for a traditional route of making livers, where tribal communities hung fish stomachs filled with livers in trees. They fermented there in the sun, looking like hanging bats.
Through the course of the controversy, accusations were made that Sally Fallon and Dave Wetzel were related. Sally says, “That’s not true. We would do this for any of our approved products. We would do this for any farm. We would do this for any mother who is forced to vaccinate her children. We would do this for any good product.”
Dr. Weston A. Price’s three main points were simple:
1) No processed food in the diet
2) All healthy traditional diets contained animal food of some kind
3) All healthy traditional diets are nutrient dense
He is famous for saying, “You teach, you teach, you teach.”
The Weston A Price Foundation has been accused of many things during this controversy. People have been attacked. Finger pointing became rampant and names were called. Social media was rampant with confusion, hatred and attacks. The foundation is not a large corporation, they have three paid people who join and work together in someone’s house. The Chapter Leaders, members and people who see a difference in eating real food are the true movement. Facts are always the best way to analyse products.
If you don’t like a product, no one is forcing you to consume it. FCLO is still very much part of the GAPS Protocol because it works for those with the most extremely damaged bodies. The more damage a person has, the slower they need to go due to die off. When a damaged microbiome is present, or yeasts and bacteria are present in the stomach, slow introduction is necessary using only unflavored, mint or orange flavors. If not used in this manner, regurgitation, burning or behavioral issues, as well as other symptoms, may be present. It should be treated like you would introduce very strong probiotic foods. To read Dr. Natasha’s direct words on the topic, click here.
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*Nourishing Plot is written by Becky Plotner, ND, traditional naturopath, CGP, D.PSc. who sees clients in Rossville, Georgia. She works as a Certified GAPS Practitioner who sees clients in her office, Skype and phone. She has been published in Wise Traditions, spoken at two Weston A. Price Conferences, Certified GAPS Practitioner Trainings, has been on many radio shows, television shows and writes for Nourishing Plot. Since her son was delivered from the effects of autism (Asperger’s syndrome), ADHD, bipolar disorder/manic depression, hypoglycemia and dyslexia, through food, she continued her education specializing in Leaky Gut and parasitology through Duke University, finishing with distinction. She is a Chapter Leader for The Weston A. Price Foundation. becky.nourishingplot@hotmail.com
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