One of the big trends in supplements is fish oil. Bet there’s your plain Jane fish oil, and then there’s Cod Liver Oil. In our review today, we’ll discuss the difference between the two before we pick a winner for the Best Cod Liver Oil available.
But for those of you who aren’t familiar with the benefits of using cod liver oil, check out this article. For the rest of you, let’s jump right in.
Best Cod Liver Oil Products
There are two primary ways we see this supplement; Cod Liver Oil Capsules–in which they’re encapsulated into around 750mg capsules, and straight Cod Liver Oil, which comes as a flavored, liquid oil.
There are benefits to both, which we’ll go over now.
Picking the Best Cod Liver Oil
Obviously the product you pick needs to fit your needs. Not everybody likes swallowing big capsules, and not everybody (understandably) likes taking a spoonful of oil to start their day. Let’s look at some of the pros and cons of Cod Liver Oil.
Cod Liver Oil Capsules
First, the capsules. Capsules are typically the best way to take Cod Liver Oil. Obviously it avoids the tastebuds altogether–unless you’re chewing them like some kind of animal. They go straight to the stomach, where they’re absorbed like any other digested nutrient. The oil is still flavored, which is meant to avoid the fish-burps common with some fish oil capsules.
Cod Liver Oil Capsules – Pros:
- Convenient
- Less gross (for some)
- Avoids fish breath
Cod Liver Oil Capsules – Cons:
- Hard to swallow big capsules
- Have to take more pills to get same dosage as pure oil
Cod Liver Oil
Cod Liver Oil is a great choice if you don’t like pills. That said, it does have some drawbacks. One, you have to swallow it directly. But if you don’t like pills, and you have a decent tolerance for taking shots of weird liquid, then this is the ideal choice. There are several Cod Liver Oil Brands that we recommend, but we’ll talk more about those below. First, the pros and cons of Cod Liver Oil.
Cod Liver Oil – Pros:
- Pure Oil, No Capsules
- Flexible, add to soups and etc.
- Cheaper (by volume) than capsules
Cod Liver Oil – Cons
- Can have fishy taste
- For convenience, taking straight can be a bit gross
Best Cod Liver Oil Brands
The biggest name in Cod Liver Oil is Carlson Nutritional Supplements. They’ve been around since 1965, and typically focus on vitamin, mineral, and fish oil supplements. They’re family owned, which is nice as well.
Carlson Cod Liver Oil
One of the best sellers on Amazon right now is Carlson Wild Norwegian Cod Liver Oil. They sell it in a flask-like bottle. It’s lemon-flavored, so it’s not just straight fish tasting. On Amazon right now, it has an impressive 4.5 stars from 1515 (!) reviews. If you know supplements, then you know that this is an insane amount of reviews for such a niche supplement. Their smaller size (250ml) costs $20.93, with the larger size (500ml) costing $34.93. That works out to a $2.48 and $2.07 per ounce cost, respectively.
Nordic Naturals Cod Liver Oil
While not as popular as the Carlson Cod Liver Oil, Nordic Natural Cod Liver Oil proves to be worthy competition. They also offer different flavors, which sets them apart from Carlson Nutritional Supplements cod oil offerings.
Another thing that sets them apart is the cost per ounce. Even at their largest size (16 oz) their price is much higher per ounce than Carlson at a $2.55 oz mark.
In terms of reviews, they’re rated the same on Amazon, but with around a third of the reviews. At 4.5/5 stars and 433 customer reviews.
Best Cod Liver Capsule Brands
When it comes to Cod Liver Capsule choices, there are a lot more than the straight oil. In looking at amazon alone, we counted at least a dozen different companies putting up products. Still, Carlson Nutritional Supplements had a big stake in the highest rated cod liver oil capsules, as did Nordic Naturals. But there is another company NOW, which offers a cheaper entry that might be good for bargain hunters. Let’s take a look at a few of the top brands.
Carlson Cod Liver Oil Capsules
The top entry on Amazon is Carlson Wild Norwegian Cod Liver Oil “Gems.” We’re not sure why they call them gems, but they’re softgels. Each bottle contains 300 softgels, each containing a gram of cod liver oil.
Pricewise, they’re competitive at $27.93
Lastly, they’re the company with the most reviews on amazon right now. With 539 reviews for their 460mg capsules, and a 4.5/5 star rating.
BLUE ICE Fermented Cod Liver Oil Capsules
This offering from BLUE ICE is also popular on Amazon. One key difference is that the cod liver oil used in the supplement is FERMENTED. That sounds pretty strange to us. But hey, we like kimchi, so we’ll keep an open mind.
On amazon it has 517 reviews, and comes in slightly lower than Carlson at 4/5 stars. In looking at some of the bad reviews, we found that people were often getting stomach issues after taking. But the review rating indicates that the majority of people had good experiences.
In terms of cost, BLUE ICE comes out to $24.02 for 120 capsules, which is roughly double the price per capsule than the Carlson Cod Liver Oil we reviewed above.
NOW Cod Liver Oil Capsules
If you’re looking for a bargain, NOW Cod Liver Oil Capsules are where it’s at. At $8.61 for a bottle of 250 softgels, it’s remarkably cheap.
That price might have an impact on quality, but it doesn’t have an impact on the reviews we’re seeing so far. With 136 reviews, it’s coming in hot at a 4.5/5 stars. That’s not a bad look NOW.
So Which is the Best Cod Liver Oil?
This is pretty dependent on your needs as a user. We think that Carlson offers the best in terms of quality and price, but if you’re looking for cheap alternatives that can give the same basic benefits, try out the NOW Cod Liver Oil Capsules. If you want a good Cod Liver Oil, go with Carlson.
Thanks for reading our review of the Best Cod Liver Oil Supplements, we hope that it helped you pick out a good one. If it did, or if it didn’t, let us know. We’re happy to talk about our reviews anytime!
