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Cod Liver Oil
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Verified by IngredientMD/Carlson/Cod Liver Oil
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Cod Liver Oil.

Stronger in a pairCarlson, verified Oct 2026Formula verified. Independently reviewed.Independent review. Not commissioned by Carlson.

Vitamin E is the lead active here, studied most for oxidative stress defence. 15 human studies on Vitamin E back this formula, each one cited. Who it fits: skews toward women, adults.

Clinically dosedFull label disclosure
7Active ingredientsWell studiedResearch base52Human studies
Cod Liver OilVerified by IngredientMD
CarlsonIngredientMD
The verdict
Stronger in a pair
For Skews toward women, adults.
How we verify

The brand submits the formula. We read the supplement facts panel and weigh dose, form and synergy against the clinical evidence. Labs test. IngredientMD verifies. The fee pays for review time, never for the outcome.

The formula
Vitamin A: Eye healthExtensively studied
Vitamin D: Bone strengthExtensively studied
Vitamin E: Oxidative stress defenceKey driver
Norwegian Cod Liver Oil: Heart and circulationExtensively studied
Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids: A 230 mg blend of two ingredients, listed by weight.Supporting role
EPA: Triglycerides already in the normal range. In the 230 mg Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids with one other, listed first.Extensively studied
DHA: Heart and circulation. In the 230 mg Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids with one other, listed second.Extensively studied

How we read this product

Source: Supplement facts
Supplement Facts panel for Cod Liver Oil
  1. 01
    We read the label.

    The panel on the left is the one we evaluated, line by line.

  2. 02
    Every active, separately.

    All 7 actives checked against the clinical evidence: dose, form, and what the research actually shows.

  3. 03
    Then the formula as a whole.

    Doses, ratios, and how the ingredients work together. That assessment is the verdict above: "Stronger in a pair".

  4. 04
    Earned, not bought.

    The verdict is public and identical whether or not a brand pays. A formula that does not clear the bar gets nothing.

Read by the engine against 2.1 million data points from clinical trials, PubMed and more than a hundred vetted sources. No individual reviewer is named or implied.

The receipts

Well studied
Research base
52
Human studies
1.3 mg
Vitamin E
45 mcg
Vitamin A
1 g per serving sits inside the studied 500 mg-2 g range
Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, GISSI-HF 2008 + AHA 2019 Guidelines

Cross-checked against 894 documented interactions for these actives.

Read the evidenceVitamin A, the evidence →Vitamin D, the evidence →Vitamin E, the evidence →Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, the evidence →EPA, the evidence →DHA, the evidence →

Inside the formula

Vitamin A
Eye health
Extensively studied
Vitamin D
17 studies
Bone strength
Extensively studied
Vitamin E
15 studies
Oxidative stress defence
Key driver
Norwegian Cod Liver Oil
Heart and circulation
Extensively studied
Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids
A 230 mg blend of two ingredients, listed by weight.
Supporting role
EPA
Triglycerides already in the normal range. In the 230 mg Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids with one other, listed first.
Extensively studied
DHA
Heart and circulation. In the 230 mg Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids with one other, listed second.
Extensively studied
In context

The gap this formula speaks to.

Public health figures the engine matched to this formula's ingredients. Reported by their source, cited and dated, never written by the brand.

The people it speaks toFieldwork 2024

17.0% of US adults

reported binge drinking or heavy drinking in 2024, above the levels the low-risk guideline defines, in the Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System.

CDC Behavioral Risk Factor Surveillance System, 2024
The people it speaks toFieldwork July 1 to 19, 2026

54% of US adults

say they drink alcohol, matching the record low set the previous year, in Gallup's Consumption Habits survey.

Gallup, 2026
36 more
The people it speaks to

US adults who drink average 3.2 drinks weekly

, down from an average of 3.9 drinks per week over prior years, in Gallup's Consumption Habits survey.

Gallup, 2026
The people it speaks to

US adults drank an average of 44 ounces

of plain water daily, in National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey data covering 2015 to 2018.

CDC, 2024
Daily use

59 to 66 days

was the median time it took adults to make a new daily health habit automatic across the studies a 2024 review pooled, with individuals ranging from 4 to 335 days.

Systematic review and meta-analysis, 2024
DHA

Meta-analysis, 2011

In trials giving DHA by itself, DHA lowered triglycerides and raised HDL cholesterol by about 4.5 mg/dL compared with placebo.

The paper
Vitamin E

Randomised trial, 2023

In 160 postmenopausal women with long-standing sleep difficulty, one month of vitamin E brought the median sleep questionnaire score to 6, versus 9 on placebo, where lower means better sleep.

Nutrients
Vitamin E

Meta-analysis, 2022

Across 8 trials in 1,002 women, vitamin E taken by mouth reduced reported menstrual cramp pain compared with placebo, with the clearest effect in the first month.

Clinical Nutrition ESPEN
EPA

Meta-analysis, 2026

In healthy adults after eccentric exercise, supplements combining EPA and DHA reduced muscle soreness across 9 placebo-controlled trials (Hedges g -0.75, 95% CI -1.14 to -0.36). The trials tested the two fats together rather than EPA alone.

Nutrients
EPA

Meta-analysis, 2014

EPA and DHA together lowered systolic blood pressure by about 1.5 mmHg and diastolic by about 1 mmHg, with a larger drop in people who started with higher blood pressure.

The paper
Miller et al., 2014PMID 24610882
Vitamin E

Meta-analysis, 2025

Across 21 trials, vitamin E lowered oxidized LDL and lengthened the time before LDL starts to oxidize, by about 20.45 units, both lab markers of oxidation.

European Journal of Pharmacology
Norwegian Cod Liver Oil

Randomised trial, 2001

In 120 adults with high blood cholesterol taking 15 mL of cod liver oil daily for 14 months, serum omega-3 fatty acids rose and plateaued by month 10 and whole-blood platelet clumping, a laboratory marker, was lower than in the no-supplement group, while total and HDL cholesterol did not change.

Lipids
Vitamin D

Meta-analysis, 2026

A review re-examined trials of vitamin D against heart and blood vessel outcomes, questioning how they were analyzed and what the combined result actually supports.

European Journal of Epidemiology
Vitamin D

Meta-analysis, 2014

Pooling 30 randomised trials in 5,615 adults averaging 61 years, vitamin D produced a small increase in overall muscle strength (standardised mean difference 0.17), with no detectable change in muscle mass or muscle power.

The Journal of Clinical Endocrinology and Metabolism
Vitamin E

Meta-analysis, 2023

Across 12 trials in 794 adults with high liver fat, at least 400 IU of vitamin E daily lowered two liver enzyme markers by 7 to 10 and 5 units.

Nutrients
DHA

Randomised trial, 2026

In 365 adults aged 55 to 80 with low dietary DHA, 2 g of DHA daily raised the spinal fluid DHA to arachidonic acid ratio at 6 months (difference 0.19, 95% CI 0.16 to 0.21), with no difference detected in brain volumes or cognitive scores over 24 months.

EBioMedicine
Vitamin D

Meta-analysis, 2026

A review of reviews found vitamin D lowered blood inflammation markers, generally by a small amount.

Inflammopharmacology
Vitamin D

Meta-analysis, 2022

Across 13 randomised trials in women after midlife, vitamin D raised handgrip strength by about 0.88 kg, while a timed get-up-and-go mobility test showed no detectable difference.

Frontiers in Endocrinology
Vitamin D

Systematic review, 2022

Across 13 randomised trials in adults carrying several metabolic risk factors, vitamin D raised serum 25-hydroxyvitamin D levels and lowered fasting blood sugar, fasting insulin and an insulin-resistance index, with no detectable change in cholesterol or triglycerides. The authors call the overall picture inconclusive.

Frontiers in Pharmacology
Norwegian Cod Liver Oil

Randomised trial, 2022

In a winter trial of about 34,000 Norwegian adults taking cod liver oil for a median of 164 days, no reduction in reported acute respiratory infections was detected versus placebo (relative risk 1.04, 95% CI 0.97 to 1.11), and only low-grade side effects were reported.

BMJ
DHA

Meta-analysis, 2024

Pooling 9 randomised trials of DHA given before or after birth, infants in the DHA groups scored 1.47 points higher on the Psychomotor Development Index (95% CI 0.23 to 2.72), with no difference detected on the Mental Development Index.

Frontiers in Neurology
Vitamin E

Meta-analysis, 2026

Pooling the available trials, adjuvant vitamin E alongside varicocele surgery was associated with better post-operative semen parameters, which are laboratory markers of sperm quality and not fertility outcomes.

Archivio Italiano di Urologia e Andrologia
Vitamin D

Meta-analysis, 2026

A review combined trials of vitamin D given to adults in intensive care and looked at survival, though the trials varied widely in dose, route and starting vitamin D status.

Frontiers in Nutrition
EPA

Meta-analysis, 2021

Pooling 11 randomised trials of EPA and DHA taken during pregnancy or breastfeeding, the authors did not find consistent evidence of an effect on the children's measured cognitive outcomes or on birth weight.

Nutrition Reviews
Norwegian Cod Liver Oil

Randomised trial, 2008

Over nine months, 39 percent of adults taking 10 g of cod liver oil daily reduced their anti-inflammatory medication use by more than 30 percent, versus 10 percent on placebo.

Rheumatology

Population figures from public health data. Context for the category, not a statement about any individual and not a claim about this product.

What this formula earned

Every one of these is a fact the engine could ground.

Each line below was derived from this formula's own record at the time of verification. Nothing here was written by the brand, and nothing can be added that the evidence does not carry.

  • Studied in people17 human studies on Vitamin D back this formula, each one cited.
  • A mechanism that is settledHow Vitamin A and Vitamin D work is settled pharmacology.
  • Studied together, not just separatelyVitamin A and Vitamin D have been studied together, not only separately.
  • Recent work on the recordThe most recent study on this record was published in 2025.
  • Why this formatIt is a softgel, so the active is already dissolved in oil and the shell keeps it away from air and light.
  • The exact form, describedThe label names its forms exactly: Retinyl palmitate, Ergocalciferol (vitamin D2), d-alpha-tocopherol (natural). The record says what each one is and what it suits.
  • A declared blend totalTotal Omega-3 Fatty Acids declares its total, 230 mg per serving, with 2 ingredients listed by weight.
  • Where it comes from and how it is madeVitamin A is made by more than one route.
  • Positions this formula already qualifies forThis formula already qualifies for positions beyond the one it is sold into, on the evidence it carries.
  • A position nobody is holding yetSome of those positions are ones almost nobody is selling to yet.
What the trials show

What the trials show about timing.

Time-to-effect windows the engine read from the trial record. Each is a window a named study measured, cited and dated, never written by the brand.

  • Vitamin Dabout 3 months of daily useBuilds with daily use

    In the trial record, blood vitamin D rises for about 3 months of daily vitamin D3 and then holds at a plateau, near 69 nmol/L at 1,000 IU a day, from a starting level near 41 nmol/L.

    Early
  • Vitamin Eabsorbed slowly, tracked over 72 hoursMeasured within a day

    In a 3-phase crossover using two deuterium-labelled forms of alpha-tocopherol, healthy women absorbed about 55 percent of an oral dose taken with a 40 percent fat meal and about 64 percent with a fat-free meal, with samples tracked over 72 hours. The authors conclude absorption is not limited by absent fat or fasting, and that vitamin E leaves the intestine by a prolonged process.

    Promising
  • Norwegian Cod Liver Oilabout 4 to 8 weeks in blood plasma, about 6 months in red blood cellsBuilds with daily use

    In the trial record, EPA in blood plasma plateaus after 4 to 8 weeks of daily fish oil, while EPA in the red blood cell membrane rises with a 28 day half-life and reaches a steady state at about 180 days.

    Promising
  • EPAabout eight weeks of daily useBuilds with daily use

    In a randomised single-blind trial, 20 participants took either fish oil supplying 1,296 mg EPA and 864 mg DHA daily or flaxseed oil for eight weeks, with erythrocyte membrane and plasma samples drawn at weeks 0, 4, 8, 10, 12, 14, 16 and 24. On fish oil, erythrocyte membrane EPA rose 300 percent and DHA rose 42 percent by week eight. Levels held until about week 12 and then declined across the post-supplementation sampling, faster in plasma phospholipids than in erythrocyte membranes. Membrane fatty acid content was measured, not a symptom, and this is one trial of 20 people.

    Cao et al., 2006PMID 17053155
    Promising
  • DHAabout five to seven days of daily useBuilds with daily use

    In a randomised double-blind crossover trial, healthy men and women aged 19 to 34 took capsules supplying about 4 g DHA per day, with plasma sampled at days 0, 1, 3, 7, 14 and 28. DHA concentrations tripled and so did DHA-derived oxylipins. Increases were detectable as early as day 1, and 11 of 12 individual DHA oxylipins plus total DHA oxylipins reached a plateau by days 5 to 7. The plateau came earlier and was reached by more oxylipins in females than in males. Plasma marker chemistry was measured, not a feeling.

    Gabbs et al., 2021PMID 33097936
    Promising

Windows measured in the cited trials. Context for how the active behaves over time, not a statement about any individual and not a claim about this product.

General timing

How each ingredient usually behaves over time.

Six ingredients, from each one's own page.

How each ingredient usually behaves over time, from its own page on IngredientMD. General timing for the ingredient, not a measurement of this product.

Format

Softgel

It is a softgel, so the active is already dissolved in oil and the shell keeps it away from air and light.

Best forFat-soluble actives and oils: vitamin D, vitamin E, omega-3, CoQ10.
Recurring supply suggested

Because the effect builds and holds only with continued daily use, a steady recurring supply is the practical way to keep it going.

Questions shoppers ask

Is Cod Liver Oil independently verified?
Yes. IngredientMD reviewed this formula independently and verified it in Oct 2026. The verdict is earned, not bought: brands can't edit or purchase it.
What's in Cod Liver Oil?
Cod Liver Oil is built on Vitamin A, Vitamin D, Vitamin E, Norwegian Cod Liver Oil, Total Omega-3 Fatty Acids, EPA, and more. Each ingredient links to its own evidence page on IngredientMD.
Were ingredient interactions checked?
Yes. The combination was screened against 894 documented interactions for these actives in IngredientMD's interaction database.
Who is IngredientMD?
IngredientMD is an independent supplement-science platform. We analyze ingredients and formulas against clinical research, and we verify products only when they clear our bar. Labs run the tests. We review the results.
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These statements have not been evaluated by the Food and Drug Administration. This product is not intended to diagnose, treat, cure, or prevent any disease. This record is not medical advice. Always consult your healthcare provider before starting any supplement regimen.

Independent review by IngredientMD, not commissioned by CarlsonWork at Carlson? This verification is yours to claim →