what is the difference between code liver and Omega3?!

I doubt there'd be enough energy released from these supplements for anybody to gain weight. Cod liver oil is an extract from the fat around the liver of the fish. Oils, whether they are from fish, algae, plants, mammals etc are all made up from fatty acids. A fatty acid is a chain of carbon atoms associated with hydrogen atoms. If each carbon is associated with at least 2 hydrogen atoms, this is called a saturated fat. Some fatty acids have an extra bond between the carbon atoms (called a double bond) which prevents hydrogen from being associated, this is called a monounsaturated fat, and if there are two or more of these bonds then it is a polyunsaturated fat. Omega 3 is one such fatty acid, and the name means that the first double bond is associated with the 3rd and 4th carbon atoms. Omega 6 is another fatty acid, and the first bond is on the 6th carbon. See this diagram for an idea of the difference between omega 3 and 6: http://t3.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9G…

Anyway omega 3 exists in 3 forms, the short chain ALA and longer chains EPA and DHA. DHA is the most important ones for our brains and is the reason there has been so much talk about omega 3 and fish oils for the past decade. Most plant sources of omega 3 contain the shorter ALA, which is convereted to EPA and then DHA in our bodies but not very efficiently. So many studies indicate that fish oil supplements can hep prevent degenerative brain diseases, but they have all made a big mistake in assuming fish oil is NEEDED for this purpose. Fishes get their DHA from algae, and we can produce algae in labs without having to harm marine ecosystems by fishing.

Aside from the environmental problems with fishing (are you aware the north sea cod fishery was one of the first to collapse from overexploitation?), all vertebrates store toxins in the fat around the liver if it cannot be excreted from the body. Large fishes have significant amounts of very nasty chemicals like the carcinogenic PCBs for the same reason the have large amounts of DHA (these accumulate as you go up the food chain). So oils from the liver of large fishes may be harmful... I'm not certain about this because I don't know if the harmful toxins will remain associated with the oil once it is extracted but it is worth considering. Especially when you can get the same nutrient from algae, produced sustainably with no exposure to known carcinogens!

vegan biologist

The main difference between fish oil and cod liver oil is that cod liver oil is high in vitamin D. Fish oil on the other hand is one of the richest sources of EPA and DHA.

Omega 3 Fish oil supplements are nutritional supplements containing oil derived from the fatty flesh of cold water fish such as Salmon, Mackerel, and Tuna. The key active ingredients in fish oil supplements responsible for the fantastic range of powerful health benefits are Omega 3 fatty acids - particularly DHA and EPA

Cod liver oil is collected from the livers of white fish, like cod and sometimes halibut. Cod liver oil contains vitamins A and D and has a different concentration of EPA and DHA than fish oil.

More specifically, fish oil in the summer months and cod liver oil in the winter months when we can't spend as much time outdoors.