Cod Liver Oil in Formula/Too Much EPA?
Q. I recently ordered the ingredients for home made infant formula and I have one concern. Although my wife and I take cod liver oil daily, I have read that fish oils contain too much EPA for babies. It is suggested that the EPA competes with DHA and can cause stunting of growth. The commercial formulas use an algal sourced DHA/ARA, but it doesn’t seem to be available to consumers. I could buy Neuromins supplements and break them open, but that would not provide the ARA. Is the EPA a real concern? A. We do NOT recommend fish oil, not for babies nor adults, but high vitamin or fermented cod liver oil, which supplies A and D without giving too much EPA and DHA. The EPA in cod liver oil will not compete with the DHA–these two always occur together in food. And do not use the synthetic DHA/ARA, we have heard bad reports from this. The baby will get ARA from the butterfat in the milk.
