Links and News:
Young children's ear infections and other upper respiratory tract infections, cod liver oil, vitamin D, and selenium.
NEW Dr. Linday's INTERNATIONAL presentations at the Vth IAPO (Interamerican Association of Pediatric Otorhinolaryngology) International Symposium on Pediatric Infectious Diseases in Ear, Nose and Throat; São Paulo, Brazil, October 19-21, 2007.
NEW Research on many aspects of vitamin D.
March 8, 2006: Sam Brooke Visiting Professor in Dietary Supplements at Wake Forest University Medical School in Winston-Salem, North Carolina.
Television News:
NBC National News: March 10, 2003: Cod Liver Oil for Ear Infections.
WABC-TV (New York City Local Medical News on the 5 PM News): July 17, 2002: 7Online.com: An Old Approach May Work As A Preventative Treatment For Ear Infections
Internet articles:
Dr. Andrew Weil: November 13, 2002: What Are the Benefits of Cod Liver Oil?
WebMD: July 15, 2002: Cod Liver Oil Fights Ear Infections
Additional information about our research and ear infections in general can be found at the web site of The New York Eye & Ear Infirmary.
There are many other articles about our research on the Internet. Go to Google (www.google.com) or Yahoo (www.yahoo.com), type in "ear infections and cod liver oil" and press search.
Information on Dosing of Supplements: Please see the Dosing section of this web site.
Ordering Supplements:
If you and your child’s qualified healthcare provider agree that it is appropriate for your child to receive the nutritional supplements used in our research, you may order these supplements at a significant discount, by the Internet or by telephone, from our affiliate eVitamins.com. (Please see their web site for the number for telephone orders.)
We suggest starting with ONE bottle of EACH of the following (approximately a two-month supply for one child); CLICK THE NAME of the supplement for additional information at eVitamins.com:
CARLSON’S LEMON-FLAVORED COD LIVER OIL (manufactured in Norway); one small bottle (8.4 fl. oz. or 250 ml), and
NEW: CARLSON FOR KIDS (formerly Carlson's Scooter Rabbit) chewable vitamins and minerals. The amount of pre-formed vitamin A has been decreased (see Dosing). The tablets are still scored, making it easy to break them in half. One small bottle (60 tablets).
Nordic Naturals® is another company with flavored, liquid, Norwegian cod liver oil that meets the strict purity standards needed for young children. However, until now, most of their cod liver oils have had very little vitamin D. Nordic Naturals now has a new product, Artic-D Cod Liver Oil with Vitamin D, that contains the same amount of vitamin D as the cod liver oil used in our research. Further information is available at their web site.
Purity:
The European Community has lowered the tolerable weekly intake (TWI) of dioxins and dioxin-like PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) to 14 pg (picograms) of World Health Organisation (WHO)-toxic equivalent (TEQ)/kg (kilogram) of body weight. This calculates to 2 pg WHO-TEQ/kg/day. The title of the full report is "Commission Recommendation 2002/201/EC." To access this report, you will need Adobe Reader, a free software download; go to www.adobe.com and click on "Get Adobe Reader."
Recent studies have found that over-the-counter fish oil preparations have negligible levels of PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) and dioxins, as well as undetectable to negligible amounts of mercury. This is good news for adults, since the standards are based on body weight.
The United Kingdom reviewed "Dioxins and Dioxin-Like PCBs in Fish Oil Supplements;" 26/02; June 2002. To access the full report, you will need Adobe Reader, a free software download; go to go to www.adobe.com and click on "Get Adobe Reader." The report notes that the estimated intakes of these substances by consumers from the consumption of fish oil supplements has generally fallen since 1996. However, because the tolerable limits have also been lowered, the liquid cod liver oil products reviewed in this report are no longer recommended for children under 5 years of age. (The authors presumed that capsules would not be given to young children.)
NOTE: Dr. Linday has received information from both Carlson Laboratories and Nordic Naturals verifying the purity of their liquid cod liver oils and the fact that they may be given to children under five years of age.
Information on Supplements:
The Norwegian Council on Nutrition and Physical Activity recommends supplementation with cod liver oil from four weeks of age, because cod liver oil provides both vitamin D and omega-3 fatty acids.
The Office of Dietary Supplements of the National Institutes of Health (USA) provides a wealth of information about vitamins and mineral supplements, including vitamin A and selenium. NIH Facts About Dietary Supplements (to reach this site directly, enter: http://www.cc.nih.gov/ccc/supplements/intro.html).
Additional information on nutritional supplements can be found in the Health Encyclopedia at eVitamins.com.
Metabolism of Essential Fatty Acids:
A figure of the classical pathways of omega-3 and omega-6 fatty acid synthesis and the role of omega-3 fatty acids in regulating health/disease markers can be found on page 7 of "Effects of Omega-3 Fatty Acids on Child and Maternal Health,: AHRQ Publication No. 05-E025-2; August 2005. To access the full report, you will need Adobe Reader, a free software download; go to www.adobe.com and click on "Get Adobe Reader."
Related Books: Please see Related Work within this web site.
Related Research:
Dr. Mary Megson discusses her experience with cod liver oil for children with autistic spectrum disorders in her paper "Is Autism a G-Alpha Protein Defect Reversible with Natural Vitamin A." Dr. Megson (http://www.megson.com).
In her book, Dr. Jacqueline Stordy reviews the use of long-chain, polyunsaturated fatty acids for the treatment of ADHD (attention deficit hyperactivity disorder), dyslexia and dyspraxia ("clumsy child syndrome"). See Related Work.
Internet Searches:
PubMed is the free search service of The National Library of Medicine. PubMed provides access to over 11 million citations in MEDLINE, PreMEDLINE, and other related databases, with links to participating online journals. Citations are provided to full papers that are peer-reviewed; meeting abstracts are not indexed on this site. PubMed. (http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/PubMed).
Two sites where general Internet searches can be performed are Google (www.google.com) and Yahoo (www.yahoo.com); these search results are not peer-reviewed; you will simply get what is readily available on the Internet.
DISCLAIMER:
The information on this web site is provided for educational purposes only; it is a general reference for healthcare consumers and providers; it is not a prescription for any individual person. It is important that you consult your child’s qualified healthcare provider before implementing any of the research discussed on this web site.
Updated October 18, 2007